Open call with the Mayor’s office
The Office of Mayor Jacob Frey is hosting bi-weekly calls for our business community on Fridays at noon. We will provide updates about current strategies to support businesses and answer your questions live. You can also submit your questions in advance online.
Register for the May 8, 12:00 p.m. Open Call for our Business/Employer Community. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Safely Returning to Work
Governor Tim Walz and the State of Minnesota Departments of Employment and Economic Development; Health; and Labor and Industry are working together to safely allow some non-Critical Sector businesses to reopen. Please visit the State of MN DEED website today for more information. Please contact State of MN OSHA directly for a free consultation regarding reopening safely.
Non-Critical Sector industrial and office-based businesses that are non-customer facing are now allowed to reopen, and customer-facing retail businesses that sell goods are now permitted to engage in curbside or outside pick-up and delivery as long as they:
- Have created a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that follows MDH and CDC guidelines and meets OSHA standards. (A checklist is downloadable here and a template is downloadable here. Word docs are also available online).
- Are following the health and safety protocols outlined in EO 20-48, including conducting health screenings questions of workers. (More info is available in FAQ’s).
- Continue to encourage teleworking as much as possible. Employees who can work from home should continue doing so.
Businesses that were included on the Critical Sector list and already open prior to April 27 are also required to comply with all CDC and OSHA guidance to ensure the health and safety of their workers, but are not required to create a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. Please contact MN OSHA directly with any questions.
MN Childcare Provider Grants
The State of Minnesota is making grant dollars available to assist childcare providers. The window to apply for these grants is May 5-12, 2020.
More information or to apply.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Advance open for agricultural businesses
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs.
SBA’s EIDL portal reopened on May 4, 2020 to begin accepting new EIDL applications on a limited basis for agricultural businesses only. All other EIDL loan applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications on April 15 will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis. The SBA Express Bridge Loan program is still open for business owners.
Unemployment Insurance Benefits for self-employed people
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has begun making Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments to people who are self-employed, independent contractors, and other eligible recipients who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits.
Additional information, including answers to many commonly asked questions, can be found here: COVID-19 information for self-employed people and independent contractors
Hennepin County Relief Grant - Closing soon!
The application period for the Hennepin County Small Business Relief Program closes this Friday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. (noon). This program provides forgivable loans up to $10,000 for qualifying Hennepin County Businesses. For more information see the Hennepin County Small Business Relief Program page.
Additional funding will be available for businesses with no employees through a separate application process that will be announced in the coming days.
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