Dutchess Business Notification Network Update for Monday, May 18, 2020

Below are updates and resources for businesses, employers, and employees. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you believe would benefit from this information.

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Update for Monday, May 18, 2020

• Empire State Development (ESD) has just published an online tool to help businesses determine whether or not they are eligible to reopen, and the public health and safety standards with which they must comply. The tool can be found HERE.
• ESD has also updated the guidance for essential businesses that are allowed to be open before Phase 1. Included in that list is golf courses and driving ranges, but food and retail services at the courses must remain closed. This does allow carts to be used on the courses. That guidance can be found HERE.
• The SBA has released the instructions and application for Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness. They can be found HERE.
• The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a final rule to provide greater simplicity and flexibility to retail industry employers when it comes to which employees are exempt from overtime. If an employee is primarily paid by commission, they now may be exempt from qualifying for overtime. The press release and rule can be found HERE.
• Reminder: In order to reopen when it is authorized, a business must fill out, and have on premises, a copy of the company's reopening safety plan. A template of the plan can be found HERE.
• In today’s (Monday) press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said houses of worship, and other areas where a lot of individuals gather to participate, would be allowed to reopen in Phase 4. The state is looking at ways to allow these organizations to reopen with limited capacity and social distancing measures in place.
• The governor said testing kits and capacity were being set aside for nursing home staff because of his new Executive Order requiring all staff members be tested twice a week. This follows concerns brought by nursing home and long-term care facilities regarding the availability of testing for employees.
• Governor Cuomo said the 14 day minimum between phases is due to the incubation period of the virus.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.

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