New Executive Order TODAY
Industrial & Office Settings Can Return to Work
APPLE VALLEY CHAMBER NOTE:
The Governor has just opened up much of the economy with this afternoon’s order.
 
This applies to:
MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRIAL
OFFICE SETTINGS
 
HE MADE IT CLEAR HE WANTS AS MANY AS POSSIBLE TO REMAIN WORKING FROM HOME!
 
The Executive Order 20-40 was just posted a few minutes ago.
 
Following that, we are re-sending the TEMPLATE FOR RE-OPENING for your company to follow. This template is a DEED and Dept. of Labor Guide and not a mandate. They will not police you however if there are complaints, they can then come in and ask you for your Re-Opening Plan.
 
This DOES NOT APPLY TO RETAIL OR CUSTOMER FACING JOBS AND COMPANIES.
 
We included what the Star Tribune just posted. The Governor said up to 20,000 jobs may open by Monday and the newspaper says 80,000-100,000.
 
Please stay posted on the news and set up a reopening plan based upon the template.

TODAY On April 23, Governor Walz signed Executive Order 20-40, which allows workers in industrial and office settings to return to work, subject to several conditions. First, all workers who can work from home must continue to do so. There are also a number of other conditions laid out in the executive order, including creating a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and conducting health screenings of employees each day at arrival.

Industrial: What Does it Mean?
Industrial settings are places of employment in which goods are in the process of being created. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting qualify, as do mining, construction, utilities and manufacturing. Wholesale trade and warehousing also qualify as they are preparing those goods for sale to customers and consumers. Some of these settings are natural for allowing social distancing. Others will be more difficult and require businesses to change practices, including increasing space between workstations and reducing density of workers for each shift.

Office: What Does it Mean?
Office settings are places of employment in which workers do their work within an office space where people primarily do their work at their desk and whose work is primarily not customer facing. Some settings will be natural for allowing social distancing, with people primarily working in individual offices. Others will be more difficult and require businesses to change practices, including increasing space between workstations and reducing density of workers for each shift.

Examples of what you can do:
  • Interact with co-workers while maintaining appropriate social distancing.
  • Conduct virtual meetings with co-workers, customers and suppliers.
  • Work at workstations as long as there is adequate space between workers.
  • Follow the business's plan for social distancing

Examples of what you can't do:
  • Conduct customer visits in customer workplaces or homes. 
  • Invite customers into the workplace.
  • Conduct meetings in conference rooms that don't allow social distancing. 
  • Work right next to co-workers. 

What about Critical Workers/Sectors?
Executive Order 20-40 makes no changes to the definitions of Critical Workers/Sectors from Governor Walz's Executive Order 20-33 . Critical Workers/Sectors can be open, as they were before this order. This order allows non-Critical Sector Workers in industrial and office settings to go back to work, with certain conditions.

What is not included?
Unless they qualify as a Critical Sector in Executive Order 20-33 , businesses that sell goods and services directly to customers remain closed for the time being. These businesses are still allowed to fulfill orders to support electronic commerce.

What if I need more information?
First, please review the Critical Sectors guidance for information and clarifications about what workers are considered Critical Sector.
If you still have a question that you need answered about whether a business meets the definition of industrial or office, please email CriticalSectors@state.mn.us .
Business Reopening Plan (Template Included)
A Requirement for All Businesses
Executive Order 20-40, issued by Gov. Tim Walz on April 23, 2020 (TODAY) requires each business in operation during the peacetime emergency establish a “COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.”A business’s COVID-19 Preparedness Plan shall establish and explain the necessary policies, practices and conditions to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines for COVID-19 and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards related to worker exposure to COVID-19. The plan should have the strong commitment of management and be developed and implemented with the participation of workers. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, in consultation with MDH, has the authority to determine whether a plan is adequate.

Your COVID-19 Preparedness Plan must include and describe how your business will implement at a minimum the following:

  1. infection prevention measures;
  2. prompt identification and isolation of sick persons;
  3. engineering and administrative controls for social distancing;
  4. housekeeping, including cleaning, disinfecting and decontamination;
  5. communications and training for managers and workers necessary to implement the plan; and
  6. provision of management and supervision necessary to ensure effective ongoing implementation of the plan.

This document (link below) includes a sample COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that meets the criteria listed above. No business is required to use this model. If you choose to use this model, you must adapt it to fit the specific needs of your business.
Star Tribune Article:
Restrictions Could Be Lifted for 100k Minnesotans
By This Coming Monday
As many as 80,000 to 100,000 em­ploy­ees could re­turn to work on Mon­day un­der a plan an­nounced Thursday by state of­fi­cials.
Com­panies must meet guide­lines on so­cial dis­tanc­ing, work­er hy­giene and fa­cil­i­ty clean­ing and dis­in­fec­tion.
They must also con­duct em­ploy­ee health screen­ings and con­tin­ue work from home when­ev­er pos­si­ble.
“This is a lim­it­ed first step in the proc­ess of safe­ly re­open­ing some busi­nes­ses and re­turn­ing Min­ne­so­tans to work,” said Department of Em­ploy­ment and Economic Development Com­mis­sion­er Steve Grove in a state­ment.
The work­places will in­clude in­dus­trial, manu­fac­tur­ing and of­fice set­tings that had not been clas­si­fied as criti­cal in­dus­tries un­der the state’s stay-at-home ord­er, which is sched­uled to ex­pire on May 4.
Restrictions will not be lifted for retail locations that provide in-store services to customers. Retail previously deemed to be critical, including grocery stores and pharmacies, are not affected by the new guidelines.
Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce | info@applevalleychamber.com