MN Gov. Tim Walz has announced that more businesses will be allowed to return to operation starting this Monday.
The announcement today means between 80,000 and 100,000 workers will be allowed to resume their employment a full week before the end of Gov. Walz’s Stay at Home order.
Walz has signed Executive Order 20-40 that adds to the Stay at Home exemption list “workers in non-customer facing industrial and office-based businesses who cannot work from home.”
Here’s a look at what that means, as described on the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development website:
Industrial: “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.
Prior to loosening restrictions for a given setting, businesses must:
- Create, share, and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that sets out the actions they are taking to ensure social distancing, worker hygiene, and facility cleaning and disinfection necessary to keep workers safe
- Engage in health screening of employees and ensure that sick employees stay home
- Continue to work from home whenever possible
