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On March 30, 2020, the governor issued Executive Order 55 requiring all individuals in Virginia to stay in their place of residence, with certain limited exceptions, until June 10, 2020. Specifically, the order permits individuals to leave their homes for the following purposes:

  • Obtaining food, beverages, goods, or services as permitted in Executive Order 53;
  • Seeking medical attention, essential social services, governmental services, assistance from law enforcement, or emergency services;
  • Taking care of other individuals, animals, or visiting the home of a family member;
  • Traveling required by court order or to facilitate child custody, visitation, or child care;
  • Engaging in outdoor activity, including exercise, provided individuals comply with social distancing requirements;
  • Traveling to and from one’s residence, place of worship, or work;
  • Traveling to and from an educational institution;
  • Volunteering with organizations that provide charitable or social services; and
  • Leaving one’s residence due to a reasonable fear for health or safety, at the direction of law enforcement, or at the direction of another government agency.

Continue Reading Virginia update: Governor issues temporary stay-at-home order and other measures to address COVID-19

On March 30, 2020, Governor Larry Hogan ordered Maryland residents to “stay at home” as part of Maryland’s ongoing response to COVID-19. The order becomes effective March 30, 2020, at 8 p.m. EST and remains in effect until further notice. Governor Hogan announced that the order is in response to the people of Maryland ignoring his prior orders and directives for the past three weeks, endangering themselves and others. “We are no longer asking or suggesting that Maryland residents stay home – we are directing them to do so,” Hogan stated. The March 30, 2020, order amends and restates a prior March 23, 2020, order prohibiting large gatherings and events, and closing senior centers and all nonessential businesses and other establishments.

The order requires all persons living in the state of Maryland to stay in their homes or places of residences, except to participate in essential activities, as defined below, or to conduct essential business.
Continue Reading Maryland residents ordered to “stay at home” effective 8 p.m. EST March 30 to prevent the spread of COVID-19

As part of Virginia’s ongoing response to COVID-19, on March 23, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 53 temporarily closing recreational and entertainment businesses and restricting certain other non-essential businesses statewide. The order also bans gatherings of more than 10 people and closes K-12 schools for the remainder of the academic year. These closing and other restrictions are effective from 11.59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 through 11.59 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2020.

Recreational and entertainment businesses temporarily closed

The order requires the one-month closing of the following recreational and entertainment businesses:

  • Theaters, performing arts centers, concert venues, museums, and other indoor entertainment centers.
  • Fitness centers, gymnasiums, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, and indoor exercise facilities.
  • Beauty salons, barbershops, spas, massage parlors, tanning salons, tattoo shops, and any other location where personal care or personal grooming services are performed that would not allow compliance with social distancing guidelines to remain 6 feet apart.
  • Racetracks and historic horse racing facilities.
  • Bowling alleys, skating rinks, arcades, amusement parks, trampoline parks, fairs, arts and craft facilities, aquariums, zoos, escape rooms, indoor shooting ranges, public and private social clubs, and all other places of indoor public amusement.

The order also requires the temporary closing of dining and congregation areas in restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, and farmers’ markets. However, these businesses may offer delivery and take-out services as long as they are able to comply with social distancing and hygiene requirements.Continue Reading Virginia’s response to COVID-19: temporary closure of recreational and entertainment businesses, restrictions on other non-essential businesses and school closures

Texas is taking a localized approach in trying to slow the spread of COVID-19. Since Monday, March 23, 2020, county and city governments from some of Texas’s largest metropolitan areas have issued “stay home-work safe” orders. This includes Dallas County, Harris County (where Houston is located), and Travis County (where Austin is located).

Each of the three orders affecting Dallas, Houston, and Austin allow “Essential Businesses” to remain open. While each order has a slightly different definition of “Essential Businesses,” all three orders include in their definitions of essential businesses the 16 critical infrastructure sectors identified by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “Non-essential businesses” are allowed to continue operations on a limited basis in varying degrees under each of the three orders. More detail on each of the orders is below.

For specific information on your city or business, employers should review the relevant order and its impact with the assistance of counsel to determine whether their operations are “Essential Businesses.” Determining whether your operations are essential businesses is highly fact specific, and companies should exercise caution when making that determination. Those businesses deemed “non-essential” should also consult their attorneys to assess next steps allowed under the applicable order.Continue Reading Texas metro areas issue shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of COVID-19

In an effort to reduce in-person workforces in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut has joined New York, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, and several other jurisdictions in restricting the operation of “non-essential” businesses. More specifically, on March 20, Governor Ned Lamont issued an executive order requiring all “non-essential” businesses to reduce their in-person workforces by 100 percent by tonight (March 23) at 8 p.m. “Non-essential” businesses may, however, permit staff on-site to the minimum extent necessary to provide security, maintenance and receipt of mail and packages. “Non-essential” retailers may be staffed on-site, provided that they only offer remote ordering and curbside pick-up or delivery. This measure is scheduled to last until April 22. The governor’s order emphasizes implementing remote work arrangements for all employers to the greatest extent possible.
Continue Reading Connecticut orders all non-essential businesses to close offices to reduce in-person workforce amid COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Saturday, March 21, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order that takes effect at 9:00 p.m.  The order prohibits social gatherings and contains a “remain home” directive absent proscribed needs, like obtaining food, seeking medical services, visiting family, attending religious services, engaging in outdoor recreation while social distancing, or reporting to or performing your job.  Although the order specifically permits New Jersey residents to leave their homes for work, the order limits the operations of certain New Jersey businesses as follows:
Continue Reading New Jersey issues “remain home” directive and limits on business operations

On March 20, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order directing all Illinois residents to “stay at home.”  The order goes into effect on Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 5 p.m. (CT), and lasts through April 7, 2020.  Illinois now joins the ranks of California and New York, which have issued similar “stay at home” orders.

Under the order, all “non-essential” businesses must stop operating except with respect to minimum basic operations or operations consisting of individuals working from home.  “Minimum basic operations” consist of the minimum necessary activities to maintain the value of the business’s inventory, preserve the condition of the business’s physical plant and equipment, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions.  To the extent employees must still work, businesses must ensure they comply with social distancing requirements:

  • Designate six-foot distances with signage, tape, or by other means, to ensure employees and customers waiting in line maintain appropriate distances from one another;
  • Make hand sanitizer and sanitizing products readily available for employees and customers;
  • Implement separate operating hours for elderly and vulnerable customers; and
  • Post online whether a facility is open, and how best to reach the facility and continue services by phone or remotely.

Continue Reading Illinois governor issues “stay at home” order in response to COVID-19