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Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order Closes Nonessential Businesses to Fight COVID-19 Pandemic 
Good evening Grassroots Alliance partners, 

Earlier this evening Gov. Jay Inslee issued an executive order that instructs people to stay home unless pursuing essential activities in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic. 

This historic move will impact many businesses and families in communities across the state. We wanted to share the latest information with you as a valued partner in our work to support a strong economic future for our state.

Earlier this evening we shared the action alert below with each of AWB's roughly 7,000 members. Please feel free to share it with your members, as well.

And please share AWB's Employer Resource Page, which is udpated daily with the latest information aimed at helping employers navigate these challenging times.

Don't hesitate to reach out or ask questions. Contact Andrew Lenderman at 360.529.1301 or AndyL@awb.org anytime. 

A copy of the News Alert follows: 


Dear member,

Gov. Jay Inslee issued an executive order tonight directing all residents to stay home unless they need to pursue an essential activity.

The “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, which is similar to orders in other states, will ban all gatherings for social, spiritual and recreational purposes, and close all businesses except those deemed essential unless employees can work from home.

The full list of sectors and workers deemed essential is available here.

Major categories include:
  • Health care/public health
  • Emergency Services
  • Food and Agriculture
  • Energy
  • Water and Wastewater
  • Transportation and Logistics
  • Communications and Information Technology
  • Other Community-Based Government Operations and Essential Functions
  • Critical Manufacturing
  • Hazardous Materials
  • Financial Services
  • Chemical
  • Defense Industrial Base
This is an unprecedented moment in our history, and one that has already caused significant damage to our state and national economies. Tonight’s order will no doubt cause further impacts to Washington employers.
 
Earlier today, when it was apparent this order was coming, AWB sent a letter to Gov. Inslee urging him to carefully balance the public health impacts with the economic impacts of the fight against the coronavirus. We stand with the governor in the battle to stop the spread of the virus, but we also recognize the need to preserve every job possible to aid in the eventual recovery from this crisis.
 
Specifically, our letter requested the governor adopt the federal guidelines outlined by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) as a baseline, and work with employers to build upon them and add further essential sectors.
 
The good news is that much of what we expressed in our letter was included in the list of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” released this evening by the governor’s office. We appreciate the dialogue with the governor and his staff during this important time.

For now, if you’re wondering what it means for your business, you can start by reviewing the list of essential sectors and workers outlined by the governor.

If your business is not listed, or you’re unclear whether it is considered essential, please email this address: business@mil.wa.gov.

AWB staff members are reviewing the governor’s order and will share additional details soon. For more resources and help, you can also visit our resources page at www.awb.org.

As we face this crisis together, AWB is committed to serving as a resource and advocate for employers. That includes hosting webinars like the one we hosted this morning with more than 1,200 participants to discuss the business impacts of the crisis. If you missed it, or need to listen again, you can find a link to the full audio on our blog.

This remains a challenging time and fluid environment. Thank you for your support of AWB. We’re all in this together, and we will get through it together.

Sincerely,
Kris Johnson
President & CEO
 

 






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