At least 30 states have started to allow some businesses to operate or announced plans to do so in May.

President Donald Trump during a Fox News town-hall appearance Sunday night said he was ready to restart U.S. economic activity quickly. “You really can have it both ways,” he said.

Most member companies are deemed essential and have remained in operation, but the reopening process affects you because, as more businesses open in your states, the regulations governing your workplaces also are subject to change. And, sales teams eager to get back may soon have more places to go.

For information about the status of every state, and to learn if the reopening plan may call for additional changes at your plant, go to .

Knowing the law has taken a little more time than knowing the lingo, but we are gaining on that, too.

Information around COVID-19 is too extensive and too fast-moving to contain in Shortliner. We instead are building a changing-every-day web page for members that helps them make sense of what’s happening at both the state and federal levels and how they need to respond.

Check out . If you need a reminder on your username and password, call the office at (314) 878-2304, or send an email request to Tricia Kidd at TKidd@FarmEquip.org.

This web page has come together with support from member companies Nilan Johnson Lewis and KCoe Isom. It is the product of questions you have asked and problems you’ve faced.

Get anwers to these questions. They are scattered throughout the web page, but many can be found in this webinar and this Q&A from the Department of Labor.

• Is my business considered “essential,” thus exempt from stay-at-home orders?
• What do we do if we have an employee test positive?
• Under the FFCRA, if providing child care-related paid sick leave and expanded family benefits would jeopardize the viability of my business, how do I pursue a small business exemption?
• May employees take 80 hours of paid sick leave for self-quarantine and another amount of paid sick time for another reason provided under FFCRA?
• Can we reduce pay due to economic slowdown?
• What if I have a fearful employee who refuses to come to work?
• Are there unemployment benefits being considered for a reduction in hours?
• What do we need to think about related to unions?
• Will employers be reimbursed for wages paid under the FFCPA?

Find these documents and templates:

• Template of employee for leave using the new FFCRA
• of FMLA child leave policy, emergency sick leave policy, work-from-home agreement, and notice of temporary layoff
• Sample letter for employees to carry while they travel, designating that they represent an essential business
• Sample letter to governors seeking support to sustain your operations
• An “employee rights” poster from the Department of Labor explaining expanded benefits under the FFCRA

Review this state-by-state information.

• See governors’ orders in stay-at-home states with definitions of businesses deemed “essential.”
• See what states are offering and filing extensions to businesses.
• State-by-state response information that includes bulletins from health departments, key contact information, executive orders, and travel restrictions.
• Get tools for contacting your governor and examples of language seeking their support in your continued operation.

Find guidance on these topics.

• Interpreting the FFCPA and CARES Act
• Preparing workplaces for the virus
• Disaster assistance and resources from the
• Complying with the in the context of this pandemic

If you have a legal question related to workforce, and you do not find the answer online, you are entitled, as a regular member of this Association, to a no-cost, confidential, 60-minute consultation with HR attorneys Joe Schmitt and David James.

Call Nilan Johnson Lewis at (612) 305-7500. The firm will verify your membership.