New Guidance

On May 14, 2020, Manatt circulated an update on new guidance issued by Empire State Development for both essential businesses that have been open and non-essential businesses preparing to re-open in phases as authorized by the Governor. As of May 15, 2020, five regions of the State have been authorized to begin Phase 1 reopening, they include: Central NY, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier. Pursuant to the guidance, businesses that are currently open as an “essential” business and those “non-essential” businesses that have been closed must develop a written Safety Plan outlining how their workplace will prevent the spread of COVID-19. Businesses may complete the attached and linked template to fulfill this requirement, or they may develop their own Safety Plans. Plans are not required to be submitted to a state agency for approval, but the plan must be retained on the premises of the business, and must made available to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) or local health or safety authorities in the event of an inspection. Following that update, the Governor of New York issued Executive Order 202.31 which extends NY PAUSE until May 28, 2020 for all other regions of the State which have not met the prescribed health and safety metrics, as determined by NYSDOH. A brief summary of Order 202.31 follows below and is attached for you. The provisions of this order are in effect through June 13, 2020 unless otherwise noted. Executive Order 202.31–Suspending subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of Section 594 of the Labor Law are suspended to the extent necessary to prevent forfeiture of effective benefit days to provide claimants with temporary relief from serving forfeit day penalties during the COVID-19 disaster emergency; andSuspending section 240.35 of the penal law, to the extent it is inconsistent with any directive requiring an individual wear a face covering in public or otherwise. Issuing the following directives for the period from the date of this Executive Order through the date so designated below:Executive Order 202.28, which extended the provisions of Executive Orders 202.3, 202.4, 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.8, 202.10, 202.11, 202.13, and 202.14 which each closed or otherwise restricted public or private businesses or places of public accommodation, and which required postponement or cancellation of all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason (e.g. parties, celebrations, games, meetings or other social events), which together constitute New York On PAUSE, is hereby continued until 11:59 p.m. on May 28, 2020, unless later amended or extended by a future Executive Order;Provided, however, that effective at 12:01 a.m. on May 15, 2020 that the reductions and restrictions on the in-person workforce at non-essential businesses or other entities shall no longer apply to Phase One industries:Construction, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, Retail – (Limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off); Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade;Such businesses or entities must be operated subject to the guidance promulgated by the Department of Health;Only those businesses or entities in a region that meets the prescribed public health and safety metrics, as determined by the Department of Health, will be eligible for reopening;As of May 14, 2020 the regions are: Finger Lakes, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and the North Country regions comprising the counties of: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego, Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, Schoharie, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence. Any additional regions which meet the criteria after such date will be deemed to be incorporated into this Executive Order without further revision and will be permitted to re-open phase one industries, subject to the same terms and conditions.All enforcement mechanisms by state or local governments shall continue to be in full force an effect until June 13, 2020 unless later extended or amended by a future Executive Order.The directive contained in Executive Order 202.15 authorizing the Department of Taxation and Finance to accept digital signatures in lieu of handwritten signatures on documents related to the determination or collection of tax liability, is hereby modified to authorize such acceptance for the duration of the disaster emergency.The directive contained in Executive Order 202.3 which closed movie theaters until further notice and was later extended by Executive Order 202.14 and EO 202.28, is hereby modified to provide that a drive-in movie theater, shall not be required to close, but shall be treated as any other business per Executive Order 202.6, which designated certain businesses as essential or non-essential and subjected such businesses to in-person presence restrictions in the workplace. Continuing coverage of NYS Orders and Guidance is also available for you at: https://www.manatt.com/Insights/Newsletters/COVID-19-Update/COVID-19-New-York-Executive-Orders-Agency-Guidance, and we encourage you to reach out to a member of the Manatt team with any questions you may have.

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