Last week, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Marin Counties joined several other northern California counties in the less restrictive Orange Tier under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy Tier System. Effective March 31, 2021, several other counties, including Alameda, Santa Cruz and the Southern California counties of Los Angeles and Orange, joined them. With this…

On Friday, August 28, 2020, Governor Newsom unveiled the state’s new tiered system for identifying and reducing COVID-19 infection risks in each county. This new “blueprint” is aimed at reducing instances of COVID-19 by imposing revised criteria for both easing and tightening restrictions on the activities of California residents and businesses.

Under the new system, which goes into effect on Monday, August 31st and replaces the “County Monitoring List” approach, each county is assigned to one of four tiers – Minimal, Moderate, Substantial, or Widespread. These tiers are assigned based on the percentage of new daily cases and the percentages of positive tests.
Continue Reading California Revamps its Reopening Criteria for Businesses and Activities

Just one week after its release on July 24, California has already issued an updated version of its COVID-19 Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening, which is intended to offer employers clear and practical guidance on how to safely reopen their businesses during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the latest update, employers…

Beginning July 6, Massachusetts will enter Phase 3 of the Four-Phase Reopening Plan. However, businesses located within Boston will have a delayed Phase 3 start date until July 13. Just as with Phase 2, Phase 3 will consist of two steps. According to the Governor’s office, Phase 3 will last much longer than previous…

In advance of Philadelphia entering the “green” phase and many businesses reopening, the Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed the Essential Workers Protection Act (Bill No. 200328) on June 25 and was signed by Mayor Jim Kenney on June 26, 2020.

For purposes of this Act, introduced by City Councilwoman Helen Gym, essential workers are employees…

As California enters Stage 2 of its “Resilience Roadmap” plan to reopen, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health issued further guidance on June 18, 2020, mandating all Californians wear face coverings in various “high-risk” settings.  The guidance updates a previous CDPH guidance (issued on April 1, 2020) that outlined best…

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On May 21, 2020, the ReOpen DC Advisory Group, led by Ambassador Susan Rice and Secretary Michael Chertoff, issued recommendations to Mayor Muriel Bowser for reopening the city in four stages. While the plan does not include specific dates, Mayor Bowser announced that Stage One could begin as early as May 29, 2020. This GT…

The UK national government has announced, in relation to England only, a programme of progressive easing of current lockdown measures due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). With respect to working arrangements, the guidance provides that:

[a]ll reasonable steps should be taken by employers to help people work from home. But for those who cannot…