Agenda - Council - 04/14/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

minimum necessary activities to facilitate remote work by workers from their residences (e.g., IT personnel who allow workers to operate remotely or personnel who support remote or distance learning). 7. All exempted Activities and Critical Sector work should be conducted in a manner that adheres to Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Standards and the Minnesota Department of Health and CDC Guidelines related to COVID-19, including social distancing and hygiene. Under existing law and authority, the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration may issue citations, civil penalties, or closure orders to places of employment with unsafe or unhealthy conditions, and the Department of Labor and Industry may penalize employers that retaliate against employees who raise safety and health concerns. 8. Except as necessary to seek medical care and obtain other necessities of life, people at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 (e.g., elderly people and those with underlying health conditions) are strongly urged to stay in their home or residence, even when the terms of this Executive Order would allow them to leave their home or residence. 9. I urge all Minnesotans to voluntarily comply with this Executive Order. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 12.45, a worker who willfully violates this Executive Order is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days. Any business owner, manager, or supervisor who requires or encourages any of their employees to violate this Executive Order is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished by a fine not to exceed $3,000 or by imprisonment for not more than a year. In addition to those criminal penalties, the Attorney General, as well as city and county attorneys, may seek any civil relief available pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 8.31, for violations of this Executive Order, including civil penalties up to $25,000 per occurrence from businesses and injunctive relief. Nothing in this Executive Order is intended to encourage or allow law enforcement to transgress individual constitutional rights. 10. I direct the Commissioners of Health, Employment and Economic Development, and Labor and Industry to begin planning on how to allow certain non -Critical Sector workers to return to work when it is safe to do so. Such a plan must include guidelines and requirements for appropriate social distancing, hygiene, and public health best practices. I also direct other cabinet agencies to coordinate expeditiously to develop relevant guidance related to this Executive Order and to provide that guidance to the public. 11. I direct all state agencies to continue to coordinate expeditiously to develop plans to mitigate the economic effects of closures and restrictions necessitated by this peacetime emergency, including potential financial support, regulatory relief, and other executive actions. 14