COVID 19 Update 61
Cuomo: Central NY Region Meets Guidelines Will Reopen Tomorrow Along with Finger Lakes, North Country and Mohawk Valley
Governor Cuomo announced that the Central New York region has now met the seven necessary metrics to reopen phase one industries tomorrow. As announced earlier this week the Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, North Country, and Finger Lakes regions have also met these metrics. According to the dashboard the Mid-Hudson Region is 10 days away at earliest.
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa added that NY on PAUSE officially expires at 12:01 a.m. Friday, May 15th, so phase one businesses can be open tomorrow in the 4 regions that have met the metrics. Local governments will manage reopening through the Regional Control Rooms. The Regional Control Rooms will be responsible for monitoring public health data daily and enforcing the compliance of phase one rules.
In response to a question from a reporter the Governor said the question of liability for businesses that choose to reopen should be handled at the federal level, but he advises all business owners to take every precaution.
The State is Partnering with Businesses to Increase Production of Medical Equipment in New York.
In his press conference today Governor Cuomo said the State needs to learn a lesson from the equipment shortfalls that impeded fighting the coronavirus that occurred because most equipment is produced in China. The State is offering grants for businesses to produce equipment. Businesses interested in participating can contact Empire State Development to grow or start a medical supply business.
Worth Republishing from Yesterday’s Blog: Phase One Opening Guidelines Published on NY Forward Site
The Governor’s office has released guidelines and business safety templates for industries that will be allowed to begin reopening in phase one. As of May 15th, select industries in regions of the state that have met seven public health metrics will be allowed to start reopening. Below is a link to a list of industries that will be allowed to open in these regions during phase one, along with their guidelines and business safety templates.
The guidelines apply to both non-essential businesses in regions that are permitted to reopen and essential businesses throughout the state that were previously permitted to remain open.
Business owners must read the “Detailed Guidelines” for their industries and provide their digital signature affirming they have read and understand the document.
(Remember our Mid-Hudson region has NOT met the guidelines needed to reopen)
It is unclear if businesses in regions not reopening will be able to digitally affirm the document yet.
Phase One Reopening Guidelines for Manufacturing
Recordings of Yesterday’s PPP Forgiveness Provisions and Tax Credits Webinars are available online.
Our thanks to JGS CPAs for the 2 excellent webinars they delivered for our members yesterday. The links are below.
Weekly jobless claims total 2.981 million, bringing coronavirus tally to 36.5 million
New filings for unemployment claims totaled just shy of 3 million for the most recent reporting period, a number that while still high declined for the sixth straight week, according to Labor Department figures Thursday.
The total 2.981 million new claims for unemployment insurance filed last week brought the coronavirus crisis total to nearly 36.5 million, by far the biggest loss in U.S. history. The count announced last week count was revised up by 7,000 to 3.176 million, putting the weekly decline at 195,000 between the two most recent reports.
Workers Push for Safety Measures as Businesses Reopen
Anxious employees returning to work are lobbying for companies to keep in place safety measures implemented at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Some employees are also advocating for more generous sick leave and better hazard pay.
Read the full story at The New York Times (subscription)
Webinar: Returning to Work: Managing Employee Anxieties
Wednesday, May 27th 2020, 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Cost: No charge for members
Skip Weisman is the Hudson Valley’s premier business coach focusing on transforming mediocre, stagnant, or negative work environments into championship company cultures the are more positive, more productive and even more profitable. Skip is the only certified Great Game of Business Open Book Management Coach in New York and he works with manufacturing companies to implement a systematic process of financial transparency that brings employee accountability to the workplace.
To register click here
Tracing Apps – Should Employers Use Them?
Several high-profile efforts are underway to deploy smartphone-based coronavirus tracking, including apps used for contact tracing. “Each employer will have to make their own decisions,” says FROM CEO and President Howard Tiersky, whose company has developed such an app, “but our point of view is that this is very limited data to be collecting and that it falls within an employer’s general right to monitor their employees’ work activity.”
Read the full story at Society for Human Resource Management
Global Economic Report: Manufacturers Around the World Report Unprecedented Declines in Activity
Manufacturers globally continue to face challenges with operational and demand disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Economies around the world are suffering from an abrupt and severe recession. Activity in the sector has fallen at unprecedented paces in most major markets, with purchasing managers’ indices often at record lows or at the worst readings since the Great Recession.
Global Economic Report 0514 2020
