WAIVER UPDATE: Governor Wolf’s Order for Closure of Non-Life-Sustaining Businesses in Pennsylvania

March 20, 2020

Categories : Coronavirus

Types : Alerts

As an update to a previous Montgomery McCracken alert, effective as of 8:00 p.m. on March 19, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued an Order regarding the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses in the Commonwealth. A list of industry classifications as to what the Commonwealth considers to be life sustaining and non-life-sustaining is available here.

Life sustaining businesses may remain open, but they must follow, at a minimum, the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control to protect workers and patrons. Enforcement actions will be taken against non-life-sustaining businesses that are not in compliance with the Order, beginning March 21, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.

As of early this afternoon, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has made available a waiver form for businesses that may not fall within one of the life sustaining categories, yet they supply or provide services to healthcare providers.

Prior to the waiver form becoming available, business owners were instructed to apply for waivers by sending an e-mail to: RA-dcexemption@pa.gov.

Business owners can also direct questions about whether they need to close by emailing ra-dcedcs@pa.gov or by calling the PA Department of Health (1-877-PA-HEALTH and select option 1).

We encourage our clients and members of the business community to share this information with others who may be affected by Governor Wolf’s March 19, 2020 Order and, if they believe they qualify for a waiver, to submit the waiver form by the closure deadline set forth in the Order.

Montgomery McCracken attorneys are available and have been assisting clients that are working to this issue and others related to COVID-19. Montgomery McCracken’s COVID-19 Resource Center is available here.