Governor Murphy Issues Critical Executive Order Requiring COVID-19 Protective Measures by All Employers

October 30th, 2020 | News

On October 28, 2020, Governor Philip Murphy issued Executive Order No. 192. The Order requires every business, non-profit (condominium associations are non-profits), and governmental or educational entity “that requires or permits its workforce, in part or as a whole, to be physical present at a worksite to perform work,” to comply with numerous requirements “to protect employees, customers, and all others who come into contact with its operation,” from COVID-19. The Order goes into effect at 6:00 a.m. on November 5, 2020.

As summarized verbatim by the State of New Jersey’s official COVID-19 Information Hub, the minimum measures that employers must take include:

• “Require workers and customers to maintain at least six feet of distance from one another, to the maximum extent possible;
• Require everyone to wear face masks, except when an employee is at their workstation at least six feet from others, or is alone in a walled space such as an office – Note: employers may be authorized to prevent individuals who refuse to wear a mask from entering the worksite, where such actions are consistent with state and federal law;
• Provide face masks for their employees;
• Provide approved sanitization materials for employees and visitors at no cost to those individuals;
• Ensure that employees practice hand hygiene and provide employees with sufficient break time for that purpose;
• Routinely clean and disinfect all high-touch areas in accordance with DOH and CDC guidelines;
• Prior to each shift, conduct daily health checks, such as temperature screenings, visual symptom checking, self-assessment checklists, and/or health questionnaires, consistent with CDC guidance;
• Do not allow sick employees to enter workplace and follow requirements of applicable leave laws; and
• Promptly notify employees of any known exposure to COVID-19 at the worksite.”

The full Executive Order 192 can be viewed at: https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-192.pdf

Please contact me if you have any questions, via email to EFrizzell@LawNJ.com or by phone to 201-612-5200, Ext. 10.