What employees are allowed to work on-site at community associations under Governor Murphy’s March 21, 2020 Executive Order No. 107?

March 22nd, 2020 | Community Association Law Blog, News

By Eric F. Frizzell, Esq.

You may have questions regarding which of your community association’s employees are permitted to work on-site under Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 107 issued on March 21, 2020.

Under the Order, to the extent that employees of your community association cannot perform their functions via telework or work-from-home arrangements, your community association may allow those employees to work on-site if they are “necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue.” (Emphasis added)

In considering whether an employee should be allowed to work on-site, you should ask whether their presence and work on-site is necessary to ensure that an essential operation of the association can continue.

In that light, the Order requires that an employer must “make its best efforts to reduce staff on site to the minimal number necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue.” (Paragraph 11 of Order, emphasis added).

Accordingly, if two employees can perform the work necessary to ensure that an essential operation continues, a third employee whose presence at the same time would be redundant – unnecessary – should not be allowed on-site at the same time. Rotating shifts of such employees is acceptable.

Under the Order, construction workers, utility workers, repair workers, information technology maintenance workers, janitorial and custodial staff and “certain administrative staff” are specific examples of employees who need to be physically present at their work site in order to perform their duties.

In our opinion, any community association employee who performs any of the following functions are allowed to work on-site under the Order because they are necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue:

– Security (physical security, preventing unauthorized entry into building, e.g., front desk, concierge)

– Janitorial and custodial (including solid waste and recycling disposal)

– Repair of and necessary maintenance to maintain operation of essential common building systems – heat, air-conditioning, ventilation, elevators, electrical, plumbing, common area lighting, etc .

– Operation of essential common building systems – heat, air-conditioning, ventilation, elevators, electrical, plumbing, common area lighting, etc. (e.g., boiler room/Black seal operator for buildings with central heating and air cooling).

– Property manager – to supervise all other employees and to perform any other work necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue.

– Management administrative staff – limited to the extent necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue.

If you have any question about whether any other category of employees or particular employee can work on site, please contact us.