On April 17th, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7BB.  As a result of this Order, the Rules for a Safe Workplace have been updated, adding new requirements both for employees and employers regarding the wearing of face masks or coverings.

Among the provisions of this Executive Order, the Governor is now requiring that anyone in public who is not able to maintain proper social distance (6 feet distance) shall wear a cloth face covering of some kind.  As stated in the Executive Order:

Effective at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2020, any person in a public place in Connecticut who is unable to or does not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person shall cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face-covering.

Reflective of this Order, this rule regarding cloth coverings has been added to the Safe Workplace Rules:

Each employee shall be required to wear a mask or other cloth material that covers his or her mouth and nose at all times while in the workplace. Employers shall issue such masks or cloth face coverings to their employees. In the event an employer is unable to provide masks or cloth face coverings to employees because of shortages or supply chain difficulties, employers must provide the materials and CDC tutorial about how to create a cloth face covering, or compensate employees for the reasonable and necessary costs employees expend on such materials to make their own masks or cloth face covering.

These rules are published by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.  The DECD website has several links with important information for Connecticut businesses.

CTPA members seeking to keep up on the State’s announcements regarding the coronavirus may also wish to visit the Safe Workplaces in Essential Businesses,  the COVID-19 – Helpful Links and the COVID-19 and Essential Businesses posts on the CTPA web site.

Keep safe and stay healthy!