Executive Order No. 122 (EO 122) expands on the previous Executive Orders issued by Governor Murphy which mandated certain social distancing and COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
To that end, EO 122 directs all non-essential construction to cease operation. While Executive Order No. 107 (2020) (EO 107) previously permitted businesses that require workers to be physically present at the work site, such as construction, to continue to operate, EO 122 seeks to strike a balance between those construction projects that are essential and those projects that do not need to proceed immediately and should be postponed in light of public health considerations. EO 122 includes several carve-outs for “essential construction projects” which can be reviewed in the EO itself at https://www.nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-122.pdf. If you would prefer an emailed copy of the EO with these carve outs highlighted, please contact us.
EO 122 also establishes new minimum mitigation requirements on any essential retail business that has been permitted to maintain in-person operations pursuant to EO 107. These new minimum requirements include, most significantly, limiting occupancy at “50% of the stated maximum store occupancy." The other requirements relate primarily to maintaining social distancing standards. These requirements can be reviewed in the EO at https://www.nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-122.pdf. If you would prefer an emailed copy of the EO with these requirements highlighted, please contact us.
Manufacturing businesses, warehousing businesses, and businesses engaged in essential construction must follow similar requirements.
In addition, EO 122 requires all essential retail businesses, warehousing businesses, manufacturing businesses, and businesses performing essential construction projects to adopt policies for dealing with workers who test positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms.
Finally, EO 122 provides that where a business is authorized to maintain in-person operations pursuant to EO 107, essential businesses must follow CDC recommended cleaning and disinfecting procedures for businesses to reduce potential spread of COVID-19 to staff and members of the public.
As with prior Executive Orders, the State Director of Emergency Management has the discretion to make additions, amendments, clarifications, exceptions, and exclusions to the terms of EO 122.
EO 122 became effective at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2020, and will remain in effect until revoked or modified by the Governor.
If you have any questions about any of the issues discussed in this Alert, please contact Stuart Lederman at slederman@riker.com, Mary Kay Roberts at mroberts@riker.com, James Lott at jlott@riker.com, Scott Collins at scollins@riker.com, Rudy Randazzo at rrandazzo@riker.com, or Diane Hickey at dhickey@riker.com.
