By: Robin E. Largent Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP © 2020
Citing concerns about COVID cases being on the rise in California, today Governor Newsom announced a number of businesses that are being required to close again, effective immediately. Statewide, the following businesses are required to close indoor operations:
- Dine-in restaurants
- Wineries and tasting rooms
- Movie theaters
- Family entertainment centers (for example: bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages and arcades)
- Zoos and museums
- Cardrooms
Additionally, bars, brewpubs, breweries, and pubs must close all operations, both indoor and outdoor, statewide.
On top of these statewide closures, there are additional closures of indoor facilities in 31 different counties for the following services/activities:
- Fitness centers and gyms
- Worship services
- Protests
- Offices for non-essential sectors
- Personal care services, like nail salons, body waxing and tattoo parlors
- Hair salons and barbershops
- Malls
Here are the counties affected by these additional closures (additional counties may be added to the list in the coming days):
- Colusa
- Contra Costa
- Fresno
- Glenn
- Imperial
- Kings
- Los Angeles
- Madera
- Marin
- Merced
- Monterey
- Napa
- Orange
- Placer
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Benito
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Joaquin
- Santa Barbara
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Stanislaus
- Sutter
- Tulare
- Yolo
- Yuba
- Ventura
There is no end date specified for today’s new closures. This is very unfortunate news for California businesses, many of which have already been hit hard by the first round of closures. Today’s Order is available here https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/. Affected employers will need to re-evaluate which operations they need to close and which employees can still be permitted to report to work. The importance of ensuring that safety protocols are in place and are followed at worksites that remain open cannot be understated. The same is true of the need for employers to comply with all applicable paid leave laws and to avoid retaliation against employees who raise good faith safety-related concerns. The flood gates have opened on the COVID-19-related lawsuits already and they are expected to keep coming.
CalWorkSafety & HR, LLC is here to help you evaluate and respond to these orders as they apply to your operations. Call your consultant or Don Dressler at 949-533-3742