How Businesses Can Comply with COVID-19 Executive Orders

By the end of March 2021, more than 1.7 million doses of vaccine had been administered in Connecticut. Governor Ned Lamont, encouraged by the progress of the vaccine, has recently taken action to relax some of the restrictions that have been imposed on businesses during this long pandemic.

Lamont announced in March a plan to ease capacity and travel restrictions. As of March 19, all capacity limits were lifted for the following types of businesses:

• Restaurants (8-person table capacity and 11 p.m. closing time for dining rooms continues)
• Retail
• Libraries
• Personal services
• Indoor recreation (except theaters, which remain limited to 50 percent capacity)
• Gyms and fitness centers
• Museums, aquariums and zoos
• Offices
• Houses of worship

Also as of March 19, commercial venues may host social and recreational gatherings with a maximum of 100 occupants for indoor events and 200 for outdoor events.

As of April 2, restrictions on the following venues were also relaxed:

• Outdoor amusement parks are allowed to open.
• Outdoor event venues are increased to a 50 percent capacity limit, capped at 10,000 people.
• Indoor stadiums are allowed to open at 10 percent capacity.
• Summer camps and summer festivals were advised to begin the planning stages to open for the upcoming season.

These are obviously welcome developments for Connecticut business owners. But even as things reopen, it is crucial for employers to continue to comply with the health and safety protocols that have been in effect for the past year. These protocols include:

• Allowing employees to work from home if possible
• Requiring customers and employees to wear face coverings and practice social distancing
• Continuing to follow all state and federal guidelines and best practices regarding employee sick leave and family leave
• Avoiding taking adverse employment actions (firing, demotion) against employees who miss work for COVID-19-related reasons

If you are a business owner and have questions about how to comply with the ever-evolving COVID-19 rules, you can find information on Connecticut’s COVID-19 response website.

The lawyers at Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. are available to advise business owners as Connecticut on all matters related to compliance with COVID-19 executive orders. You can call us at 203-745-0942 or contact us online to arrange a consultation at our offices in Hamden, East Haven, or we can join you in a virtual meeting.