Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

As detailed in our previous alert, Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently committed to begin the gradual process of reopening businesses in Texas. On April 17, 2020, Governor Abbott issued two Executive Orders that relate to the strategic reopening of select services as the first step to open Texas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact on Retail Employers

Executive Order GA 16 (“E.O. GA-16”) allows businesses that provide retail services that are not “essential services" to reopen, albeit with restrictions. Specifically, E.O. GA-16 establishes a “retail to-go” model that will allow such  businesses to reopen starting April 24, 2020, provided the reopened establishments deliver the items to customer’s vehicle, home or other location. Notably, Texas employers who reopen operations to provide retail to-go services are required to be in strict compliance with the terms required by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

We previously wrote about the San Diego County face-covering mandate. On April 7, 2020, the City of Los Angeles joined San Diego County and issued an Order (the “Order”) that requires certain workers to wear cloth face coverings. Notably, the Order is more expansive than San Diego County’s face-covering mandate because it covers workers in more occupations, applies to customers and visitors of certain businesses, provides face-covering maintenance requirements, and requires certain employers to furnish face coverings and other sanitary products.

The California Public Health Department issued Guidance recommending that all Californians wear cloth face coverings when in public for essential activities.  San Diego County took that guidance one step further, however, and issued an addendum to its public health order, requiring that certain employees wear cloth face coverings.  The San Diego order also requires covered businesses to follow new posting guidelines, and recommends that all San Diegans heed California’s Statewide Face Coverings Guidance.

COVID-19 presents an array of new challenges and an abundance of uncertainty for employers. Notable among them, is the possibility that communities and states will begin to issue mandatory business closures and shelter in place orders. Interpreting and complying with these orders raises a host of issues for employers to consider.