At 1 pm today, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order (#20-91, attached) which is a 30-day “Safer at Home” order EO 20-91. The order will become effective after midnight Thursday, at 12:01 am on April 3, 2020.
FloridaWest has been monitoring local, state and federal COVID-19 emergency responses and executive orders, to specifically understand how they will support or impact our local business and industry. In anticipation of additional governmental recommendation to “stay at home,” FloridaWest, along with the Florida Chamber of Commerce have been advocating for the use of the adoption of the “Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response” ( https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce). FloridaWest would like to thank Governor DeSantis for including that definition in his executive order. We encourage all of our local employers to read the executive order, its attachments, and the CISA documents to determine if your business and your employees meet the definition of “Essential Services”.
If you have questions about your business being an essential service or would like to request for your business to be added to the approved list of essential services outlined in Executive Order Number 20-91, you may ask questions through the Division of Emergency Management portal.
We are also encouraging businesses to draft a letter on company letterhead for their employees, indicating that they are performing an essential service. Here is a sample letter: Essential Employee Letter (Covid-19)
Companies in need of assistance are encouraged to reach out to the team at FloridaWest.