On April 24, 2020, Michigan Governor Whitmer issued an Executive Order extending her April 3, 2020 Stay Home, Stay Safe Order through May 15, 2020, while providing rules for certain businesses permitted to resume operations. The Order also permits Michigan residents to leave their home or place of residence for boating, golfing, as well as other recreational activities. Other than the face covering requirements outlined below, which go into effect on April 27, 2020, the remainder of the Order takes effect immediately.

While most of the prior operational and safety requirements set forth in Governor Whitmer’s first extension of the Stay Home, Stay Safe Order remain in effect, in easing some of the prior restrictions, the Order includes new mandates and obligates citizens to wear masks in enclosed public spaces. The following are critical takeaways for employers:

The Order establishes rules for businesses that employ workers permitted to perform “resumed activities.”

Workers permitted to perform resumed activities are those who:

• Process or fulfill remote orders for goods for delivery or curbside pick-up. Only stores that sell groceries, medical supplies and products necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, basic operation of residences or motor vehicles (including convenience stores, pet supply stores, auto supplies and repair stores, hardware and home maintenance stores and home appliance retailers), however, may remain open to the public;
• Perform bicycle maintenance or repair;
• Are employed in garden stores, nurseries, and lawn care, pest control, and landscaping operations, subject to the enhanced social-distancing rules described below;
• Are maintenance workers and groundskeepers who are necessary to maintain the safety and sanitation of places of outdoor recreation not otherwise closed pursuant to another Executive Order, provided that the places and their workers do not provide goods, equipment, supplies, or services to individuals, and subject to the enhanced social distancing rules described below; and
• Work for moving or storage operations, subject to the enhanced social distancing rules described below.

Such businesses must designate workers permitted to perform resumed activities.

Businesses that employ workers permitted to perform resumed activities are required to comply with the social distancing requirements set forth in Governor Whitmer’s April 9, 2020 Executive Order.

Additionally, workers for garden stores, nurseries, and lawn care, pest control, and landscaping operations, as well as maintenance workers, groundskeepers, and workers for moving or storage operations as described above must also take the following social distancing measures:

• Prevent gatherings of any size in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another;
• Limit in-person interaction with clients and patrons to the maximum extent possible, and prevent any such interaction in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another;
• Provide personal protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, face shields, and face masks as appropriate for the activity being performed; and
• Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment to the maximum extent possible and ensure frequent and thorough cleaning of tools, equipment, and frequently touched surfaces.

Starting on April 27, 2020, an individual capable of medically tolerating a face covering over his or her nose and mouth is required to do so when in any enclosed public space.

• All businesses and operations whose workers perform in-person work must, at a minimum, provide non-medical grade face coverings to their workers.
• Examples of non-medical face coverings include homemade masks, scarves, bandanas, or handkerchiefs.
• Supplies of N95 and surgical masks should be reserved for health care professionals, first responders, and other critical workers who interact with the public.
• The Order extends the anti-discrimination protections set forth in Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2101, and any other protections against discrimination under Michigan law to persons who wear a mask under the Order.

Other than extending anti-discrimination protections to those who wear a mask under this Order, enforcement plans remain unchanged.

As with Governor Whitmer’s original Stay Home, Stay Safe Order and the first extension of that Order, this Order states that any willful violation of the Order is a misdemeanor offense pursuant to the Emergency Powers of Governor, MCL 10.33 and Emergency Management Act, MCL 30.405.