Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s May 6 announcement of easing the State of Minnesota’s COVID-19 restrictions will affect residential and commercial construction companies.
Currently, the construction industry (both residential and commercial) are required to follow sector-specific COVID guidance. The sector-specific guidance for all industries, including construction, needs only to be followed through May 27, 2021, at 11:59 a.m.
What Is Changing
Effective midnight on May 28, 2021, all business and places of public accommodation are subject only to the more limited requirements in the COVID-19 Universal Guidance for All Businesses and Entities.
This new plan requires the following:
- Contract tracing is still required.
- Employees feeling ill or having tested positive for COVID-19 must stay home.
- Provide instruction, signage, facilities, and supplies to encourage regular hand washing and sanitizing.
- Establish and follow a regular cleaning schedule and use the EPA List N for products that meet the criteria for disinfectants.
- Maintain proper building ventilation.
These guidelines will be required until June 30, 2021, or until 70% of Minnesotans aged 16+ receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, whichever occurs first. Face coverings will continue to be required through this date as well.
Are masks required?
Masks are no longer required except in schools, child care settings, public transportation, at the request of the businesses or where local mandates still exist. The Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends that anyone who is not fully vaccinated continue to wear masks.
Other requirements.
According to Executive Order 21-21, businesses must develop and implement a COVID-19 preparedness plan. The senior management responsible for implementation must sign and certify the plan and affirm a commitment to proper implementation.
The plan must be provided in writing to all workers and be posted somewhere where it can be reviewed by onsite staff. An online copy of the plan can be made available if onsite posting is impossible or impractical.
Employees must be trained on how to follow their site’s COVID-19 preparedness plan. Supervision may be necessary to ensure the plan is being followed and implemented as directed.
For more information, visit https://staysafe.mn.gov.
