Dept. of Labor Standards assists boards of health with enforcement

Offers guidance to municipalities about limits on their allowed activities during non-essential business closure

The Baker-Polito administration has tasked the Department of Labor Standards with being the enforcement authority for its Emergency Orders for business closures.

The Department of Labor Standards reports that it is issuing cease and desist orders on behalf of the Department of Public Health and to assist local boards of health, which are overwhelmed with quarantine follow-up.

Thus far, all cease and desist orders have been for private businesses, but municipalities also conduct business that could fall under the Emergency Orders. The department is sharing guidance to reduce the need for a cease and desist order to be issued to a municipality.

K-12 schools and municipal buildings may remain open. The employer is required to implement measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission for employees performing these tasks.
Examples include:
• Functions to facilitate distance learning
• Food services
• Facility maintenance operations to verify integrity of building (i.e., security walkthrough, check heating/plumbing function, pest control)
• Emergency repair of plumbing, roofing, heating problems
• Field maintenance when the specific activity is critical for the survival of the field
• School construction projects and public works construction projects that were in progress by a contractor

Facilities/activities that must be closed include the following:
• Custodial and facility maintenance tasks that are not directly related to the community’s COVID response
• Summer/vacation cleaning projects
• Furniture re-arranging projects that were on a “wish list”
• Landscape and field maintenance not directly required for the continuity of building function
• Golf courses
• School sports and captain’s practices

• Link to List of Essential Services as updated on March 31