In times of great need, Florida Chamber members lead. I continue to be in awe at the tremendous sacrifices you’re making, while also rising up to meet the health and safety needs of Floridians ( check out what Florida Chamber members are doing to help out ).  

Florida now has 763 confirmed cases, 12 deaths and we have cases in 40 of our 67 counties. See the map here.

“Essential workers” has been one of the hottest topics you’ve been calling me and the Chamber team about lately. Essential workers, also known as critical workforce, means such things as ensuring foods are harvested, transported to grocery stores and available for Floridians. As other states such as California, Illinois and New York are transitioning to a “shelter in place” scenario, the Florida Chamber has shared with Governor DeSantis’ office a national standard I shared with you in yesterday’s daily email. The Department of Homeland Security has built a list of critical workers and we have shared it with the Governor’s team, and as chair of the National Association of State Chambers, we are leading a charge to push national standards, as opposed to a patchwork of state, county and city approaches.

There’s tremendous national interest in Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s Keeping Workers Paid and Employed Act to help prevent businesses from going under and workers from losing their jobs. You can see here just how many businesses in your county could likely qualify. (We’re pushing for the ceiling to be more than 500 employees, so we’ll update this if the legislation changes to include them.) Know that this is a Florida Chamber top priority and I spoke directly to Senator Rubio to offer the Chamber’s input.

This daily message is filled with resources, news and information to help Florida Chamber members navigate this unprecedented time. Please share it with others and ask them to sign-up for their personal copy.

Together, we’ll get through this and we’ll be a more secure Florida when we emerge on the other side.

My Best,

Mark Wilson
President and CEO