The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association has been communicating directly with manufacturers across Illinois as the situation changes and will continue posting resources online at the IMA’s dedicated page
www.ima-net.org/covid-19/
.
The Illinois Department of Revenue released an informational bulletin with changes to estimated tax payments. The filing and payment deadline for income tax returns due on April 15 was extended until July 15, 2020. Please
click here
for guidance from IDOR about tax filing.
Yesterday, Governor JB Pritzker issued two new Executive Orders that extend the current “stay at home” order through Thursday, April 30. There is no change to the definition of essential manufacturing during this stay at home order extension, meaning that these facilities, distribution, and supply chains may continue to operate under the
Governor’s Executive Order 2020-18
. Essential manufacturing is defined as:
Manufacturing companies, distributors, and supply chain companies producing and supplying essential products and services in and for industries such as pharmaceutical, technology, biotechnology, healthcare, chemicals and sanitization, waste pickup and disposal, agriculture, food and beverage, transportation, energy, steel and steel products, petroleum and fuel, mining, construction, national defense, communications, as well as products used by other Essential Businesses and Operations.
Manufacturers will continue to self-determine if they fall under this guideline. It does not require a special designation or permit from the State of Illinois.
Daily COVID-19 Results
Governor JB Pritzker held his daily press conference and announced:
- There are 715 new cases of coronavirus in Illinois.
- There are a total of 157 deaths related to coronavirus in Illinois, including 16 today.
- A total of 7,695 cases have been confirmed in at least 56 of the 102 counties
- There have been 43,656 individuals tested in Illinois.
Press Conference Key Updates
New or critical items of note that were discussed today by the Governor and local leaders:
- The Governor introduced a new initiative to honor the people of Illinois called "All In Illinois". The "pledge" honors those who are staying inside to help slow the spread of COVID-19, especially among our essential employees. To learn more, go to allin.illinois.gov.
- Governor Pritzker also stated that the state has nearly exhausted what it can do through executive orders and existing powers; instead, the Governor said that it is now up to the citizens of Illinois to do what is right by practicing social distancing and staying at home.
- The Governor announced that two new alternative care facilities or field medical stations will be added at West Lake Hospital in Melrose Park and downstate. The three current locations are at McCormick Place Convention Center, MetroSouth Hospital in Blue Island and Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
Employer Resources & Programs
Tomorrow, April 3, lenders may begin processing loan applications for the new Paycheck Protection Program, established under CARES, that provides
$350 billion for small business loans administered by the Small Business Administration. These loans can provide as much as $10 million per business and those loan funds may be forgivable. To learn more,
click here
.
On Tuesday, April 7, from 9:00am to 11:30am CST, the IMA is partnering IMA member Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. for a webinar to discuss the new Department of Labor regulations regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and other best practices employers need to know now as they try to navigate through these challenging times.
Question & Answer Section
Earlier this week, the IMA partnered with the law firm Conn Maciel Carey for a webinar to discuss strategies for employers to prevent workplace exposures, including OSHA's guidance about preventing workers from exposure to COVID-19, and rules surrounding FMLA. The webinar, which can be
found here
, also led to a very informative
Q & A
that contains questions on employees with symptoms or exposure, such as:
Q. If a babysitter has symptoms can we have the employer require the babysitter stay at home?
A. If an employee comes in close contact with someone that is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, thenyou can require the employee to stay at home. However, we are not clear whether you can require the employee to instruct the babysitter to stay home, although that would be good practice on the part of the employee.
Q. What are your thoughts on requiring sick employees to obtain a return to work note from their physician? We had an employee call out with a fever, but they felt better in two days. We told them since fever is a COVID-19 symptom, they would need to get a physician's release. Since they were asymptomatic, they couldn't get an appointment. We didn't want to play doctor and assume they were not contagious and allow them back to work without a note, but they couldn't get a note.
A. You are required to ask for a doctor's note but as a practical matter, however, doctors and other health care professionals may be too busy during and immediately after a pandemic outbreak to provide fitness-for-duty documentation. Therefore, new approaches may be necessary, such as reliance on local clinics to provide a form, a stamp, or an e-mail to certify that an individual does not have the pandemic virus. You may want the employee to certify in writing that he or she has been fever free for 72 hours without fever reducing medicine.
Q. In terms of OSHA's Risk Pyramid, what is the definition of "ongoing community transmission”?
A. There is not a single, accepted definition for the term, or one specifically advanced by CDC or OSHA, but from the guidance we have seen, here is our best effort to define the term. First, it does NOT require a particular number of confirmed cases in the area; well, not a particular number larger than one. Rather, it focuses more to do with the method of transmission. Specifically, community transmission means infections within a population that are not imported from another virus-hit area. Put simply, for example, community transition in Chicago would mean a person who gets COVID-19 despite having not been to another affected outbreak area, e.g. New York, Seattle, Northern Italy, China, etc. In short, signals of ongoing community transmission may include detection of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with no epidemiologic link to travelers or known cases, or more than three generations of transmission.
Q. Can an employer take an employee's temperature when they show up for work every day?
A. Yes, you can, however, employers should be aware that some people with influenza, including the 2009 virus or COVID-19, do not have a fever. As with all medical information, the fact that an employee had a fever or other symptoms would be subject to ADA confidentiality requirements.
