Forced Shutdown of Businesses in Michigan By Executive Order
***Information and guidance in client updates was up to date at time of publication. During the pandemic, information and guidance has been changing rapidly. If you have any questions about the information contained in a client update, please contact the author(s) or your Miller Johnson attorney.***
At 11:00 a.m. this morning Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a shelter in place order for the state of Michigan that is effective on March 24, 2020 at 12:01 am and continues through April 13, 2020 at 11:59 pm. In some ways, Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order is similar to the executive orders issued in Illinois, Ohio, California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In other ways, it is quite different.
Miller Johnson clients have been affected by the executive orders in those other states, and Miller Johnson has already assisted those clients with how to evaluate whether they can continue to operate their businesses and, if so, what steps they need to take to do so. Like the other executive orders, essential businesses are excepted under Michigan’s Executive Order. Essential businesses include businesses that employ certain workers falling within the sectors described by the Department of Homeland Security as “critical infrastructure” sectors, and designated suppliers of those entities. Examples of critical infrastructure sectors include Healthcare and Public Health; Critical Manufacturing; Food and Agriculture; Transportation Systems; Defense Industrial Base; Chemical; Communications; Emergency Services; Energy; Financial Services; Government Facilities; Information Technology; Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Water and Wastewater Systems; and Dams.
We’ve been working on these issues since the issuance of the first Executive Order in relation to Coronavirus. Our team is on top of these issues and we can efficiently, effectively and promptly (1) analyze whether your business is an essential business or otherwise exempt from the order and may continue to operate, and (2) provide you with the necessary documents to continue to operate if you are an essential business or otherwise exempt from the order.
Please contact your Miller Johnson attorney to answer your most pressing issues.