Today, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-20 requiring all Minnesotans to stay at home other than for specified, limited activities. The order goes into effect this Friday, March 27, at 11:59 p.m.

Activities Exempted from the order include:

• Health and safety activities
• Outdoor Activities (e.g., hiking, biking, fishing)
• Obtaining necessary supplies and services, such as groceries, gasoline, laundry
• Caring for others

The Governor’s Executive Order further exempts workers engaged in specified “Critical Sectors” who perform work that cannot otherwise be done at home. The initial list, subject to clarification by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (or DEED), includes:

• Healthcare
• Law Enforcement
• Food and Agriculture
• Transportation and Logistics
• Communications and Information Technology
• Critical Manufacturing (limited to manufacturing work listed in CISA guidelines)
• Financial Services
• Educators and child care (though the previous Executive Order on schools closings, remains in effect.
• Construction/Skilled Trades
• Hotels/Shelters

Applicable to all the exemptions, people must still observe recommended public health guidelines, such as “social distancing.” Again, to the extent workers in these exempt fields can perform their work at home, they are required to do so. As it stands now, the Order remains in effect through Friday, April 10, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

To read the full Executive Order, click here.

Questions? Contact attorney James Sherman in our Minneapolis Office at jasherman@wesselssherman.com or (952) 746-1700.