COVID-19 Updates: Emergency Order On Truck Weights Expires July 6

Date: June 09, 2021

The state Transportation Department has announced that the pandemic-related increase in the allowed weight of five- and six-axle vehicles will expire on July 6. 

Public health order ends

Gov. Kay Ivey said on Monday, May 3, that Alabama’s COVID-19 public health order will end on May 31 and that the state of emergency will end Tuesday, July 6.

The current Safer Apart order consists primarily of recommendations aligned with CDC guidance. However, specific guidance applies to two groups. Senior Citizen Centers must continue to follow guidelines issued by the Alabama Department of Senior Services. Hospitals and nursing homes must follow current guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with respect to visitation. Barring a great spike in COVID-19 cases, these last remaining requirements should be lifted with the expiration of this order on May 31.

Click here to learn more.

Governor Extends Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccinations

Gov. Kay Ivey has announced that beginning Feb. 8, the Alabama Department of Public Health will extend eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations to include people 65 or older and additional frontline workers. 

The expanded list includes:

  • First responders
  • Corrections officers
  • Food and agriculture workers
  • S. Postal Service workers
  • Manufacturing workers
  • Grocery store workers
  • Public transit workers
  • People who work in the education sector (teachers, support staff, community college and higher education)
  • Childcare workers
  • Judiciary (including but not limited to) circuit judges, district judges and district attorneys

The additional priority groups will add over 1 million people that are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in Alabama. While just under 2 million people will qualify to receive the vaccine, the state continues to only receive around 100,000 doses each week.

Click here to learn more. 

CARES Act guidance

The state Insurance Department has issued guidance CARES Act benefits for employer and individual income taxpayers. Click here to learn more. 

Governor announces Revive Plus

Governor Ivey has announced Revive Plus, a $200 million grant program to support small businesses, non-profits and faith-based organizations in Alabama that have been impacted by COVID-19. Revive Plus is the second wave of funding for these organizations with 50 or fewer employees and will award grants of up to $20,000 for expenses they have incurred due to operational interruptions caused by the pandemic and related business closures.

Entities may access grant information and the grant application through the Coronavirus Relief Fund website. The application period for the Revive Plus Grant Program will open at noon, Nov. 23, and run through noon on Friday, Dec. 4.

Click here to learn more.

Where to report PPP loan fraud

The Alabama Department of Labor has set up a website where small business owners can report suspected incidents of fraud. 

Specifically, the site is for employers to report workers who are receiving unemployment benefits while also being compensated with funds from federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Click here to visit the website, labor.alabama.gov/fraud/pppfraud.

Masks now mandatory in public

On Wednesday, July 15, Gov. Kay Ivey signed an executive ordering requiring people to wear masks in public if they’re unable to stay at least 6 feet away from someone who lives in a different household.

The order will go into effect at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, is set to expire on July 31.

Under the order, businesses will be required to take “reasonable steps, where practicable,” to encourage customers and employees to wear masks. The governor’s office said employers will not be required to deny entry to people who do not want to wear a mask, but “they always retain the right to do so.”

Click here to read a FAQ about Alabama’s mask order.

Free posters

The Alabama Department of Public Health is offering a number of free posters that employers can download to remind employees and customers about public health guidelines related to the coronavirus. Get them here.

Additional $600 COVID-19 unemployment benefit expires soon

The Alabama Department of Labor said on July 13 that the $600-a-week federal unemployment benefit including in the CARES Act to help workers displaced by the pandemic will expire on July 25.

Labor Department officials warned that states do not have the ability to extend the benefit. However, if a claimant is eligible for retroactive benefits on their claim, they will receive the additional $600 FPUC payment for eligible weeks between March 29 and July 25, even if the claim is processed after July 25.

The state Labor Department offers no-cost services to help people finding a new job. Visit alabamaworks.alabama.gov for more information.

Grants to help small businesses recover

Gov. Kay Ivey has announced a $100 million grant program to help employers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Revive Alabama will reimburse small businesses for expenses incurred because of operational disruptions caused by the coronavirus and related business closures.

The application period for the Revive Alabama Small Business Grant Program will open at noon on July 16 and run through midnight on July 25.

Click here for details.

Ivey extends Safer at Home order

Gov. Kay Ivey has extended the state’s Safer at Home order through July 31. The order was set to expire on Friday, July 3. 

The order requires entertainment venues, gyms, childcare facilities, and close-contact service providers such as salons and barbershops to follow social distancing guidelines and, in most cases, wear masks. It also limits capacity inside restaurants and retail stores. Click here to read the governor’s latest order.

New rules for entertainment venues, sports

On Thursday, May 21, Governor Ivey issued an amended statewide Safer at Home Order. The order, which includes an expanded list of items to reopen will be effective from 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22, to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 3.

The amended orders includes new rules for entertainment venues, sports, schools, child care and summer camps. Click here to learn more.

Proclamation for liability protections 

Governor Ivey issued two supplemental state of emergency proclamations on Friday, May 8. One allows for probate judges to improve procedures for administering the July 14 primary runoff election. The other provides safe harbor to health care providers, businesses, and other entities to encourage the reopening of our state.

The second order protects healthcare providers from a frivolous lawsuit based on actions they took or failed to take as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also protects businesses from frivolous lawsuits when they conduct COVID-19 testing or distribute personal protective equipment to help protect people from COVID-19. 

Click here to read the order affecting small businesses.

 
Governor revises ‘safer at home’ order

Governor Ivey issued a revised “safer at home” order. The order is set to run from April 30 to May 15. Under the previous order, essential businesses could open subject to 50% capacity, social distancing and sanitation rules. Under the order issued going into effect on April 30, all retail stores will be allowed to open subject to the same limitations intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Certain “higher-risk businesses and activities” will remain closed. Learn more here.  

COVID-19 business task force issues report

The Alabama Small Business Commission Emergency Task Force and the Subcommittee to Reopen the Economy has released Phase One of its “Reopen Alabama” report. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth announced the task force on April 9. Ainsworth said, “The purpose of this subcommittee is to provide a roadmap to reopening the economy that balances the public’s health and safety with the need for small business owners and employees to resume operations.” Subcommittee members include NFIB State Director Rosemary Elebash.

Sample letter for ‘essential’ workers

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has created a draft letter that employers can adapt and give to “essential” workers in case they’re stopped by law enforcement. The letter says the employee “should be exempt and/or excluded from state and/or local travel restrictions and/or stay-at-home orders.Read the sample letter here.  

Statewide stay-at-home order

Governor Ivey has issued an executive order for Alabama residents to stay at home except for “essential activities” beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 4. The order will remain in effect until 5 p.m. on April 30. Exceptions to the stay-at-home order include going to work, getting supplies, attending church, visiting the doctor, and exercising outside. Read the governor’s executive order here.

State government information for small businesses

State officials are posting the latest local, state, and federal coronavirus-related information for small business owners at the Atlas Alabama website

Ivey to small businesses: Start preparing to apply for stimulus dollars

Gov. Kay Ivey is urging Alabama’s small business owners to start preparing now to apply for federal coronavirus relief. “Today, you need to contact your local banker, accountant, financial advisor or credit union to get the latest details about who is eligible, what documents are needed and how best to apply for funding relief caused by COVID-19,” the governor says. Read the governor’s letter to small business owners.

Latest information from state government

Governor Ivey has announced a special state website with the latest updates and information from state agencies. Click here.

Beware of scams

The Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) says it expects to see a surge of fraudulent investment schemes in the coming weeks pegged to the COVID-19 outbreak. “Scammers will begin perpetrating schemes that require little or no advance planning and minimal sophistication,” ASC Director Joseph P. Borg says. “Most will simply be old scams dressed in contemporary clothing.” Click here to learn more.

Labor Department urges workers to seek benefits under CARES Act

The state Department of Labor is encouraging employees who believe they may qualify for programs under the $2 trillion federal coronavirus relief package known as the CARES Act to file a claim. These employees will also need to certify weekly to continue to let us know that they remain unemployed. Details here.

New restrictions on ‘non-essential’ businesses, public gatherings

State health officials have announced new restrictions on public gatherings and “non-essential” businesses, effective Saturday, March 28. The order says non-essential businesses include bowling alleys, concert venues, hair salons, and department stores. Click here to learn more and see a full list of affected businesses.

Governor updates state of emergency proclamation

Gov. Kay Ivey on March 27 issued a supplemental state of emergency proclamation that, among other things, lets agencies change rules concerning electronic records. Read the proclamation here.

State income tax deadline extended

On Monday, March 23, Gov. Kay Ivey announced that the state income tax filing due date is extended from April 15 to July 15, 2020. Read her statement here.

Disaster Assistance

The U.S. Small Business Administration said on Saturday, March 21, that the State of Alabama has been approved for disaster assistance. Details here.

Ivey Updates Health Order

Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday, March 20, issued an update to her previous statewide health order prohibited non-work related gatherings of 25 or more or any non-work related gatherings where participants cannot maintain a consistent six-foot distance from other people. In a statement, the governor’s office said, “Employers shall take all reasonable steps to meet these standards for employees and customers.” Read more about it here.

Charges waived on partial unemployment claims 

Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington has temporarily ordered that relief be offered to employers whose employees must file unemployment compensation claims for weeks filed due to COVID-19 related issues. All charges will be waived against those employers who file partial unemployment compensation claims on behalf of their employees. 

Tax relief for lodging industry

On Friday, March 20, the state Department of Revenue said it will offer relief to state lodgings tax account holders who are unable to timely pay their February, March, and April 2020 state transient occupancy tax, also known as the lodgings tax. Late payment penalties will be waived through June 1, 2020. Details here.

Liability protection for businesses

Sen. Arthur Orr (Decatur) plans to introduce a bill that would protect give businesses immunity from liability from people who claim they caught the coronavirus on the business’s property.

The immunity would be retroactive to March 1 and would not apply to businesses that operated outside emergency restrictions.

Lawmakers are currently on a previously-scheduled spring break but are expected to return to Montgomery next week.

Career Centers closed

All 51 of the Alabama Department of Labor’s Career Centers are closed until further notice to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

National

All resources, webinars, news releases, and lobbying activities can be found on this landing page. On it, you will find such information as:

  • NFIB Legal Foundation and NFIB Research Center webinar, How Small Business, Workers, and Workplaces Should Respond to Covid-19. Click here to listen to the 42-minute presentation

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