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Businesses Can Apply For a Waiver to Reopen Their Physical Operations in Pennsylvania

Written by: Natalie Klyashtorny


Although Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closing of the physical operations of non-life sustaining businesses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, his administration will continue considering waiver requests.

The primary questions the business must answer in the application are:

  1. How does the business meet the definition of “life-sustaining”?
  2. Does the business have a plan to meet CDC-recommended guidelines to maintain employee safety during the Covid-19 pandemic?

In answering the first question above, please keep in mind that Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word ‘life-sustaining’ as “helping someone or something to stay alive; supporting or extending life”.

Based upon this definition, there are many businesses which the Commonwealth has not classified as life-sustaining which should fall into that category.

In answering the second question above, the business must specify how it will comply with such guidelines recommended by the CDC to maintain employee safety.

All applications requesting such a waiver will be reviewed by a team of professionals at the Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development and responses will be based upon balancing public safety with the ability to continue delivering critical infrastructure services and functions.

A business requesting a waiver will be notified by e-mail if it can resume physical operations.  Until and unless such an application is approved, however, the business’s physical operations must remain closed.

For assistance in completing the application, please feel free to contact us at contact@nochumson.com and an attorney at Nochumson P.C. will immediately reach out to you to schedule a free consultation.