Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington issue stay-at-home orders.
3/24/2020 11:00
ACA International continues to monitor state and city updates and remains available as a resource for members during this difficult time of fast-moving and often ambiguous regulatory change. In addition, our team has maintained regular direct and indirect communications with state and federal regulators to receive up-to-the-minute guidance on industry-relevant orders and emergency regulations, which we have been and will continue to parse and report on at regular intervals.
Here are the latest updates:
Arizona
On March 23, Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order clarifying which businesses and operations would be deemed "essential" in the event that a shelter-in-place mandate were to be issued. Gov. Ducey called the order "a proactive and administrative measure that ensures the state has one consistent, overarching policy that is based on CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and public health guidance."
Under the order, "essential businesses and operations" include affiliates of financial institutions and related financial institutions.
At this time, Arizona has not imposed a statewide shelter-in-place order and has no plans to do so. Rather, the state has left shelter-in-place guidance to municipalities, which have been directed to coordinate with the state for consistency when imposing local shelter-in-place orders.
Hawaii
Effective March 25 through April 30, everyone in the state of Hawaii is required to stay at home or in their place of residence based on an order from Gov. David Ige.
Under the proclamation, individuals may leave their home or place of residence only for essential activities, to engage in essential businesses and operations, and only if their work cannot be conducted through remote technology from home.
All businesses or operations not identified as federal critical infrastructure sectors at https://www.cisa.gov/identifyingcritical-infrastructure-during-covid-19 must cease.
New Mexico
An order issued by Secretary of Health Kathy Kunkel and effective March 24 closes all non-essential businesses, requiring 100 percent of the state’s non-essential workforce to work from home. Agencies in the ARM industry are not considered an essential business under the order.
Oregon
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order with stay-at-home-requirements and for certain business closures. Businesses should facilitate temporary work from home or telework programs to the extent possible. The order is in effect until terminated by the governor. There is a temporary work from home authorization in place from the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation. Collection agencies do not appear to fall into the list of businesses expressly requiring shut down and collection agencies must also facilitate telework and work at home by employees to the max extent possible; in-office work is prohibited where telework or work at home options are available.
West Virginia
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice issued a stay-at-home order and guidance on essential and non-essential businesses. The order exempts "professional debt collectors" from the shut-down requirements, expressly identifying the trade as an Essential Business and Operations. Under the order, Essential Businesses and Operations may remain open, and individuals may leave their residence to provide any services or to perform any work necessary to offer, provision, supply, operate, maintain, or repair Essential Businesses and Operations.
Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order issued March 24 and in effect through April 6 states essential businesses are prohibited from operating under this proclamation unless they establish and implement social distancing and sanitation measures established by the United States Department of Labor’s Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf and the Washington State Department of Health Workplace and Employer Resources & Recommendations at https://www.doh.wa.gov/Coronavirus/workplace
Wisconsin
Both the statewide and Milwaukee Safer at Home Orders include licensed financial service providers in the list of essential businesses. Agencies licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions should be considered essential business under both orders, however agencies are encouraged to seek their own legal clarification and to use their best judgment when operating under this order.
For more information on how the ACA Licensing staff can assist with your licensing needs, please contact us at [email protected] or call (952) 926-6547.