Today, Gov. Bill Lee issued the first steps from the “Tennessee Pledge,” the state’s rollout of guidance and best practices for Tennessee businesses in 89 of the state’s 95 counties to keep employees and customers safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first industries to receive guidance through the plan include the restaurant and retail industries.
Lee underscored the Tennessee Pledge plan for safe economic recovery is supported by data showing Tennessee’s curve of novel coronavirus infections hitting a plateau. Lee also pointed to the unsettling economic reality COVID-19 has created in our state.
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OSHA revised its guidance on whether employers are required to record cases of COVID-19 in their Form 300 Logs for reporting occupational injuries and illnesses.
Until further notice, OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to require these employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, except where: (1) There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and (2) The evidence was reasonably available to the employer.
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Beginning Monday, April 13, 2020, the Memphis & Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement will begin offering Remote Video Inspections (RVI). Previously, in-the-home inspections were suspended in response to the concerns regarding COVID-19. Beginning today, inspections for occupied single family residences will resume, but will now be conducted remotely by video only.
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According to columnist, Logan Mohtashami, of housingwire.com, there are five signs that will indicate that the housing marketing is on the rebound:
1. Flattened Curve
2. End of Stay-at-Home Orders
3. 10-Year Yield Goes Above 1%
4. Decline in Credit Stress and Jobless Claims
5. Data from the hardest-hit sectors starts to trend upward
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In recent weeks, Congress has adopted three bills aimed at stabilizing the economy, with more to come. The most notable of these was the $2.2 stimulus package (the CARES Act) that President Trump signed into law on March 27. This law contains a nearly $350 billion federal small business loan protection program called the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that will provide significant loan forgiveness for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees if employers meet certain criteria.
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