Brown Sales affirms its status as an “Essential Business and Operation” prior to Governor Evers’ SaferAtHome Executive Order
This press release was updated on March 24, 2020.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has announced his intent to issue an executive order which closes all non-essential businesses in the state of Wisconsin effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020. While the details of Governor Evers’ executive order are yet to be revealed, we can reasonably expect Evers’ executive order to be similar in nature to Illinois Executive Order No. 8, which went into effect in our neighboring state of Illinois on March 21, 2020.
Section 1.12 of Illinois Executive Order No. 8 defines which businesses and operations are “essential” under the executive order. Section 1.12.t states that “[m]anufacturing companies, distributors, and supply chain companies producing and supplying essential products and services in and for industries such as pharmaceutical, technology, biotechnology, healthcare, chemicals and sanitization, waste pickup and disposal, agriculture, food and beverage, transportation, energy, steel and steel products, petroleum and fuel, mining, construction, national defense, communications, as well as products used by other Essential Businesses and Operations” are allowed to remain open even while the executive order is in effect.
Brown Sales reasonably anticipates that Governor Evers’ pending executive order will contain similar or identical language as Illinois Executive Order No. 8, Section 1.12.t. Accordingly, Brown Sales preemptively affirms its status as an “Essential Business and Operation.” We manufacture many essential products for the healthcare industry, among others. We also preemptively affirm our suppliers, as critical members of our supply chain, as “Essential Businesses and Operations.”
Updated March 24, 2020: The U.S Department of Homeland Security through its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a memorandum on March 19, 2020 which identifies “essential critical infrastructure workers during [America’s] COVID-19 response.” Affirmed in that memorandum are Critical Manufacturing Workers, who are described as “[w]orkers necessary for the manufacturing of materials and products needed for medical supply chains, and for supply chains associated with transportation, energy, communications, food and agriculture, chemical manufacturing, nuclear facilities, the operation of dams, water and wastewater treatment, emergency services, and the defense industrial base. Additionally, workers needed to maintain the continuity of these manufacturing functions and associated supply chains.” Accordingly, Brown Sales reaffirms our status, and the status of our suppliers, as “Essential Businesses and Operations.”
Brown Sales continues to practice our COVID-19 response plans. These practices will continue under Governor Evers’ executive order. These practices will continue to be evaluated and updated as appropriate on an ongoing basis as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.