Client Alert: Requests for Waivers/Exemptions to Business Closure

Yesterday, to slow the spread of COVID-19, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina issued a Joint Proclamation ordering the following through April 16, 2020:

• All county residents to shelter-at-home; and
• All non-essential businesses to cease operations and close their physical locations to the public.

The Mecklenburg County Proclamation carves out twenty-two business sectors – including health care and financial services – classifying them ‘essential’ and, therefore, exempting them from operational restrictions.

We expect other large counties throughout North Carolina to issue similar shelter-at-home proclamations in the coming days.

If you believe your business should be exempt from a shelter-at-home order, consider taking the following actions:

1. Email the Department of Public Safety at beoc@ncdps.gov, and provide the following information for consideration:
   • Business name
   • Point of contact, including:
     • Name
     • Email
     • Phone number
     • Address
   • Nature of your business, and why it is critical you continue normal business operations
   • Business website
2. Reach out to county commissioners and/or county managers in the counties in which you do business to alert them of your need to continue normal business operations, providing similar information and justification.

As additional ordinances are passed, we stand ready to assist you with informed guidance in these uncertain times. Should you have questions about how these orders will impact your company, or how best to seek a waiver from business closure if needed, please contact John Hardin, Will Morgan or your Manning Fulton relationship attorney.