On Wednesday, April 15th, Governor Wolf and Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine announced a new order protecting essential workers from the spread of COVID-19. The order requires the use of masks by employees during work hours, staggered start and stop times, and other measures to minimize direct contact between workers. The order also contains cleaning procedures if exposure to COVID-19 occurs. Failure to comply may result in citations, fines, and license suspensions for businesses. The order goes into effect Sunday, 19 April at 8 p.m.
When the time is right to reopen the economy, I am proposing a Pennsylvania Workers’ Bill of Rights to further protect our workers. This Bill of Rights follows recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These rights would include but are not limited to:

• Paid sick leave for employees with COVID-19
• Telework or work from home for employees at a high-risk for COVID-19 exposure
• Office and operations cleanings under CDC standards
• The appointment of a COVID-19 coordinator for every business

Please follow me on social media for more updates on the Workers’ Bill of Rights.

The IRS announced on Saturday, 11 April, Americans started receiving their COVID-19 stimulus checks. Payment will be based on your 2018 or 2019 federal income tax returns. The IRS has an online portal for those who did not file in the past two years to submit payment information.

The IRS has launched a “Get My Payment” portal. This tool will allow people who filed returns in 2018 or 2019 to choose which payment type they want to receive, enter updated direct deposit information, and check the status of their payment. Please note that paper checks might arrive as late as August.

There are online projection tools available to track COVID-19 trends and help with preparing community response plans. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation COVID-19 projection tool estimates Pennsylvania will reach capacity to care for those with COVID-19 on 17 April.

Penn Medicine Predictive Healthcare has launched CHIME, a projection tool to assist hospitals with capacity planning, predict new COVID-19 patients, and help determine best practices for emergency preparedness in healthcare.

Abington-Jefferson Health is accepting medical supply and plasma donations to aid in the COVID-19 outbreak. For more information on how you can help, please visit their website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Office of Unemployment Compensation said that 2 million unemployment compensation payments have been made for a total of $784 million.

Three legal aid organizations in our area are offering assistance during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Philadelphia Legal Assistance has a hotline for assistance with unemployment compensation. Services are targeted for residents who lack access to a home computer, those who cannot file over the phone, and those who require translation. The number is (215) 999-6910.

Community Legal Services is providing legal assistance for Philadelphia residents on the phone at (215) 981-3700. For landlord/tenant issues, the Housing Hotline can be reached Monday – Friday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at (267) 443-2500. Parents dealing with DHS-involved cases can call the Family Advocacy Hotline at (215) 981-3765.

For Montgomery County residents, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania continues to serve current clients and accept new ones. To apply for help with a civil legal problem, call (877) 429-5994 Monday – Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

A musical break to carry you through the rest of your day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWnAnLUJHTs

Be the Light,

Art Haywood
State Senator
4th District

The Borough continues to encourage everyone to follow the Governor’s latest “Stay at Home Order” as well as the  CDC guidelines including hand washing, social distancing and covering of your cough/sneezes.