Effective March 24th at 12:00 noon, Massachusetts is closing all non-essential businesses “physical workplaces and facilities (“brick-and-mortar premises”) through April 7, 2020. See COVID-19 Order No. 13.

As an update to my post from Friday on Non-Essential Businesses, Massachusetts did not adopt the CISA Guidelines, but appears to have followed the structure of them.

The essential services list for Massachusetts can be found HERE. Construction services is included as “essential” servcies as follows:

All indication is that MassDOT, MBTA, and MassPort projects are continuing (as noted by the above-referenced public works inclusion as an essential service. During a board meeting of MassDOT, the Commissioner stated that the work is continuing but each project will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Below is a letter Construction Industries of Massachusetts received from MassDOT on March 23, 2020 stating that MassDOT operations are exempt from the shutdown:

This may have an impact on some private construction projects, but currently “essential” services includes “Construction Workers who support the construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of construction sites and construction projects (including housing construction.” Additional clarification will need to be provided, but this appears to be a pretty broad description of construction services. Of course, the City of Boston, Cambridge, and other towns bans on construction still apply.

Be sure to send out your notices for your construction projects and keep the communication lines open with the Project team members.