From the Office of the Governor:  Commonwealth has administered nearly 7 million vaccines, 63 percent of Virginia adults have received at least one dose Governor Ralph Northam today lifted Virginia’s universal indoor mask mandate to align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Governor Northam also announced that Virginia will ease all distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, May 28, two weeks earlier than planned. The updates to Virginia’s mask policy are reflected in amendments to Executive Order Seventy-Two and will become effective at midnight tonight along with previously announced changes to mitigation measures.The CDC guidelines state that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks in most indoor settings, except on public transit, in health care facilities, and in congregate settings. Businesses retain the ability to require masks in their establishments. Employees who work in certain business sectors—including restaurants, retail, fitness, personal care, and entertainment—must continue to wear masks unless fully vaccinated, per CDC guidance. Those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated are strongly encouraged to wear masks in all settings.  The state of emergency in Virginia will remain in place at least through June 30 to provide flexibility for local government and support ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Governor Northam will…

Pro-union advocates are pushing Senator Mark Warner to cosponsor the ‘worst bill in Congress’. It’s called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) and contains dozens of extreme labor proposals that threaten businesses and diminish employees’ rights to privacy. So far, Sen. Warner is one of only three Democrats who has chosen to listen to the small business community. He has NOT co-sponsored the PRO Act. However, labor unions are putting significant pressure on Sen. Warner to support this damaging legislation. One of the worst aspects of this legislation is that it would eliminate Virginia’s Right-to-Work law. Virginia’s Right-to-Work (RTW) law was established on January 12, 1947, and is the 5th oldest RTW statute in the United States. It guarantees that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join or not to join, nor to pay dues to a labor union. Virginia’s RTW also assures that no person or organization may use intimidation, use of force, the threat of use of force, reprisal or threat of reprisal, or interrupt the work of any employee. Tell Sen. Warner today to stand with Virginia businesses and oppose the PRO Act.   TAKE ACTION    

  The minimum wage increase as passed by the General Assembly during the 2020 session is set to take effect on May 1, 2021. This legislation was originally supposed to take effect on January 1, 2021 but was amended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation increases the minimum wage in stages. Effective May 1, the hourly minimum wage in Virginia will increase to $9.50. It will increase again on January 1, 2022 to $11 an hour, and will increase to $12 an hour on January 1, 2023.Additional increases as defined by the legislation will be contingent on future actions by the General Assembly. View additional details from Jackson Lewis here.  View the bill information here.     

On Tuesday, President Biden signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act of 2021, extending the program until May 31.     Why is this important?   The Paycheck Protection Program was set to expire on March 31, this bill continues the program for two additional months through May 31. In addition, the bill extends the authorization period for the PPP loans until the end of June, providing the Small Business Administration additional time to process the applications.    How can you learn more?   Learn more about the extension here.  Visit the SBA's Small Business PPP page here.