To slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, Governor Murphy has ordered the closure of all non-essential retail businesses all recreational and entertainment businesses, and all non-essential construction projects. Essential construction is defined here.

Retail Businesses Allowed to Remain Open To The Public

Essential retail businesses which are allowed to remain open to the public, while following required mitigation requirements are:

• Grocery stores and any stores that sell food;
• Pharmacies and medical marijuana dispensaries;
• Medical supply stores;
• Gas stations;
• Convenience stores;
• Ancillary stores within healthcare facilities;
• Hardware and home improvement stores;
• Banks and other financial institutions;
• Laundromats and dry-cleaning services;
• Stores that principally sell supplies for children under five years;
• Pet stores, pet groomers, pet daycare, and pet boarding businesses;
• Liquor stores;
• Car dealerships, but only for auto maintenance and repair, to deliver online purchases directly to customers, to arrange for curbside pickup; or for test drive of a purchased vehicle;
• Auto mechanics
• Printing and office supply shops;
• Mail and delivery stores;
• Bars and restaurants for drive-through, delivery, and takeout only;
• Mobile phone retail and repair shops;
• Bicycle shops, but only to provide service and repair;
• Livestock feed stores;
• Nurseries and garden centers;
• Farming equipment stores;
• Child care centers, but only if they certify by Friday, March 27 that they will only serve children of essential workers starting April 1;
• Realtors, but only to show houses 1-on-1 (open houses are prohibited);
• Firearms retailers, by appointment only and during limited hours;
• Microbreweries or brewpubs for home delivery only;
• Stores which principally sell items necessary for religious observation or worship

Businesses Required to Close

Non-Essential Retail: If your business is a non-essential retail business that operates with a physical location that the public accesses your services from, you must close your business to the public. Delivery and online operations of retail businesses may continue.

Non-Essential Construction (effective April 10 at 8 pm): Non-essential construction projects, as defined here, must stop.

Recreational and Entertainment Businesses: Recreational and entertainment business must close. These include:

• Casino gaming floors, including retail sports wagering lounges, and casino concert and entertainment venues;
• Racetracks, including stabling facilities and retail sports wagering lounges;
• Gyms and fitness centers and classes;
• Golf courses;
• Entertainment centers, including but not limited to, movie theaters, performing arts centers, other concert venues, and nightclubs;
• All indoor portions of retail shopping malls. Restaurants and other stores located within shopping malls that have their own external entrances open to the public may continue offering only food delivery and/or take-out services.
• All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, including but not limited to, locations with amusement parks, water parks, aquariums, zoos, arcades, fairs, children's play centers, funplexes, theme parks, bowling alleys, family and children's attractions;
• All municipal, county, and State public libraries, and all libraries and computer labs at public and private colleges and universities;
• Barbershops;
• Hair salons;
• Spas;
• Nail and eyelash salons;
• Tattoo parlors;
• Massage parlors;
• Tanning salons;
• Public and private social clubs; and
• All other personal-care businesses that by their very nature result in noncompliance with social distancing, excluding any health facilities that provide medically necessary or therapeutic services.

Non-retail businesses may stay open, but must accommodate their workforce, wherever practicable, for telework or work-from-home arrangements and must abide by enhanced mitigation requirements.

Simply put, people should not be outside of their home unless they absolutely need to be. For example, professional service firms -- such as law firms, accounting firms, etc. -- may continue to operate, but must accommodate their employees working from home. If a business or nonprofit has employees that must be on site, it must reduce staff on site to the minimal number necessary to ensure critical operations can continue.

Examples of employees who need to be present at their work site in order to perform their job duties include, but are not limited to:

• law enforcement officers
• fire fighters
• other first responders
• cashiers or store clerks
• construction workers
• utility workers
• repair workers
• warehouse workers
• lab researchers
• IT maintenance workers
• janitorial and custodial staff
• certain administrative staff

Nothing in Executive Order No. 107 limits:

1. the provision of health care or medical services
2. access to essential services for low-income residents, such as food banks
3. the operations of the media
4. law enforcement agencies
5. the operations of the federal government.

For additional information on COVID-19/Novel Coronavirus and its impact on businesses, please visit the State of New Jersey's COVID-19 Business Information Hub.

Updated: 4/27/20

Sources: Executive Order 107; Executive Order 108; Administrative Order 2020-4; Administrative Order 2020-5; Executive Order 110; Administrative Order 2020-6; Special Ruling 2020-01; Administrative Order 2020-8; Executive Order 122; Executive Order 125; Administrative Order 2020-10