Certain businesses receive waivers to operate during shutdown

Pennsylvania on Friday night released basic information about the businesses that received exemptions to operate during the coronavirus pandemic, an opaque waiver process that has frustrated media organizations, companies and employees across the state for more than a month.

Of the more than 42,000 exemption requests the state received, more than 6,000 were approved, 12,826 were denied and 11,635 did not require an exemption, the state Department of Community and Economic Development said in a news release.

Another 11,619 applications have since become subject to guidance that is specific to their industries, such as construction projects, golf courses and auto dealers. The full list is on the DCED website and at themorningcall.com.

In Lehigh County, 170 exemptions were granted, according to a county-by-county map released by the state. Those exemptions include some big names, such as Mack Trucks and Lutron Electronics, but also some smaller businesses such as swimming pool contractors and fence contractors.

In Northampton County, there were 112 granted exemptions. Like Lehigh’s list, some business names jump off the page, such as Crayola and Fanatics, but the waiver compilation also includes bike shops and the Bethlehem branch of the YMCA.

“While other states also enacted business closures, Pennsylvania was one of the first states to create an exemption process and offer an opportunity to those businesses that believed they could be of service to public health and safety,” DCED Secretary Dennis Davin said in the release. “I appreciate the patience of Pennsylvanians as we worked through the exemption review process. As we begin the process of our measured, datadriven, phased reopening of counties, we look forward to seeing the economy slowly reopen in a safe and strategic manner.”

In the exemption process, more than 50 DCED employees reviewed the requests over the last month and a half. Quality control measures, the state said, have been taking place throughout the process to ensure consistency across industries.

Businesses across the state needed waivers to keep physical workplaces open if they were not among the industries the administration defined as lifesustaining. The waiver submission period concluded April 3.

Numerous media organizations, including The Morning Call, used the state’s Right-toKnow Law to ask for a list of businesses that received or were denied waivers, but the administration and DCED had said the requests wouldn’t be addressed while the state’s physical offices were closed.

The waiver process frustrated some business owners, who told The Morning Call last month that they wanted to get back to work and thought they were as essential as other companies that remained active.

It also confused some workers, who weren’t sure why they were deemed essential and were concerned about exposing themselves and their families to the coronavirus.

For example, employees of Stitch Fix in Lower Nazareth Township had questioned why their employer was considered a life-sustaining business. Stitch Fix, an online styling service that fulfills customer orders out of Lower Nazareth, among other locations, did not need a waiver to keep operating, clarifying with the state that it could operate under the essential category of “nonstore retail: electronic shopping and mail-order houses.”

Davin, in the release, pointed out that Pennsylvania is home to nearly 1 million small businesses, and that the Wolf administration wanted to give companies not identified as life-sustaining an opportunity to operate in some capacity if they could offer essential services.

“Throughout this process, our primary focus was on reviewing exemption applications and assisting businesses with their questions and concerns, all in service of the goal of protecting public health in the face of an unprecedented and quickly evolving public health emergency,” he said.

Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 610-8206779 or at jon.harris@mcall.com.