I am a small business owner in Virginia who opposes making the COVID-19 Workplace Safety Emergency Standard permanent. Six months into the pandemic, I have learned to adapt to this unprecedented time by implementing safety protocols from a number of federal and state entities to ensure physical distancing and extensive sanitization.  I want to keep my employees and customers safe because I care about their welfare.

Now is not the time to make the emergency temporary standard permanent when it’s likely this pandemic will be temporary. Imposing “one size fits all” COVID-19 regulations on all employers is unreasonable especially when guidance is continually changing as we learn more about the virus. The Board needs to take the time to see what challenges employers are facing implementing the emergency regulations before taking any further action.  I have had no support from any state agency to run my daycare business.  It seems everyday, we are being thrown a different regulation. This week the DOLI issued a mandate that all daycare workers wear facemask.  This is absurd.  We work with small children, and communication and emotional response through facial expression is a major milestone for young children.  

I understand the virus is real, but the response to this illness is the biggest hoax in history. 

My company takes its responsibility for protecting its employees seriously.  Making the COVID-19 emergency regulations permanent will only make a difficult situation worse for employers and employees. Hiring staff is one of the biggest problems we have at the daycare.  Mainly because the federal government thought it was a good idea to incentivize people to sit at home and make more more doing nothing than to work.    I remain concerned about the impact many of the provisions of the emergency regulations are having on my business and encourage the Board to not make them permanent.  We need a normal environment sooner than later.

On November 4, 2020, this entire scheme will be over.  

Fed up with the litigation, and Governor.  He is the biggest joke.

Tracy Armentrout