Steve, Author at Choteau Chamber of Commerce ⋆ Page 10 of 15

March 19, 2020November 5, 2023

COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses – Teton County Health Department

Dear Teton County Business Owners,

The Teton County Health Department is recommending all citizens take steps to limit unnecessary interactions between people. It is important for businesses to continue to provide valuable services to the community while enabling your customers and employees to practice social distancing. The CDC has recommended the following precautions:

Actively encourage sick employees to stay home. Prevent the spread of illness within your business by having a non-punitive, flexible illness policy that allows ill employees to remain at home. Ill employees may have trouble getting a healthcare provider’s note as healthcare facilities restrict services to non-emergency situations. Employees who develop symptoms during work hours should be sent home.
Minimize exposure between employees with each other and the public. Consider flexible worksites and flexible work hours in order to reduce contact between individuals. Allowing employees to work from home or to work flexible hours will reduce the chance of spreading illness between employees by reducing the number of people in your business at one time. You should also evaluate what interaction with the general public is actually necessary. You should also provide options to the public who are practicing social distancing, such as doing curbside pick-up for food or changing in-person meetings to phone calls.
Provide a hygienic workplace. Employees should always have access to handwashing facilities and frequently touched surfaces (doorknobs, workstations, countertops, points of sale, menus) should be wiped down with a disinfecting wipe multiple times per day. A solution of 1 gallon of water and 1/3rd cup of bleach will be sufficient for disinfecting surfaces.
Spread awareness. Use reliable sources to relay accurate information to your employees and customers so they can make informed, measured decisions. The CDC has several one-page fact sheets that should be posted around your establishment. They can all be found here, though we would recommend providing the What You Need To Know sheet to employees and posting the Symptoms of Coronavirus and Stop the Spread of Germs in visible locations. Keep up to date on the CDC’s guidance for employers. Additionally, a printable flyer on social distancing has been attached.
Manage employee stress. Uncertainty about the pandemic can cause stress or anxiety in your workforce. Work with your employees to develop and implement a plan that addresses the above guidance. Employees should know how the business will deal with increased absenteeism and a change in demands in their lives, such as the sudden need for childcare.

Please contact the Teton County Health Department at 466-2562 if you have questions, or would like to discuss any specific modifications that you business can take. We are happy to help!

March 13, 2020November 5, 2023

Montana Department of Commerce: Coronavirus Taskforce Update

Montana Governor's Coronavirus Task Force

The state recognizes the substantial economic impact that some businesses have experienced due to novel coronavirus or COVID-19. The Department of Commerce in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration are working to hard to make emergency funding available for those businesses.

When disaster assistance will be available in Montana

If a small business has suffered substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19, it may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Small businesses and small agricultural cooperatives that have suffered substantial economic injury may be eligible for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program.
Substantial economic injury is the inability of a business to meet its obligations as they mature and to pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses.
An EIDL can help meet necessary financial obligations that a business could have met had the disaster not occurred.
It provides relief from economic injury caused directly by the disaster and permits the business to maintain a reasonable working capital position during the period affected by the disaster.
The SBA provides EIDL assistance only to those businesses that SBA determines are unable to obtain credit elsewhere.
The loan amount will be based on the business’ actual economic injury and financial needs.
The interest rate on EIDLs is currently at 3.75 percent per year.
The term of the loans cannot exceed 30 years.
Terms and conditions will be determined by the business’ ability to repay the loan

Listed below is a step by step process for businesses that have experienced substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19

Complete the Economic Injury Worksheets as soon as possible, click here to access the worksheet, and submit it to your county Disaster and Emergency Services, (DES) Office.
If your county does not have a DES office or if you are unable to contact them, the worksheet can be sent to MTDES@mt.gov.
Your county DES office will submit the worksheet to the state, and the state will submit it to the SBA along with a request for an SBA declaration.
Once the SBA has issued an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration for your county, businesses will be eligible to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Additional information on the loan program and how to apply can be found at the SBA website here.

For additional information, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.