Wisconsin Gov. Evers Orders Prohibition on Gatherings of 10 People or More: Dealerships Exempted, With Exceptions

This afternoon, Governor Tony Evers and Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm issued Emergency Order #5, Prohibiting Mass Gatherings of 10 People or More. The Order is part of the ongoing effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. A copy of the Order can be found here.

What Dealers Need to Know. The Order expressly exempts “retail establishments, including gas stations and auto-repair facilities, where large numbers of people are present but are generally not within arm’s length of one another for more than 10 minutes.” The Order also exempts “office spaces,” but directs that such facilities shall implement social distancing, including teleworking, as much as practicable.” The Order does, however, expressly order the closure of “[I]ndoor shopping malls.”

Note that the Order restricts self-service food operations such as salad bars and beverage stations, and prohibits customers from self-dispensing all unpackaged food. Although not expressly directed at retail dealerships, these restrictions are helpful guidance to dealers to discontinue such offerings both in customer-facing spaces, such as waiting areas, as well as in employee-only areas.

The Order is indefinite in duration and will remain in place for the duration of the public health emergency or until a superseding order is issued.

Additional Resources for Dealers. A number of outlets have issued guidance on steps that dealerships should take in order to address this critical health emergency. Specifically, this past Thursday, the Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association issued helpful guidance on precautions to take at your dealership, addressing employee work schedule and compensation issues, and communications with customers. Click here for the complete article—COVID-19 Precautions at the Dealership. Click here to access WATDA’s up-to-date COVID-19 Resource for Dealers.

Finally, please note that I will continue to be available by telephone (608-285-9200) and email (eric@widealerlaw.com). My office and support staff are set up to operate quite effectively, remotely, and we have implemented practices to limit in-office interaction during this ongoing public health emergency. Please let us know if we can be of assistance in any way.

Stay safe!

— Eric Baker, Wisconsin Dealer Law