Dutchess County’s Economic Rapid Response Team has worked to establish resources for businesses and employees adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Businesses
Find updates on recent closures, essential business guidance from the State, and guidance on how to increase your business’ resilience and protect the public and your employees.
For Employees
Find resources on unemployment insurance and job openings at essential businesses.
This application is for individuals who are requesting a letter for release from Quarantine/Isolation related to COVID-19.
The State issued an Executive Order directing employers to provide essential workers with masks, free of charge, to wear. Download a Using a Cloth Face Covering as a Mask Flyer (.pdf).
NOTE: Governor Cuomo has issued executive orders requiring all people in New York to wear masks or face coverings in public including when taking public or private transportation carriers or other for-hire vehicles.
Small business owners are being targeted by scammers as they apply for Small Business Administration loans and grants. Report any suspected fraud online or call the OIG’s Hotline at 800-767-0385. Tips from the SBA to protect your business' private information.
The Dutchess One Stop Career Center has compiled a list of local essential employers that are now hiring. Visit their website and download the list to review openings and apply.
Residents seeking to file an unemployment insurance claim can visit labor.ny.gov or call the Telephone Claim Center at (888) 209-8124. Frequently asked questions about Unemployment Insurance from the DOL.*
If you are self-employed, you may file for Unemployment Insurance benefits online; view the State's Self-Employed Unemployment Insurance Guide.
The State's Telephone Claim Center filing system is now based on the first letter of the applicant’s last name (alphabetical order):
Telephone Claim Center Hours:
*Due to ongoing high call volume, please be prepared for potentially long wait times. The Telephone Claim Center now offers a call-back feature. If you have been instructed to call to complete your application, you no longer need to call. A representative from the DOL will call you back within 72 hours.
Dutchess County has been included in the State's Mid-Hudson Region along with Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties. View or download the State's map of the 10 regions and a list of counties within each region. Read the State's regional guidlines for re-opening.
View our Restarting Dutchess webpage for more info on re-opening guidelines and permissible activities.
For COVID-19 updates for businesses and non-profits, join the Dutchess Business Notification Network (DBNN):
If you or someone in your business has tested positive for COVID-19 (a positive case is referred to as the Index), follow these steps immediately:
CONTAIN
COLLECT
CONTACT
CLEAN
The following guidance is designed to help mitigate COVID-19 and minimize the risk of disease spread in your workplace. These steps can assist your business to remain operational.
* A close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 10 minutes, between 48 hours prior to the illness onset and the time the person was isolated.
A person wo tests positive or develops symptoms is infectious for 10 days. A person can become ill 2-14 days after exposure to COVID-19, thus a 14 day quarantine is required to prevent the infection from spreading. While most exposed individuals experience symptoms or test positive 5-7 days after an exposure, some bcome infected earlier or later. These measures are designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community, so your business can continue to operate safely.
Essential Employees: If an employee is deemed essential and critical for the operation or safety of the workplace, upon a documented determination by their supervisor and a human resources (HR) representative in consultation with appropriate State and local health authorities, an employee who was exposed MAY return to work so long as the employee:
Prepare for possible increased numbers of employee absences due to illness in employees and their family members, dismissals of early childhood programs and K-12 schools due to high levels of absenteeism or illness:
Travel info including risk assessment and non-essential travel recommendations/caution.
The Get Your Workplace Ready for Pandemic Flu (.pdf) offers guidance for how you can help to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses in your workplace.
Contact tracing is the process of working with an individual who has had an infectious disease such as COVID-19 and identifying people that person has potentially been in contact with. Those people are then contacted and notified of possible exposure so they can take proper precautions and not further spread the virus. For more information visit our Contact Tracing page.
Additionally, to increase your business’ resilience and readiness during the COVID-19 outbreak, DBCH recommends businesses strongly encourage employees to:
Refer employees to the www.DutchessNY.gov/Coronavirus website for current information and status about COVID-19.
To assist with your business’ continuity of operations, review policies related to the following situations in our Guidance section: