April 10, 2020
To all Forward employees,
I have a few updates to make regarding the current pandemic and its impact on Forward.
- As you may have heard, the governor extended the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order through Thursday, April 30. While the extension comes as no surprise, it confirms that divisions and locations of our business that are closed will continue to be closed and that most employees who have been laid off will remain furloughed. We will monitor business levels and needs daily and will adjust as needed over the next three weeks and beyond.
- The executive order extension also places restrictions on the maximum number of people who can be inside a store based on its size. For small stores like most of ours, the limit is 25 percent of the normal occupancy limit. In most cases this number is more than what we’d normally have in a location at one time, but our management team will be in contact with store managers if necessary to address any occupancy issues.
- As noted in my letter from Saturday, we partnered with a local organization called 4M to supply our employees with face masks. 4M ran into some operational challenges this week, but I’m proud to say some Forward team members stepped up and assisted. Between what 4M made and what our employees did, we have enough masks for everyone and started distributing today. If your store has not already received its supply, it will within the next day or two. As a reminder, these masks are optional, but align with the CDC’s recent recommendation that people wear masks when out in public.
- We remain diligent in our safety protocols and will continue to explore new and better ways to keep our customers and employees safe. Still, I want to remind everyone that if you are running a fever, have a cough, or are experiencing shortness of breath that you should notify your manager and NOT report to work under any circumstance. This also applies to those who have been tested for COVID-19. Tests take several days to process and you should follow your doctor’s recommendations as you await your test results.
Thank you for all you continue to do. Stay safe and stay healthy.
Sincerely,
Abby Moniz
President, Forward Corp.