All persons living in the State of Maryland are ordered, effective as of 8:00 p.m. on March 30, 2020, to stay in their homes or places of residences (20-03-30-01).
Tax preparation, accounting, payroll, and bookkeeping are still essential businesses. However, it may be necessary for these businesses to provide a letter under company letterhead to each employee (if they are still working from the office) stating that they are employed with their company and must work from the office. If they have employee IDs or business cards, we recommend the employee has them as well. All of this information can be used as verification if the employee is stopped by the authorities to confirm they are under the essential Executive Order.
Concerning clients, the Executive Order that was announced on March 30, 2020 only states the following reasons for people to be on the road under section II (b):
Non-essential businesses must stay closed; however, business owners are permitted to do the following (under Section II (iii) 1) which is considered minimal operations:
There is concern regarding whether clients can pick up their tax return, but we would advise against seeing any clients as the no gatherings rule is being enforced.
Again, this is MSATP’s opinion on the situation. To read the full Executive Order, click here.