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Cuomo Further Restricts Workforce To 25% In Offices

Office of N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Governor Cuomo signs an executive order mandating businesses that require in-office personnel to decrease their in-office workforce by 75%.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is taking more steps to reduce human density in the workplace in light of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. He now says just 25% of employees can come into the office, 75% of workers must stay home. 

“We’re reducing it again except for essential services,” said Cuomo, who said he is asking all businesses to voluntarily have all employees work from home.

The governor says the steps are necessary to continue to try to flatten the curve and help prevent overwhelming the hospitals in the coming weeks.

And the governor wants to waive mortgage payments and bank overdraft charges for the next 90 days, if a person can demonstrate financial hardship.

“Waiving these payments will not have a negative effect on your credit report,” said Cuomo. “We’re not exempting people from the mortgage payments, we’re just adjusting the mortgage to include those payments on the back end.”

All foreclosure proceedings will be temporarily suspended. The governor will also ask banks to waive overdraft fees for debit and credit cards for the next three months.    

The governor also addressed the personal strain and disruption the crisis is placing on everyone. He was joined by his daughter, Michaela Cuomo, who is in her senior year of college, and which she will now be missing. 

“She was deprived of the last year and the last few months of college which I am sure were a very intense study period,” the governor joked, as his daughter smiled.  

Michaela Cuomo also cancelled a planned spring break trip, and the governor says he hopes it’s because she learned a lesson he tried to teach her when she was growing up.

“But I did say to all three of them from as soon as they could crawl, I used one line. What is the one line I used to say?" Cuomo asked his daughter.

"Risk, reward," Michaela Cuomo answered.

Cuomo says young people who are continuing to party on Florida beaches, as has been featured on social media, are not following that principle and are being reckless and irresponsible.

The governor says the family will hold a graduation party for his daughter at some later date when this is all over.

Read the latest on WSHU’s coronavirus coverage here

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Karen has covered state government and politics for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 New York and Connecticut stations, since 1990. She is also a regular contributor to the statewide public television program about New York State government, New York Now. She appears on the reporter’s roundtable segment, and interviews newsmakers.