Is there a list of essential industries and employees?
Yes. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has a list of essential industries, available online.
Those industries include:
- Healthcare/Public Health (i.e. hospitals and doctors)
- Law Enforcement, Public Safety and First Responders (i.e. police and Emergency Management Services)
- Food and Agriculture (i.e. farmers and food manufacturers)
- Energy (i.e. natural gas and nuclear facilities)
- Water and Waste water (i.e. water department)
- Transportation and Logistics (i.e. trucking and shipping)
- Public Works and Infrastructure (i.e. safety inspectors for public facilities including dams, bridges, etc.)
- Communications and Information Technology (i.e. maintainers of communications infrastructure, such as wireless, internet and cable providers)
- Community and Local Government (i.e. federal, state, local, tribal and territorial employees who support Mission Essential Functions)
- Critical Manufacturing (i.e. metals, PPE, supply chain minerals and employees that support other essential services)
- Hazardous Materials (i.e. healthcare waste and nuclear facilities)
- Financial Services (i.e. banks)
- Chemical (i.e. workers supporting the chemical and industrial gas supply chains)
- Defense Industrial (i.e. essential services required to meet national security commitments to the federal government and U.S. Military)
- Commercial Facilities (i.e. workers who support the supply chain of building materials)
- Residential/Shelter Facilities (i.e. workers in dependent care services)
- Hygiene Products and Services (i.e. laundromats, personal and household goods repair and maintenance)
While this guidance is not a federal mandate, and final decisions remain at the state and local levels, we firmly believe it can serve as a baseline for a common national approach in prioritizing essential services and workers.
See also: Workplace safety