LaurelRock Team at 2019 Company Picnic, all employees are not pictured.
On Monday, March 16th, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont made it effective that all workers at non-essential businesses should work from home. Landscape companies, however, were deemed essential, and LaurelRock quickly put an action plan into place to safely continue working through this pandemic. However, much has changed since then, and cases in Connecticut and Fairfield County continue to rise.
President Burt DeMarche announced today that LaurelRock would suspend all non-essential services for the next two weeks to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to do their part to “flatten the curve.” DeMarche stated,
”While we appreciate that our work was deemed essential, there is the reality that a majority of our services are not essential to public safety or the basic needs of the community. This important decision is supported by two of LaurelRock’s Core Principles: “Act with Integrity” and “Invest in the Community.” We truly believe that this is the right and ethical thing to do for our team and the most effective way that we can positively impact the lives of those in our community during this unprecedented event. We are choosing people over profit.”
LaurelRock’s administrative team will continue to work remotely to answer calls and support operations, while their Garden and Property Managers monitor accounts and remain in communication with clients. To efficiently manage the workload once the crews return to work on April 20th, the production team has already started to reschedule projects and pre-order materials, ensuring a rapid and well-planned re-entry. The team is prepared to continue to follow their COVID-19 safe work environment protocols until the state lifts the order.
DeMarche concluded, “We appreciate the understanding and support that we have received from our clients and other professionals in our decision to temporarily suspend non-essential services to protect the health and welfare of our greater community, clients, and our employees. We are doing our part to stop the spread of COVID-19, and we urgently request that others in our industry do the same. Please stay home and stay safe.”
