While we’ve all been mentally overcome by the rebellion that unfolded at the Capitol and the civil war that I fear it started, COVID-19 continues to rage around the country. Hundreds of thousands are falling ill each day, hospitals are stretched to capacity, and thousands are dying daily.
The circle of people with COVID is closing in personally, and the number of calls I am receiving from clients with the question, “We’ve had an employee test positive; what do we do?” has increased exponentially. All the while, the rollout of the vaccine, which was supposed to save us from this pandemic, has been too slow and uneven.
The bottom line is that COVID-19 continues to win.
So please, let’s not forget that we are still in the middle of an awful pandemic even as our democracy is splintering. Wear your mask (over your mouth and nose), keep your distance, wash your hands and please stay home, especially, but not only, if you’re sick or have been exposed to the virus.
While the vaccine rollout has been mismanaged and mishandled, the vaccines still offer us a light of hope of a return to normalcy. I’d like to make it there, and I’d think you would, too.
According to one recent study, 57% of African Americans say that they definitely or probably will not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Many point to their distrust of the federal government fueled by decades of medical studies on Black people, including the Tuskegee Experiment, which left hundreds of Black men untreated for syphilis between 1932 and 1972.
If you are going to adopt a mandatory vaccination policy for your workplace (which the EEOC says you can do, subject to reasonable accommodation exceptions under the ADA for medical issues and Title VII for sincerely held religious beliefs or observances), then you must account for the possibility of that policy having a disparate impact based on race. Otherwise, you might be setting yourself up for a potential race discrimination lawsuit.
Yesterday, the EEOC published its guidance on the COVID-19 vaccine under the ADA and GINA, in the form of nine Q&As. You can read them in their totality here.
The TL;DR: yes, you can force employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment (although the should is an entirely different issue), subject to limits on reasonable accommodations for employees’ disabilities and sincerely held religious practices or beliefs and subject to limits on pre-vaccination medical questions.
That’s more or less aligned with everyone’s collective conventional wisdom on this issue. What is new in this guidance is the agency’s position on what to do with employees who refuse the vaccine for medical or religious reasons.
If an employer requires vaccinations when they are available, and an employee indicates that he or she is unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccination because of a disability, the employer must accommodate that request unless the employer can show that “an unvaccinated employee would pose a direct threat due to a ‘significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation’ … with a “determination that an unvaccinated individual will expose others to the virus at the worksite.” Even then, an “employer cannot exclude the employee from the workplace—or take any other action—unless there is no way to provide a reasonable accommodation … that would eliminate or reduce this risk so the unvaccinated employee does not pose a direct threat.” Moreover, a direct threat determination and an exclusion of an unvaccinated employee from the workplace does not necessarily equate to termination. An employer must in this case consider alternative accommodations, including remote work or an unpaid leave of absence.
Sincerely held religious practices or beliefs present a different problem for employees since Title VII does not offer a similar direct threat defense to an accommodation request. According to the EEOC, “If an employee cannot get vaccinated for COVID-19 because of a disability or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance, and there is no reasonable accommodation possible, then it would be lawful for the employer to exclude the employee from the workplace.” As is the case under the ADA, however, this lawful exclusion does not necessarily equate to termination, and alternative accommodations should be considered.
The bottom line for employers? The COVID-19 vaccine is here and will be available within months for your employees. Now is the time to figure out how you will handle it for your employees. Will you require it or recommend it? Will you offer it on-site or send employees elsewhere for the vaccine? What will you do when an employee objects for medical or religious reasons? Planning is everything, and with an issue this important there is no reason to be caught unprepared.
According to Cleveland.com, a pair of Ohio parents are facing possible criminal charges after piling 60 maskless teenagers into a party bus to celebrate their son’s 14th birthday.
Police learned a parent had arranged for the party bus, which originated in Cincinnati…. The parent had posted an open invitation on social media, police say.
The parents involved have been identified and might face charges for violating the state’s orders on the coronavirus. Police say they are consulting with the prosecutor’s office about additional charges.
“Mount Healthy police will not tolerate blatant law violations especially when such action endangers our community, our officers, and public health,” the department said in a news release.
Don’t be this a-hole. No one needs to have a birthday party right now, especially one that requires people to cram into a party bus. This is the height of entitled stupidity.
Do your part to slow the spread of this dangerous virus. Wear a mask, maintain distance, wash your hands, avoid gatherings, stay home, and for God’s sake don’t hold a birthday party for your child and 60 of his friends that requires them all to cram maskless into a party bus.
Marc Alifanz and Kate Bischoff are two of my favorite people. They also happen to host one of my favorite podcasts, Hostile Work Environment. I promise that I’m not just dishing out these high praises because Marc and Kate invited me to guest on this week’s episode to discuss the 10 nominees for this year’s Worst Employer poll.
You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you choose to get your podcasts. (And while you’re there do us all a favor and click that subscribe button if you already haven’t.)
This post also serves as your final warning to get in your vote for this year’s nominees. Polls close at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16. Over 1,000 of you have already voted (thank you!), and the margins (at least in the COVID-19 category) are razor-thin. A few votes either way could literally decide this year’s winner. Make sure your voice is heard. No whining about the results if you don’t vote.
Voting is available at this link. Remember that this year’s vote is different than years past in that we have two categories — Worst Employer and Worst Employer COVID-19 Edition. In each category, you rank each of the five nominees from 1 (worst) to 5 (least worst). Ranking all five is important because the relative rankings count in the final tally.
The polls are open until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, and I’ll announce the winners (err … losers) early next week. Continued bad luck to all of this year’s very worthy nominees.
“I wish I could see your pretty lips if they match ur eyes.”
“Come on, sweetie. Lemme see that pretty face under there. Take it off for me, will you? Just a quick flash.”
“I can be covid and make you short of breath.”
“I don’t wear a condom; I sure as hell aren’t going to wear a mask!”
“Social distancing? My pocket rocket can still reach you.”
“I’ll take your mask off and stick my tongue down your throat.”
These are just a few of the hundreds of awful and offensive comments to which service industry workers reported being subjected while working during COVID (report here).
As I recently pointed out, unlawful harassment is unlawful harassment, regardless of the alleged perpetrator. An employer cannot treat sexual (or other illegal) harassment of an employee by a non-employee any differently than harassment between employees. Indeed, in the words of the Ohio Administrative Code:
An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees (e.g., customers) with respect to sexual harassment of employees in the work place, where the employer (or its agents or supervisory employees) knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing these cases the commission will consider the extent of the employer’s control and any other legal responsibility which the employer may have with respect to the conduct of such nonemployees.
What should an employer do when a customer is harassing an employee? Take the same five steps it takes when an employee is harassing another employee:
Separate the victim from the alleged harasser.
Promptly and fully investigate the allegations.
Evaluate the evidence and make a reasoned conclusion as to what happened.
Take prompt and effective remedial steps, if necessary.
Use the complaint as an opportunity to retrain employees about your anti-harassment policy.
“The customer is always right” still holds true for most things, but not if the customer is unlawfully harassing your employee.
Everyone has been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Service industry employees, however, have been hit particularly hard. Many are out of work. And those who are able to work are working fewer hours and earning less in wages and tips.
Moreover, according to this survey (h/t: NPR), a majority of service industry workers are being forced to choose between earning valuable tips and staying safe by wearing a mask.
Consider these statistics regarding tipped employees:
78 percent report experiencing or witnessing hostile behavior from customers in response to staff enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols.
83 percent report that their tips have declined during COVID-19, with two-thirds reporting a decline of more than half.
58 percent report feeling reluctant to enforce COVID-19 protocols out of concern that customers would tip them less.
67 percent report actually having received a lesser than usual tip after enforcing COVID-19 protocols.
84 percent report being within six feet of at least one person who is not wearing a mask in every shift, and one-third report being within six feet of 30 or more maskless individuals on every shift.
The kicker: 37 percent of tipped workers reported that their employer had not conducted mandatory training on COVID safety protocols and 69 percent reported that their employer is not consistently following all COVID safety protocols.
This is unacceptable. Restaurant workers are on the front lines of this virus working inside one of this pandemic’s most dangerous spreading environments.
They shouldn’t have to be de facto safety sheriffs, enforcing mask mandates and other health rules. Yet, that is the position in which many of their employers have put them, which, according to the above survey, is often without training or the enforcement of COVID safety rules.
Employees should not be placed in the position of enforcing COVID safety rules with a customer, especially when they risk the loss of tips and revenue as a result. Employers, do your part. Train your workers and set up a system of enforcement that takes your front-line workers out of the enforcement equation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curveball at businesses, but small and medium-sized organizations have found themselves in a unique predicament. With limited resources, smaller organizations need to realign their priorities given current market conditions and quickly do so.
A crucial part of the economy
As the pandemic continues, governments are focused on more stringent health and safety protocols. But at the same time, they try to keep the economy moving despite restrictions. SMBs are a crucial piece to doing this.
Governments have offered different forms of aid for SMBs. While helpful, such assistance is more focused on helping SMBs survive in the short term. It’s essential to recognize that the speed of recovery will depend on the ability of SMBs to return to sustainable operations post-pandemic after current stimulus measures run out.
Here are some ways SMBs can quickly adapt and remain on track for recovery.
Reopen safely with technology
According to a Salesforce Research survey, 64 percent of SMBs have focused on safety and health policies due to the pandemic. Cleaning physical spaces is a huge part of it, but another way to promote health safety is to enforce social distancing and manage the number of customers coming in.
Reopen is a free tool that lets customers make appointments. Through the platform, businesses can set their operating hours and customers can book a time slot that’s suitable for them to visit. With bookings set in advance, businesses can control foot traffic, anticipate demand and let clients know that they are safely open for business.
Make cost-efficient decisions
Cost efficiency is crucial for SMBs, especially when demand tends to shift depending on changing restrictions. They need a mechanism that will enable them to optimize quickly to save on costs.
Workforce.com’s live wage tracker enables small businesses and their managers to make cost-efficient decisions on the fly because it tracks demand and labor costs in real time. Managers can see staff count, exact costs and spot potential areas for overspending.
Create schedules that stay on budget
Scheduling for SMBs can be more challenging these days. There has to be a balance between having enough staff, ensuring team safety and staying on budget.
Workforce.com offers a scheduling platform that allows managers to input their labor budget to create a schedule that stays within a set amount. The platform can also pull in data from their POS, which can help forecast demand based on historical data.
Ensure staff safety
Health issues are detrimental to how SMBs operate, especially now. Creating rotational shifts to minimize contact is a good step. It also pays to conduct health check-ins during each shift where employees can declare any symptoms they’re experiencing. This will help managers optimize operations, conduct contact tracing and assist employees should they need to be tested and isolated.
Workforce.com provides ways to keep track of these things automatically. Managers can create and track qualifications for safety processes such as COVID-19 test results and quarantine expiration dates within the platform. They can also set shift questions that remind staff of sanitation requirements or ask them if they’re experiencing any symptoms.
Adapting to market volatility with technology
SMBs that utilize technology are better poised to overcome market challenges. According to the same Salesforce Researchsurvey, technology influences SMB operations in different ways, especially with customer interactions (51 percent), the organization’s ability to stay open and in business (46 percent) and growth of customer base (40 percent).
The Workforce.com platform is designed to meet the workforce management needs of businesses of any size. It has different functionalities that can help SMBs thrive even in today’s volatile market. See how it can equip your team to make cost-effective decisions and optimize operations promptly. See it in action and try Workforce.com for free today.
We are days away from the FDA approving two different COVID-19 vaccines, and it is being reported that the first people could start receiving the vaccine as early as Friday, Dec. 11.
The TL;DR: Employers can legally require that employees get vaccinated, subject to reasonable accommodation exceptions under the ADA for disabilities and under Title VII for sincerely held religious beliefs.
But can doesn’t necessarily mean should, and employers should be wary about requiring what employees do with their bodies; instead, employers should be strongly encouraging employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine when they qualify to do so.
Since its founding in 2009,Hearing Care Solutions has become a leading health care company by understanding how hearing-loss technology vastly improves its patients’ lives.
Knowing that hearing loss left untreated hinders communication and ultimately affects social interaction and quality of life, HCS is advancing hearing care through a variety of fully digital instruments at varying levels of technology from nine leading manufacturers.
As Denver-based HCS continues to implement new technologies to grow its hearing-solutions business, they also have embraced Workforce.com’s workforce management platform to improve the lives of its employees.
HCS already is reaping the benefits since introducingWorkforce.comto its employees in August 2020. HCS is saving 30 minutes per employee every two weeks by using Workforce.com, said Nallely Yearwood,executive director, operations at HCS.
Yearwood also cited three advantages since implementing Workforce.com.
Saving time on payroll days.
Saving time during onboarding.
Accessibility for all staff for schedules and time off requests through the app, which makes it easier for management.
Simplify the scheduling process
Yearwood discovered Workforce.com through research of workforce management applications, including reviews.Since its rollout,building schedulesfor its 100 employees has become more efficient and strategic with Workforce.com, Yearwood said.
“Workforce.com relieves me of the handwritten schedules and saves me a lot of time pre-payroll as well,” said Yearwood, who has been with HCS for five years. “It has also helped our payroll department save a significant amount of time.”
Efficiently onboard new employees
As an essential service, HCS is bullish on its plans for growth over the next 12 to 18 months as it adds new employees to meet business demand. Since the pandemic swept across the business landscape in March, Yearwood said candidate interviews have been held virtually via video calls.
Since its implementation, “Hearing Care Solutions has been able to streamline the onboarding process in addition to giving us a more effective way of managing both remote and on-site employees,” Yearwood said.
There have been several lessons learned from operating a business during COVID-19, Yearwood said.
“While it is a new challenge to actually implement a full-blown pandemic policy, we welcome the challenges as it strengthens our internal community and our commitment to providing services to our clients,” she said.
Easy access for all employees
Everyone on the HCS staff uses Workforce.com, Yearwood added, both management and employees. “It gives us the opportunity to ensure staffing and scheduling follows our business needs and also allows our employees to easily manage their schedules and PTO requests,” she said.
With an efficient staff management system in place, Yearwood and her team want to continue improving their online platforms and seek ways to provide the best service to their customers as they expand. Employees have endorsed several Workforce.com features, she said.
“The(time clock) appis great, and it allows them to see their schedules ahead of time and to request time off,” Yearwood said.
Keeping employees healthy and productive will always be top of mind for HCS executives.
“Our priorities are always the safety and health of our staff and ensuring our policies and supporting processes are compliant and as staff-friendly as possible,” she said.
Hearing Care Solutions has made its workplace more efficient and productive.Book a demo and see how Workforce.com can help you.
