human resources – Page 6

February 2, 2021

As new COVID-19 variants double down on transmissibility, OSHA steps up preventative measures

“Wear a mask and stay 6 feel apart.” It might sound like Groundhog Day to keep repeating this mantra. It’s also the most basic and most important steps we can take to remain safe, healthy and COVID-free.

Last week OSHA published new guidance for employers about mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. While I recommend you read it, understand it and adopt its teachings in your workplace as best practices to keep your employees safe and healthy, I want to draw your attention to this language.

Not distinguishing between workers who are vaccinated and those who are not: Workers who are vaccinated must continue to follow protective measures, such as wearing a face covering and remaining physically distant, because at this time, there is not evidence that COVID-19 vaccines prevent transmission of the virus from person-to-person. The CDC explains that experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide before deciding to change recommendations on steps everyone should take to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

COVID-19 is strengthening. New variants of the virus are making it more transmissible and potentially more virulent. Now is not the time to loosen COVID safety rules, especially around the most basic of steps we must take to remain safe and healthy—masks and physical distancing. This holds true even if your employees are vaccinated, as science does not yet know if the vaccine prevents the transmission from person-to-person.

The vaccine does offer us a light at the end of the very long and dark COVID tunnel, but we cannot allow it to give us a false sense of security. COVID-19 is fighting back; we must continue to fight back, too.

January 27, 2021

Tread carefully if offering employees financial incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine

To a nation waiting for action, let me be clearest on this point: Help is on the way.

Those were the words of President Biden in announcing the ordering of 200 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, a hike in the distribution of doses to states, and a promise that there will be enough doses to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer.

It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s what we need to end a pandemic that has already claimed the lives of more than 425,000 Americans and will claim hundreds of thousands more before we close the book on COVID-19.

Vaccines, however, only work if people actually accept syringes in their arms. Too many of us say that they won’t.

According to one recent survey, 39 percent of Americans say that they either probably or definitely will not get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them. Another survey pegs the number at 37 percent. While these percentages are trending down, and more of us say that we trust the vaccine and will get it, the needle on this issue isn’t moving quickly enough. According to Dr. Fauci, to reach herd immunity (the only thing that will end this pandemic), we need between 75 and 85 percent of the population to be vaccinated.

To overcome this vaccine hesitancy, some employers are offering their employees a financial incentive to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. Retailers such as Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, and Instacart are offering small incentives such as a couple of hours of additional paid time off, or nominal (e.g., $25) stipends. Nursing homes, whose employees come in contact with our most vulnerable population, are offering similar incentives to their workers. Others are offering free marijuana (full disclosure: they are marijuana dispensaries).

If you are considering offering a financial incentive to entice your employees to obtain the vaccine when it’s available to them, I caution you to tread carefully to make sure that you do it within the bounds of our equal employment opportunity laws.

1. Vaccination rules must have exceptions for employees’ disabilities under the ADA and employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs under Title VII. For this reason, if you are offering employees a financial incentive to get vaccinated, you better be prepared to offer the same exact incentive to those who cannot get vaccinated because of one of these legally protected reasons.

2. Incentive programs must comply with the EEOC’s wellness program regulations. Admittedly, these regulations will not be final until March 8.

Given that COVID-19 vaccinations will stretch for months beyond that date, however, employers should be aware of these rules and the risks they pose. Under these proposed and soon to be final rules, employers may not offer any more than a “de minimis incentive” to encourage employees to participate in a wellness program such as one that incentivizes the receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The EEOC does not define “de minimus,” but uses the example of a water bottle or a gift card of modest value as “de minimus” and a $50 per month reduction in annual health care costs, paying for an annual gym membership, or an airline ticket as “not de minimus.”

Employers are considering bribes because they work. We just need to make sure that we are doing so within the confines of the law. We don’t want to solve one problem only to create another.

January 20, 2021

What employers can expect from Biden’s presidency: A temporary emergency OSHA standard for COVID-19

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the identification of the first COVID-19 case in the United States.

On Jan. 20, 2020, the state of Washington and the CDC confirmed that someone in Washington State had contracted the virus. Since then, 24,809,840 additional Americans have contracted COVID, and 411,520 have died from it.

All the while, OSHA, the federal agency charged with protecting health and safety in the workplace, has done very little to address the pandemic, and we still lack a national safety standard on keeping COVID-safe at work.

President Biden’s OSHA will fix this glaring omission. He has called on Congress “to authorize the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a COVID-19 Protection Standard that covers a broad set of workers.”

What issues should we expect this OSHA standard to address?

Mandatory masking.
Mandatory physical distancing.
Required sanitization and housekeeping.
Standards for engineering and airflow.
Required employee training.
Increased reporting requirements.

Some of these, like masking and distancing, should be second-nature at this point, but sadly have become overly politicized and ignored by too many. I applaud anything President Biden does in an attempt to get his pandemic under control and save lives so that we all can get back to living ours.

January 19, 2021

Biden calls for extension and expansion of FFCRA

COVID-19, coronavirus, public health crisis

As you should hopefully be aware, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the federal law that provided paid leave to employees for COVID-related absences, expired on Dec. 31, 2020, with an option for employers to voluntarily expand leave through March 31, 2021. The problem, however, is that while this leave has expired or will soon expire, COVID-19 is not expiring any time soon.

Help, however, may soon be on the way, as part of President-elect Biden’s America Rescue Plan. A key part of that plan is a significant expansion of the FFCRA.

What would change?

The FFCRA would be reinstated and extended through Sept. 30, 2021.
The 500-employee cap on coverage would be lifted and all employers, regardless of size, would be required to provide paid leave for covered COVID-related absences.
The exemptions for health care workers, first responders and small employers would be eliminated.
The total leave entitlement would be expanded to 14 weeks.
Employers with less than 500 employees would be reimbursed for this paid leave through an extension of the already existing payroll tax credit. Employers with 500 or more employees would not receive the tax credit.

I applaud this expansion, which is sorely needed as we navigate this virus until we reach a vaccination critical mass. I also hope it is a step toward more broad-based paid sick and family leave for employees, an issue on which this country sadly lags behind every other industrialized nation in the world.

January 12, 2021

8 of the 10 deadliest days in U.S. history are because of COVID-19

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.

December 21, 2020November 15, 2022

How leaders can boost employee retention by respecting work-life balance of hourly workers

Employee retention is a continually evolving metric for businesses and HR departments worldwide, set as a central guiding principle for maximizing profitability while simultaneously decreasing the expensive means of employee turnover and new hire training.

You could even argue that employee retention statistics are among the top markers any business could use to project its growth and overall health. So why is employee turnover such a big problem for companies?

Employers don’t always set proper expectations

One of the most common problems employers run into with high employee turnover is the simple fact that they don’t set appropriate expectations for their hourly employees. While many have focused conversations about the expected number of hours worked, uniform policies and job duties, unanswered questions left on the table can be the dividing factor between employees going or staying for the long haul.

Setting the precedent of days worked is a significant factor for many individuals, as most have outside priorities that can tie them down and change their availability. Effective communication is the lifeblood of any organization.

Having conversations about upcoming work events, potential scheduling conflicts, and holiday expectations is a simple way to ensure streamlined problem solving and proactive decision making. While unexpected situations are inevitable, stressors will always exist where systems do not.

Placing greater emphasis on employee expectations and companywide strategies can facilitate greater teamwork and minimize stress for all parties involved.

Build trust to improve productivity

Assumptions can crush employee morale, workplace productivity, and trust. When employers can set clear expectations, they can eliminate many of the common false beliefs created due to starting a new position at a new company. Leaders must be on high alert to ensure this has no place in their new hire’s thought process.

Prioritizing continuous and straightforward conversations with employees will cost you nothing on the front end and save you much more on the back end. Employee feedback is crucial for success, but if leaders and managers aren’t asking for that feedback, they may never get it.

The first step of giving feedback is asking for feedback, as this opens up the door for effective communication and will build trust with your employees. Plus, employees who can provide their input will feel a part of the company’s decision-making process and perceive it as an individual investment in the company’s future.

When leaders don’t ask the questions to get the answers they’re looking for, trouble starts to brew and may not show its ugly head for days, weeks, or even months down the road when an employee begins to act out of the norm.

Flexible leadership

The last piece of the puzzle involves company leadership, as this is a continually evolving role with its fair share of highs and lows. Being a flexible leader is crucial for maintaining integrity and high employee retention outcomes, as it facilitates high-level thinking and empathy towards your employees.

No one could have foreseen the unpredictability and chaos that 2020 has placed us in, so having a flexible approach to scheduling hours may be the deciding factor for workers who have children at home to take care of or another job to get to. Simple things like allowing someone to be flexible with their structured hours to enable them to pick their children up from the babysitter may be the reason why they decide to stay around for the long term.

Hours can always get made up, but personal responsibilities will always weigh heavier than a previously desired set number of hours to work.

Retaining employees versus hiring new ones

As with nearly everything in life, it will always be your responsibility as a leader to implement these strategies. Knowledge is useless without application. Keeping your existing employees happy through consistent communication is the fastest way to company growth and prosperity.

Technology can also be a great way to streamline scheduling changes and unexpected work events, as workforce management applications can make a big difference in eliminating unnecessary costs and time. Implementing these steps will lead you down a prosperous path of success and a fruitful career in leadership.

December 16, 2020

My one work rule to rule them all

Unify those far away workplaces with global mobility tools

George Carlin was a genius.

He just had a way of breaking down language into its most simple parts. Whether it was The 7 Dirty Words or The 10 Commandments, Carlin was just brilliant with language. For example, he dismantled each of the 10 Commandments into just two:

First:

Thou shalt always be honest and faithful, especially to the provider of thy nookie.

And second:

Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless, of course, they pray to a different invisible man than the one you pray to.

I thought of this yesterday after stumbling upon a tweetstorm authored by Kate Bischoff reacting to the New York Times article suggesting that Jeffrey Toobin’s long and esteemed career justifies that he should get his job back despite his Zoom full monty faux pas.

After asking, “Is this even open to debate,” I settled on my one work rule to rule them all. Here it is:

Don’t be the asshole!

Don’t believe me?

Don’t cheat or steal = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t sexually harass = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t refuse to wear a mask or follow other safety rules = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t no-call/no-show = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t fight = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t be insubordinate = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t whip it out at work, or a Zoom call = Don’t be the asshole.
Don’t use the n-word = Don’t be the asshole.

If you don’t want to lose your job for something you do or say, don’t be the asshole. Employees, it’s really that simple.

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020

‘Maskual harassment,’ Part 2

workforce management 2020, mask, COVID-19

“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.

November 23, 2020January 25, 2021

Coronavirus update: Thankful

It’s clear that 2020 has certainly been a year like no other. People are sick and dying. Hospitals are filling up. Our essential workers are stressed and tired.

I’m tired, too. Part of what’s making me tired is continuing to hear people complain about “2020” when we have so much for which to be thankful.

Here’s my list of everything for which I have been and continue to be thankful during the pandemic.

That no one in my very immediate world has become severely ill with COVID-19, or worse has died from it. I pray every day that I can still say this six months from now.
That my wife and I remain gainfully employed.
My daily lunches and walks with my wife, the absolute best perk of us both working from home.
My kids, who have endured the pandemic, and being stuck in the house with mom and dad, as best as they can.
My dogs, who will have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves when we finally go back to work outside of the home.
The slower pace of life and all of the family time I’ve been able to enjoy as a result.
That I’ve been able to work from home since March without anyone batting an eye.
Fast WiFi.
Zoom, which has allowed me to stay connected to family and friends even though I can’t visit with them IRL, and to continue to conduct business without the risk of in-person meetings, hearings, and depositions.
A dry spring, summer and fall, which allowed me to see some family and friends IRL and in small groups.
Democracy.
My renewed love of cooking.
My kids’ school, and its commitment to safety and remaining open for full-time in-person instruction.
The Rockin’ the Suburbs Friday Night Hootenanny, which continues to provide my daughter a valuable virtual outlet to share her music weekly with a group of very appreciative listeners. (Pro tip: it’s free to join, and you can just sit back and listen if you have no music to share.)
The scientists who worked tirelessly to deliver the COVID-19 vaccines we desperately need.
Essential workers who risk their lives every day so that we can continue to live ours.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian, the best show currently on TV and a Friday bonding ritual with my son that I very much look forward to.
Jackbox, which has provided hours upon hours of entertainment on family game nights while allowing my kids to demonstrate their mastery of four-letter words in the safe space of our home.
Curbside pickup.
Red wine, gin, and bourbon.

I’ll be off the remainder of this week, and will return after the Thanksgiving weekend to open the polls for voting for the Worst Employer of 2020.

Everyone, please have a healthy and safe holiday. If you are considering getting together with family or friends for a meal or otherwise, please reconsider. I live in abject fear that if we do not behave with the appropriate level of respect for this virus, responsibility for our role in limiting its spread, and care for others we will lose all hope of controlling this virus until vaccinations reach a critical mass sometime in mid-2021.

By then, a half million of us will be dead, millions will be grieving those losses, and millions more will be suffering long-term debilitating health issues. We can still beat this virus, but it will take a concerted effort from all of us to do so.

November 18, 2020

Coronavirus update: WFHH (work from home harassment)

For last night’s dinner, I decided to use the leftover meatballs from the prior night’s spaghetti dinner to make meatball subs.

The only problem? No hoagie rolls, which led to the following conversation with my wife:

Me: I need to stop and get buns for dinner.

Her: Ooh, will you toast them?

Me: I’ll toast your buns alright.

Her: That’s sexual harassment!

Me: Take it up with HR.

All jokes aside, does a company’s obligation to take corrective action when it becomes aware of sexual harassment in the workplace extend to an employee’s home when that home is also the employee’s workplace?

A harassment complaint is a harassment complaint, regardless of the alleged perpetrator. An employer cannot treat a complaint by an employee against a non-employee any differently than an intra-employee complaint. 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.

There is no reason to think these protections don’t extend to employees who are working from home … although the ability of another’s employer to control my conduct as a nonemployee in my own home is pretty much nonexistent.

Which begs the question: If my wife goes to HR to complain about me offering to toast her buns, what are the potential consequences? Let’s hope I don’t have to find out, but I’m guessing the risk is pretty low.