By Lynne Curry bio 1 Pushback from employees who choose to stay on unemployment Question: We didn’t expect the pushback we got from two of our furloughed employees when we called them back to work, particularly as we allow employees to work from home part of the workweek if their work can be accomplished remotely. One ignored two “return to work” emails but responded to a … [Read more...] about 5 questions on the virus and your law office
Managing staff
Telecommuter home office hazard assessment & inspection checklist
While not an OSHA obligation, it’s highly advisable to take measures to protect the health and safety of telecommuting office employees who work from home. How? By having employees seeking approval to telecommute designate a room or area as their home workspace and arranging for somebody to perform a hazard assessment inspection to verify that the workspace is safe, healthy and … [Read more...] about Telecommuter home office hazard assessment & inspection checklist
Are employers responsible/liable for an employee’s home ergonomics, safety and expenses?
By Lynne Curry bio Question: COVID-19 has caused employers large and small to require the employers work from home rather than their employer’s worksites. Word has it that this may continue beyond weeks and months and become the new normal. What is my employer’s responsibility/liability for workplace ergonomics and safety when my home becomes my workplace? Do they need to … [Read more...] about Are employers responsible/liable for an employee’s home ergonomics, safety and expenses?
Coworker exposed all of us to COVID-19
By Lynne Curry bio Question For weeks, “Carolyn” told the five of us in our department that she had allergies whenever any of us asked her about her sneezing. She worked with us in the same building, used the same copier, restroom and office fridge and handled the same coffeepot. I tried to avoid her because she kept forgetting her mask and didn’t seem to understand what six … [Read more...] about Coworker exposed all of us to COVID-19
Use contact logging to ensure law office employees practice social distancing
Managing a law office compliance program in the age of COVID-19 poses new and unprecedented challenges. One of the biggest and most important is ensuring that employees and the persons they interact with on the job follow social distancing requirements. To succeed in this effort, you must have the capability to track actual encounters. One possibility is digital technology, the … [Read more...] about Use contact logging to ensure law office employees practice social distancing
Tool: Model COVID-19 Contact Log Sheet
Maintaining social distancing will be the price that law offices and other businesses will have to pay to reopen and remain open until the COVID-19 threat goes away. But for social distancing to work, there must be a way to track and analyze actual encounters between people at your office. One simple way to gather the essential data is to have employees and visitors complete a … [Read more...] about Tool: Model COVID-19 Contact Log Sheet
Survey shows COVID-19 impact on summer programs, recruiting, and OCI
The National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) has released the results of two short “pulse” surveys about the impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. legal employers, law schools, and JD students. The surveys, conducted in May, were designed to quantify the rapidly evolving changes in the legal profession and the industry as a result of the pandemic. NALP is following up with a … [Read more...] about Survey shows COVID-19 impact on summer programs, recruiting, and OCI
COVID-19, discrimination, DACA, and immigration developments
By Mike O'Brien bio EEOC says no to COVID-19 antibody testing: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently (6/17/20) updated its COVID-19 guidance to indicate that employers should not be requiring employees to submit to antibody testing. Here is the verbatim Q&A (found at EEOC Guidance): Question: (A.7.): CDC said in its Interim Guidelines that antibody … [Read more...] about COVID-19, discrimination, DACA, and immigration developments
Handle these 3 HR challenges in COVID-19 era
By Lynne Curry bio 1 Anticipate reluctance to come back to the office Question: I’ve been working from home since late March. At first I thought I’d hate working remotely; instead I love it. My work day is relaxed because I don’t have to put up with my micro-managing supervisor and can walk my dog during the day rather than waiting until after five. Working at home gives … [Read more...] about Handle these 3 HR challenges in COVID-19 era
So, your employee wants to stay on unemployment
By Paul Edwards bio It’s been a couple of months of COVID chaos and business owners across America are thinking about what it’s going to take to reopen their businesses—and the economy, in general. Of course, the first piece of that equation involves recalling your employees who have been temporarily furloughed or laid off. And, since one portion of the CARES Act included an … [Read more...] about So, your employee wants to stay on unemployment