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You are here: Home / Archives for Workplace Safety
WORKPLACE SAFETY

Use contact logging to ensure law office employees practice social distancing

July 20, 2020 by

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 use of apps, wearables and other so called “contact tracing” solutions that monitor encounters in real time. But in addition to being highly privacy-invasive, these solutions may be too costly and cumbersome for many offices. So, you may want to consider using this cheaper, easier and less intrusive manual method instead. What’s at stake Without a vaccine or treatment, social distancing, i.e., keeping at least six feet away from other… . . . read more

Filed Under: articles, Compliance, Managing staff, must read, social media, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , ,

Tool: Model COVID-19 Contact Log Sheet

July 6, 2020 by

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 contact log sheet. Here’s a model your office can adapt for its own use.

Filed Under: featured, Managing staff, other tools, tools Tagged With: , , , ,
EMPLOYERS FOOT THE BILL

Feds say insurers not required to pay for employer return to work COVID-19 testing

July 3, 2020 by

Since the public health emergency began, the US government has taken the position that insurers shouldn’t be allowed to make consumers pay for COVID-19 lab tests. But now comes news that insurers will not be put in that same position with regard to return to work screening conducted on employees by their employers. FFCRA rules for COVID-19 test payment The key piece of federal relief legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), required insurers to cover COVID-19 tests without imposing any copayments, deductibles, coinsurance or other patient cost-sharing. But the rule (Section 6001 of FFCRA) rule applied only to tests deemed “medically appropriate” by a healthcare provider. The key question: Would insurers also have to foot the bill for screening tests not used for diagnosis and treatment? Apparently, the answer… . . . read more

Filed Under: articles, Managing the office, recent headlines, Risk management, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , , ,
EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Top 10 questions an employer should ask before returning employees to work

May 26, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio As various states and municipalities across the country lift shutdowns and begin easing COVID restrictions, employers are faced with complex questions about safely bringing their employees back to the workplace. We’ve compiled the top 10 questions every employer should consider before returning employees to work.    How do we implement proper infection prevention measures? First, and perhaps foremost, employers should design, implement, communicate, and begin to monitor basic infection prevention measures as they return employees to onsite work. Although a complex task, OSHA and CDC have both published step-by-step instructions for employers on how to implement appropriate infection prevention measures. OSHA has published an employer Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, which outlines the specific steps it believes all employers should take to reduce workers’ risk of exposure… . . . read more

Filed Under: blog, Compliance, Managing staff Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tool: Model COVID-19 Medical Screening Policy

May 4, 2020 by

Regulators have made it clear that given the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers may implement pre-screening measures to ensure that people who have or may have the virus don’t get into work and spread it to others. But limits still apply and you can get into a lot of trouble if you don’t follow them. Here’s a Model Policy your firm can adapt that provides for the necessary privacy, health and safety, non-discrimination and other protections.

Filed Under: other tools, tools, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , ,
COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE

How to create a legally sound COVID-19 medical screening policy

April 29, 2020 by

Like so many other law offices during the coronavirus pandemic, you may be considering medically screening your employees each day before letting them into the workplace. While screening is highly problematic in normal times, regulators have grudgingly acknowledged that it may be a justified health and safety measure during the pandemic. The operative phrase is “may be,” which means that limits still apply. You need to recognize and ensure keep your facility in compliance with those limits. Here’s how. Three Ways COVID-19 Screening Can Get Your Firm into Legal Hot Water Medically screening  personnel can expose you to three kinds of liability. Privacy Violations Body temperature and information about an individual’s symptoms (or lack thereof) collected during the screening process is personal health information (PHI) protected by HIPAA and other… . . . read more

Filed Under: articles, Risk management, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , , ,
EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Coronavirus pushing rapid changes in employer law

April 29, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio Employer  law is rapidly changing amid the coronavirus pandemic. For one thing, Congress has passed another coronavirus related law. The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has provided some helpful guidance and answered a number of questions about the recent expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and about the new paid sick leave law, see: DOL FFCRA Q&A. Here are updates:  PAID LEAVE UNDER THE EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE ACT (EPSLA): Employees of covered employers (private employers below 500 employees and certain public employers) are eligible for up to two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave for certain COVID-19 related reasons. If leave is because he/she is quarantined (by government order or a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical… . . . read more

Filed Under: blog, Managing staff Tagged With: , , , ,
HEALTHY WORKPLACE

Easy ways to make your law office healthier

February 22, 2019 by

Too often, law offices not only fail to promote staff health and well-being, they might actually detract from it.
Why does it matter?
A healthy workplace encourages staff engagement and productivity, which has a direct impact on the profitability of…


. . . read more

Filed Under: articles, Employee benefits, Managing staff, Managing the office, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , ,
COMPLIANCE

The 10 assumptions NOT to make when doing your OSHA 300s

December 10, 2018 by

December is here and it’s time for the logs. No, not the yule logs—the OSHA 300 logs! It’s time to get the…


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Filed Under: articles, Compliance, Managing staff, Managing the office, Working with lawyers Tagged With: , ,
MANAGING THE OFFICE

How to maintain a well-rested staff and reduce the risk of costly mistakes

June 8, 2018 by

It’s time for a wake-up call: Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of U.S. employees say they work while tired, with nearly one-third (31 percent) saying they do so very often, according to a new survey by staffing firm…


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Filed Under: articles, Employee benefits, Managing staff, Managing the office, Risk management, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , ,

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