Scheduling
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Workplace Culture
By Rick Bell
Mar. 31, 2020
Jon Hyman, author of Workforce.com’s “The Practical Employer” blog and a partner at law firm Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Cleveland, hosted a special webinar March 26 regarding the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the workforce. The webinar was co-hosted by Workforce.com Chief Revenue Officer Paul Smith, who provided information regarding Workforce.com’s free GPS Clock-in Tool and a chat app to those affected by COVID-19.
Following are highlights from the presentation, which drew more than 1,900 participants and elicited some 290 questions.
You can access an on-demand presentation of the webinar here.
Hyman covered a broad range of crucial workplace topics, including:
Hyman began his presentation by discussing an issue that many employers find themselves dealing with for the first time: a remote workforce. He laid out a number of considerations for telecommuting and remote work policies.
Telecommuting and Remote Work
Paid Family and Sick Leave: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The Act, which goes into effect on Tuesday, April 1, amends the definition of “employee” to anyone who has been employed by an employer for at least 30 days. Hyman added that the act also changes the definition of “employer” from “50 or more employees” to “fewer than 500 employees.”
Regarding paid family and medical leave, Hyman said The Families First Coronavirus Response Act also:
Regarding paid sick leave, The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will provide 80 hours of paid sick leave for full-time employees (or pro rata for part-time employees) who are unable to work or telework for the following reasons:
The amount of paid sick leave is capped as follows:
The amount of paid sick leave also is capped as follows:
Closures, Mass Layoffs and the WARN Act
Hyman then addressed The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act, of 1988. He noted that it:
Meetings, Travel and Other Workplace Restrictions
Hyman offered up some recommended guidelines for best practices regarding sick employees. While these aren’t law, they are best practices.
Workplace Medical Screenings and Exams: Medical Exams Under the Americans With Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits an employer from making disability-related inquiries and requiring medical examinations of employees, except under limited circumstances.
During employment, the ADA prohibits employee disability-related inquiries or medical examinations unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity or unless an employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition.
Hyman pointed out that it is important to note that the ADA likely will not apply during a pandemic.
During a pandemic, an employer may:
During a pandemic, an employer MAY NOT:
Finally, Hyman summarized his talk by simply adding that for employers, “Flexibility matters … a lot.”
Use common sense and practice safety measures and understand that like employers, employees are dealing with unprecedented measures at home and at work, as well.
Improving the safety and communication in your organization.
Workforce.com Chief Revenue Officer Paul Smith then discussed the crucial role that safety and communications plays in organizations.
What common surfaces are all your employees touching? Smith said a common example is kiosk time clocks. All hourly workers have to touch it, and it’s not always possible to enforce cleanliness rules.
Are they wiped after every touch? What if the wipes run out? Smith said there is an alternative that offers safety and cleanliness: mobile time clocks. He pointed out features of a mobile time clock that includes:
Regarding communications, Smith also asked if teams are communicating effectively and efficiently? One example of inefficient communications is email and texting overload.
There is an alternative to avoid inefficient, poor communication: Workforce.com Mobile Chat.
Features will:
Smith concluded the webinar by saying that Workforce.com is offering both of these tools for free to new sign-ups during the COVID-19 crisis, adding that organizations can be up and running in one to two days.
Come see what we’re building in the world of predictive employee scheduling, superior labor insights and next-gen employee apps. We’re on a mission to automate workforce management for hourly employees and bring productivity, optimization and engagement to the frontline.
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