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| | Special #91 May 14th, 2021 |
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| | HR and Employment Law News |
| NEWS FROM GOVERNORS OFFICE
Gov. Kemp Applauds Carroll EMC and Syncglobal for Expanding Broadband in Rural Georgia
MAY 07, 2021
Atlanta, GA – Today Governor Brian P. Kemp applauded Carroll EMC and Syncglobal for expanding fiber-to-the-home broadband to rural Georgians in the ribbon cutting of Phase I of their project.
The Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative is teaming up with Syncglobal to start Phase I with a $40 million investment to serve more than 10,000 rural Georgians. The project will positively impact five counties in western Georgia.
“The Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative and Syncglobal announcement today will positively impact the lives of countless hardworking Georgians in some of the most rural agricultural communities in our state. Fiber-to-the-home broadband service opens doors for new business opportunities, additional education resources, telemedicine, and so many other tools that improve everyday quality of life,” said Governor Kemp. “This is another product of Senate Bill 2 which I signed in 2019, giving EMCs the legal ability to provide broadband service. I want to thank Carroll EMCs leadership for finding a partner to help develop a solution to better serve their entire community.”
The fiber-optic network will offer members access to symmetrical gigabit internet capabilities (same download and upload speeds) – among the fastest and most robust in the nation. Additionally, it will provide reliable, clear phone service and enable the benefits of smart grid capabilities to the electrical infrastructure, including improved power outage response times, better load balancing, more efficient electricity delivery, and other benefits.
In recent years, Georgia’s EMCs have been aggressively pursuing solutions to help expand broadband. Some, like Blue Ridge Mountain EMC and Habersham EMC, have created affiliates and are already providing high-speed service to members and many are exploring or have formed partnerships with broadband providers. In addition to today’s news, other EMC partnerships and projects were announced recently by Amicalola EMC, Carroll EMC, Central Georgia EMC, Colquitt EMC, Diverse Power, Southern Rivers Energy, Tri-County EMC, and Washington EMC, resulting in expanded access for more than 120,000 Georgia homes and businesses.
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¶45,817 Employers eager for return to workplace, survey says employees disagree — SURVEY RESULTS, (May 6, 2021)
The Limeade Institute released a global study, "Employee Care: Defining the New Normal," which delves into the current state of the employee experience, the level of care employees feel at this critical time and employee sentiment around how companies are planning to transition into the workplace in 2021. Of the employees surveyed that were previously working on-site pre-pandemic but are currently working from home — all say they have some anxiety about returning to work. Seventy seven percent cited being exposed to COVID-19 as their top source of anxiety, followed by less flexibility at 71 percent and commuting to work at 58 percent.
"Employees are hesitant to let go of autonomy when it comes to their well-being — and rightfully so," said Dr. Reetu Sandhu, Senior Manager of the Limeade Institute. "Instead of focusing on the logistics of getting people back into the office, I encourage leaders to see this moment as an opportunity to ask employees, 'what do you want work to look like in the future so that you can do your best work and take care of yourself?' and then really listen and act accordingly. The outcome would be profound, both for people and for businesses."
The survey reveals employees are concerned about returning to the workplace as the need for flexibility, communication and care increases. Key findings across all participants regardless of current work location include:
- 56 percent of employees say their organization hasn't asked for their feedback about return-to-work policies and procedures.
- 29 percent say their organization shares employee feedback from surveys with them.
- 45 percent say their organization either doesn't take action based on survey results, or to a small extent or uncertain.
- 81 percent say their productivity either stayed the same or increased since shifting to working from home.
- 82 percent say health and safety for themselves and their family is the top source of stress when looking at the year ahead.
Today's study also revisits, employee perception of care from previous employee care reports, "The Hidden Causes of Employee Turnover," and "Employee Care Still Missing the Mark," finding that only 55 percent of employees feel their organization cares about them, and only 16 percent strongly agree that their company cares about them — a drop from the 31 percent that strongly agreed in January. Additionally, burnout levels remain high and 60 percent of employees said their company doesn't even discuss the topic of burnout with them.
Source: Limeade.
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| | DEPARTMENT OF LABOR NEWS
¶45,820 DOL’s independent contractor final rule officially yanked back — AGENCY REGULATION, (May 7, 2021) Taken from GEA HR Answers Now
The Department of Labor has issued a final rule withdrawing its Trump-era independent contractor rule, published on January 7, 2021. As of the withdrawal’s publication in the Federal Register, scheduled for May 6, 2021, the independent contractor rule, which had previously been delayed until May 7, 2021, will be withdrawn.
Independent contractor rule. The final rule, "Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act," would have:
Economic reality test. Reaffirmed an "economic reality" test to determine whether an individual is in business for him or herself (independent contractor) or is economically dependent on a potential employer for work (FLSA employee).
Core factors. Identified and explained two "core factors" that were to be most probative of whether a worker is economically dependent on someone else’s business or is in business for themself. The first core factor was the nature and degree of control over the work, and the second core factor was the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on initiative and/or investment.
Other factors. Identified three other factors that could serve as additional guideposts in the analysis, particularly when the two core factors do not point to the same classification. The factors include: (1) the amount of skill required for the work; (2) the degree of permanence of the working relationship between the worker and the potential employer; and (3) whether the work is part of an "integrated unit of production."
Actual practice. Advised that the actual practice of the worker and the potential employer was more relevant than what may be contractually or theoretically possible.
New interpretation. In its final rule withdrawing the independent contract rule, the DOL noted that the rule would have introduced into Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations a new part (Part 795) that would have provided a new generally applicable interpretation of employee or independent contractor status under the FLSA. The rule would also have revised the Wage and Hour Division’s prior interpretations of independent contractor status in 29 CFR 780.330(b) and 29 CFR 788.16(a), both of which apply in limited contexts.
Opinion letters published and quickly withdrawn. After the independent contractor final rule was published, the WHD issued Opinion Letters FLSA2021-8 and FLSA2021- 9 on January 19, 2021 (the day before President Biden’s inauguration), applying the final rule’s analysis to specific factual scenarios. The DOL subsequently withdrew those opinion letters on January 26, 2021, explaining that the letters were issued prematurely because they were based on a rule that had yet to take effect.
Reasons for final rule’s withdrawal. On March 12, 2021, the DOL published a proposal to withdraw the independent contractor final rule for several reasons:
- The rule’s standard has never been used by any court or by the WHD, and the DOL questioned whether the rule is fully aligned with the FLSA’s text and purpose, or case law describing and applying the economic realities test. Specifically, no court has, as a general and fixed rule, elevated a subset of certain economic realities factors above others, and there is no clear statutory basis for such a predetermined weighting of the factors.
- Concern that the final rule’s emphasis on control and its recasting of other factors typically considered by courts would improperly narrow the facts to be considered in the application of the economic realities test, contrary to the FLSA’s more expansive conception of the employment relationship contained in Section 3(g) of the FLSA’s definition of "employ" as including "to suffer or permit to work."
- Concern that as a matter of policy, the final rule’s novel guidance would cause confusion or lead to inconsistent outcomes rather than provide clarity or certainty.
- The final rule failed to fully consider the likely costs, transfers, and benefits that could result from the rule, particularly for affected workers who might no longer receive the FLSA’s wage and hour protections as an independent contractor.
- Withdrawing the final rule would not be disruptive because it had not yet taken effect.
- The comment period on the proposed withdrawal expired on April 12, 2021.
Comments. The DOL received 1,010 comments in response to the proposed withdrawal. Commenters who expressed opposition to the independent contractor rule predominantly did so because they believed the rule would have facilitated the exploitation of workers reclassified or misclassified as independent contractors as a result of the rule. They also raised numerous other legal and policy criticisms of the rule. Those who supported the rule generally expressed the view that the rule provided a clearer and preferable analysis for determining employee or independent contractor status. They also raised numerous other legal and policy arguments in defense of the rule (or in objection to the proposed withdrawal).
After considering the comments submitted, the DOL decided to finalize the withdrawal of the independent contractor rule because it "is inconsistent with the FLSA’s text and purpose, and would have a confusing and disruptive effect on workers and businesses alike due to its departure from longstanding judicial precedent."
Source: Written by Pamela Wolf, J.D.
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| | EMPLOYMENT LAW
HRDive.com BRIEF - Walmart refused to accommodate deaf applicant, EEOC chargesPublished May 6, 2021
By: Emilie Shumway /Associate Editor
Dive Brief:- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Walmart April 28 under the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging the company discriminated against a qualified applicant because he is deaf (EEOC v. Walmart Stores, Inc. and Walmart Stores East, LP, No. 21-cv-02080 (C.D. Ill., April 28, 2020)).
- The applicant applied online for a position at a Walmart Store in Decatur, Illinois, according to EEOC. He was contacted for an interview, at which point he told the contact he was deaf and requested an American Sign Language interpreter. The request ended the application process, EEOC said, even after the applicant followed up with the company.
- "The ADA clearly requires employers to provide disabled and able-bodied applicants alike the same opportunities to compete for a job, which includes providing reasonable accommodations such as sign language interpreters for deaf applicants at interviews," said Gregory Gochanour, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Chicago. "Otherwise an employer could exclude an applicant from consideration even where they are qualified for the job. That is exactly what happened here."...... Finish Reading>>
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Georgia Employers' Association |
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