COVID-19: News and Updates |
| Special #27 - April 28, 2020 |
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Articles and Updates Today
- US Chamber of Commerce - Workshop Wednesday: Protecting Your Business from Cyber Threats (April 29th) / National Small Business Town Hall (May 1st)
- HRDive Article: Transparency now builds trust later: Employer branding during COVID-19
- Georgia Returning to Work Reminder for Businesses and Employers: - General Business Frequently Asked Questions (CDC)
- Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers (CDC)
- Prepare your Small Business and Employees for the Effects of COVID-19 (CDC)
- Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (USDOL and OSHA)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) : Enforcement Guidance on Decontamination of Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
- HRDive Article: EEOC greenlights COVID-19 testing at work AUTHOR Jennifer Carsen PUBLISHED April 27, 2020
- Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report
* Note: If you have any employment law/HR topics or issues you would like to see us cover in the News and Updates please email us at chris@georgiaemployers.org.
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| | | US Chamber of Commerce - Workshop Wednesday: Protecting Your Business from Cyber Threats
Join us this Wednesday, April 29th at 10:30 am EST for our third virtual Workshop Wednesday: Protecting Your Business from Cyber Threats, an audience-driven discussion designed specifically for the small business community.
Jeanette Mulvey, Content Director at CO—, will bring together experts and small business owners alike to discuss new strategies hackers are using to gain access to businesses. With many workforces now fully remote, and away from the protections of enterprise IT solutions, we'll show you simple ways to protect your business in this increasingly digital world, and answer your questions about using available cybersecurity tools to keep your systems running when you need them most. Speakers for this week include:
Amy Brace, Owner, Amy's Cupcake Shoppe (Hopkins, MN)
Spencer Ferguson, Founder, Wasatch IT (Murray, UT)
***** US Chamber of Commerce - National Small Business Town Hall
Join us on Friday, May 1 at noon ET for the sixth installment of our National Small Business Town Hall.
This week, we'll continue the discussion to help business owners navigate the aid available to them. Our co-hosts U.S. Chamber Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley and Inc. Editor-at-Large Kimberly Weisul will break down the latest action from Washington, lay out the processes you should follow to make the most of the resources at hand, and give you the insight you need to plan your next move.
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| | | | HRDive Article:
Transparency now builds trust later: Employer branding during COVID-19
It's important to demonstrate a commitment to transparency, reskilling and diversity and inclusion, experts at Randstad said.
AUTHOR Sheryl Estrada PUBLISHED April 27, 2020
Effective communication with employees during the COVID-19 pandemic can have an impact on how a company is perceived by future workers and even the public, according to Randstand, a recruitment and HR solutions firm. An employer's brand strategy must include transparency, reskilling initiatives and a focus on diversity and inclusion, among other factors, Randstad leaders said during a webinar April 23.
It's essential for HR leaders and professionals to be "totally consistent with the truth" about a company's situation amid times of financial impact, Francesca Campalani, Randstad Enterprise Group vice president of global talent marketing, said. "That transparency for building trust is so important right now," Jeanne Schad, talent solutions and strategy practice leader at Randstad RiseSmart, added; "Trust is how we're going to get work done quickly. When we need people to be productive right now, it's so important to build their trust."
Transparency must include empathy
Trust comes when employers show compassion or empathy, Campalani said. She described her experience while working at Goldman Sachs in 2008 during the Great Recession, and seeing "lines of people leaving the office with boxes of belongings." In contrast, many of today's leaders are taking pay cuts and making sacrifices to spare employees hardship, she said.
"I genuinely think we all learned from that period," Campalani said. "It's something that fills me with hope." She continued, "This is the moment leaders have to walk the talk. People who are in HR in an engaging role with staff colleagues shouldn't be left alone. Leaders should be the face and voice of the company at this moment." A LinkedIn report published April 21 found that employer brand messaging in posts began to change to themes of community, support and care in mid-March. "In short, it looks like messages that put people first perform best," the report said.
Highlighting company values remains important during times of financial hardship, Schad said. "Certainly those who are able to stay true to their values can stay connected to their employees, even if those employees are forced to exit the organization." With the right support, there can be some positive outcomes for people who are laid off, Schad said. For example, a small group of chief human resource officers at Accenture, Lincoln Financial Group, ServiceNow and Verizon created People + Work Connect, a free platform connecting employers laying off or furloughing employees with those in urgent need of workers.
But employees who remain at companies after downsizing "are going to feel a tremendous amount of emotion," so it's important to support them, Schad said, which will allow them to move to the stage of re-engagement.
'If you really care about diversity and inclusion, this is your time to shine'
During times of crisis and restructuring, there's an opportunity to evaluate company standards and processes, Campalani and Schad explained. A focus on diversity and inclusion is essential to retaining diverse talent and their trust, Campalani said.
"Companies work hard to demonstrate that they care about having diversity of human beings, personalities, backgrounds, ethnicity and gender," she said. "They really want that richness, and they don't want to be represented just by one dominant group. If you really care about diversity and inclusion, this is your time to shine." The way employees and candidates are treated today, amid the crisis, is a company's diversity and inclusion message for tomorrow, Campalani said. "At the end of the day, diversity and inclusion means you care about people," she added.
Resilience involves reskilling, self care
Resilience and problem solving are fundamental when dealing with the financial impact of a crisis, Schad said. "Resilience is one of the most important skills for us to be thinking about right now because it goes so far in helping us to future-proof ourselves," she said. "Along these lines, this is an opportunity for HR leaders to reskill yourself, to encourage those on your team to reskill and for the organization to encourage reskilling programs."
And opportunities exist for employees to receive less formal reskilling. "We're seeing this in the COVID-19 crisis happening at a very rapid pace," Schad said. Many companies are encouraging an entrepreneurial type of learning where employees can contribute in areas that interest them, and they are setting up systems for this practice, she said. This is a way to tap into skills workers have not shown before, and "where ideas can emerge," Schad said. It also keeps employees engaged, she added. Learning different skill sets can prepare workers for hybrid jobs — emerging jobs that require a blend of technical and soft skills, according to research. And, hybrid jobs are evolving into "super jobs" that require skill sets that cross multiple domains.
Resilience also requires HR professionals to practice self care, Schad and Campalani said. "Many times the HR people at organizations are the support network." Schad said. "So they're in need of support themselves and excellent self care right now to be there for their employees." Campalani recommended joining HR professional networks on social platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook for peer support. "It's not easy," she said; "you've got a big weight on your shoulders."
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| | | Georgia Returning to Work: Reminders for Businesses and Employers
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| | Enforcement Guidance on Decontamination of Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
April 24, 2020
SUBJECT: Enforcement Guidance on Decontamination of Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
This memorandum provides interim guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR § 1910.134, with regard to the reuse of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) that have been decontaminated through certain methods.[1]
This guidance applies in workplaces in which workers need respirators to protect against exposure to infectious agents that could be inhaled into the respiratory system, including during care of patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other activities that could result in respiratory exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). The guidance describes decontamination methods for FFRs contaminated with pathogens, and is not intended to facilitate re-use of FFRs laden with other contaminants (e.g., FFRs overloaded with silica dust).
This memorandum further expands flexibilities outlined in OSHA's previous COVID-19 enforcement memoranda posted at www.osha.gov/enforcementmemos.[2] In light of the essential need for adequate supplies of respirators, this memorandum will take effect immediately and remain in effect until further notice. This guidance is intended to be time-limited to the current public health crisis. Please frequently check OSHA's webpage at www.osha.gov/coronavirus for updates.
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| | | HRDive Article: EEOC greenlights COVID-19 testing at work
AUTHOR Jennifer Carsen
PUBLISHED April 27, 2020
Read online>>
Dive Brief:
- Employers can test on-site employees for COVID-19 as a condition of entering the workplace, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
- According to guidance updated April 23, a mandatory COVID-19 test may be administered if it is "job related and consistent with business necessity." Given that a person with the virus "will pose a direct threat to the health of others," an employer can choose to test employees entering the premises.
- EEOC says "employers should ensure that tests are accurate and reliable." Additionally, it recommends that employers "still require — to the greatest extent possible — that employees observe infection control practices (such as social distancing, regular handwashing, and other measures)" in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work.
Dive Insight:
The new guidance is consistent with previous statements by EEOC that employers covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are allowed to take employees' temperatures as they enter the workplace, even though this is considered a medical exam. Workers who refuse to undergo required disease-prevention measures may be barred from entering the workplace in order to protect the safety of other employees.
The agency has reiterated that state and federal anti-bias laws continue to apply during the pandemic. Employees and applicants cannot be singled out for special testing or other measures on the basis of race, religion, sex or other protected characteristics. Compliance with these laws is not inconsistent with guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or local health authorities.
Employers need not test all workers entering the workplace for COVID-19 or related symptoms (such as a fever). However, if only certain employees are selected for testing, the employer must have a reasonable, objective basis for doing so — such as testing employees who are exhibiting persistent coughs or other symptoms associated with the disease.
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| | | Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report
Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report For: 04/28/2020
These data represent confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health as of 04/28/2020 12:22:57.
A confirmed case is defined as a person who has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 Confirmed Cases: No. Cases (%)
Total 24,676 (100%)
Hospitalized 4837 (19.06%)
Deaths 1030 (4.03%)
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