COVID-19: News and Updates |
| Special #37 - May 19, 2020 |
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Articles and Updates Today
- Watch Recorded Webinar for Free: Coronavirus Return to Work Blueprint By Jeffery L. Thompson and Mel Haas
- ¶20,190D Georgia updates Coronavirus FAQs, includes nexus guidance — GEORGIA — Withholding and Reporting, (May 18, 2020)
- ¶46,966 New COVID-19 alerts cover retail pharmacy, nursing and long-term care, and car service workers — AGENCY GUIDANCE, (May 18, 2020)
- ¶46,964 ETA pressed on clarification of UI, PUA benefits when workers refuse COVID-19 unsafe workplaces — FEDERAL NEWS, (May 18, 2020)
- HRDive Mailbag: Should our company set up on-site testing for COVID-19? Testing alone won't form an effective reopening plan, and the realities of testing may outweigh the benefits, attorneys told HR Dive. AUTHOR Ryan Golden
PUBLISHED May 15, 2020
- Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report
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Watch Recorded Webinar for Free: Coronavirus Return to Work Blueprint
If you would like the Resource Materials to Accompany this GEA Presentation "Coronavirus Return to Work Blueprint for Employers" please contact us by one of the follow below:
(you have register to watch/ registration is free)
Georgia Employers' Association
Buddy McGehee Director 478.722.8282 Email: director@georgiaemployers.org or
Chris Murphy Membership Development Director
678.378.6889 chris@georgiaemployer.org
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| | | | ¶20,190D Georgia updates Coronavirus FAQs, includes nexus guidance — GEORGIA — Withholding and Reporting,
(May 18, 2020)
Georgia has continued to update its Coronavirus Tax Relief FAQs with additional income tax information. In addition to the previously announced extensions, the FAQs provide information on:
- changing a payment date for individual income tax;
- net work tax extensions;
- fiscal year returns due on or after April 15 and before July 15, 2020;
- how employees working from home will not modify a company’s nexus determination;
- how currently, Georgia does not follow any provisions of the CARES Act;
- the deadline for making deductible contributions to Georgia’s 529 Plan is also extended to July 15, 2020;
- how relief does not apply to the penalty for failing to pay estimated payments timely during 2019; and
- how the extension does not apply to Georgia income tax withhold by businesses from their employees.
Nexus determination. Georgia will not use an employee’s relocation, that is the direct result of temporary remote work requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to establish Georgia nexus or for exceeding the protections provided by P.L. 86-272 for the employer. Also, if the employee is temporarily working in Georgia, wages earned during this time period would not be considered Georgia income and therefore the company is not required to withhold Georgia income tax.
The temporary protections extend for periods:
- there is an official work from home order issued by an applicable federal, state or local government unit; or
- pursuant to the order of a physician in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak or due to an actual diagnosis of COVID-19, the employee is working at home, including the subsequent 14 day time period to allow for a return to normal work locations.
Also, if an employee remains in Georgia after the remote work requirements end, the normal rules for determining nexus apply. A company cannot assert that solely have a temporarily relocated employee in Georgia, due to the COVID-19 emergency, creates nexus for the company or exceeds the protections of P.L. 86-272.
Lastly, wages paid to a nonresident employee that normally works in Georgia but that is temporarily working in another state due to COVID-19 emergency are considered Georgia wages and the employer should continue to withhold Georgia income taxes. (Coronavirus Tax Relief FAQs, Georgia Department of Revenue, as appearing May 14, 2020.)
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| | | ¶46,966 New COVID-19 alerts cover retail pharmacy, nursing and long-term care, and car service workers — AGENCY GUIDANCE, (May 18, 2020)
by Pamela Wolf, J.D.
From: GEA's HR Answers Now
On May 14, OSHA issued a trio of new alerts offering tips for keeping retail pharmacy, nursing and long-term care, and car service industry workers safe from COVID-19 exposure. All of the alerts recommend encouraging sick workers to stay home and to report health and safety concerns. Notably, it’s illegal to retaliate against workers for reporting illnesses or for reporting unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.
Retail pharmacy workers. OSHA offered these tips, among others, for retail pharmacy workers (in Spanish):
- Encourage customers to submit prescriptions online or by phone, and allow them to provide their insurance information verbally or virtually (e.g., through mobile apps or the pharmacy’s website);
- Increase the use of self-serve checkouts to minimize worker interaction with customers;
- Frequently clean and disinfect checkout and customer service counters;
- Install clear plastic barriers between workers and customers at order/pickup counters; and
- Use signage and floor markers to keep waiting customers at least 6 feet from the counter, other customers, and pharmacy staff.
Nursing homes and long-term care. The federal safety and health agency offered these measures (in Spanish), among others, to protect workers in the nursing home and long-term care industry:
- Screen workers and residents regularly for signs and symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, and send sick workers home or to seek medical care;
- Closely monitor and take additional precautions with employees and residents who may have been exposed to an individual with the coronavirus;
- Ask visitors to inform the facility if they develop a fever or symptoms consistent with the coronavirus within 14 days of their visit;
- Maintain at least six feet between workers, residents, and visitors to the extent possible, including while workers perform their duties and during breaks;
- Stagger break periods to avoid crowding in breakrooms;
- Consider alternatives to in-person large group gatherings (e.g., staff meetings, resident activities); and
- Continually monitor personal protective equipment (PPE) stocks, burn rate, and supply chains; develop a process to decontaminate and reuse PPE, such as face shields and goggles, as appropriate; and follow CDC recommendations for optimization of PPE supplies.
Car service industry. As to rideshare, taxi, and car service workers, OSHA recommended several safety practices, including these (in Spanish):
- Allow drivers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the coronavirus;
- Provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol for both drivers and customers;
- Limit the number of passengers transported at a single time, and install plexiglass partitions between driver and passenger compartments where possible;
- Routinely clean and disinfect vehicle door handles and inside surfaces with EPA-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus; and
- Lower vehicle windows to increase airflow.
Additional COVID-19 information. OSHA also has published Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, a document aimed at helping workers and employers learn about ways to protect themselves and their workplaces during the ongoing pandemic. The agency’s COVID-19 webpage is also frequently updated.
Source: Written by Pamela Wolf, J.D.
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| | | ¶46,964 ETA pressed on clarification of UI, PUA benefits when workers refuse COVID-19 unsafe workplaces — FEDERAL NEWS,
(May 18, 2020)
On May 12, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and 223 organizations sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and Assistant Secretary for Labor and Training John Pallasch, calling on the DOL to clarify its guidance on the federal laws that protect workers from losing their unemployment insurance (UI) or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits when they are called back to jobs that are unsafe due to COVID-19.
The groups are urging the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to "aggressively enforce the federal standards that apply to determine whether workers can maintain their eligibility to receive regular state unemployment insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) when their employers are not taking the proper health and safety precautions to protect against COVID-19, including the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."
Horrible choice. According to the letter, if not immediately clarified, "ETA’s limited and misleading statements on the issue will require countless vulnerable workers to choose between their livelihood and the threat of contracting COVID-19 or exposing their loved ones to the deadly disease."
Unsafe workplace protections. In an earlier letter to the ETA, NELP noted that the agency is charged with enforcing several critical provisions of federal UI law applicable to workers who are confronted with health and safety concerns when called back to work in the context of COVID-19. For workers collecting regular UI, the federal "prevailing conditions of work" provision governs "work rules, including health and safety rules" and where there has been an intervening change in the conditions of work to which the employee objects. Here, the worker advocates cited Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 41-98, dated September 20, 1998.
Where workers are collecting PUA under the CARES Act, the federal "suitable work" regulations governing the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program apply, according to letter. They provide that "a position shall not be deemed to be suitable for an individual if the circumstances present any unusual risk to the health, safety, or morals of the individual, if it is impracticable for the individual to accept the position."
Following CDC guidance. The CDC has issued COVID-19 guidance that explains how employers should reduce the spread of the disease in the workplace, which should "serve as the baseline on the part of ETA and the states to evaluate whether workers collecting UI and PUA will remain eligible for benefits if they leave work or refuse to return to work under unsafe working conditions," the organizations contend.
They also cite the CDC’s "Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)," which sets forth basic precautions, such as social distancing and the use of protective face coverings, that all employers should follow to reduce the spread of the disease. The CDC’s interim guidance also clarifies that certain workers, including older workers, immunocompromised workers, and workers with comorbid conditions such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease are at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19. These workers "should be given the right to refuse to return to work given their heightened health risks, and still be allowed to collect UI or PUA," according to the letter.
Notice of critical federal protections. The groups argue that the ETA’s limited statements on this issue, including Q&As and FAQs, conflict with the applicable federal UI laws and fail to put the states, employers, and workers on notice of the critical federal protections for the following reasons:
- The statements conspicuously fail to recognize the new realities resulting from the spread of COVID-19 since the furloughs took effect in March. For example, given the massive spread of the virus, ETA erroneously maintains that the individual’s job is still suitable "barring unusual circumstances."
- The statements fail to include any language referencing the basic precautions that employers should be taking as set forth in the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines and other applicable health and safety standards.
- The statements concerning higher-risk workers fail to reference older workers, who by virtue of their age alone should not be required to accept work under conditions where there is risk of contracting COVID-19.
- The statements incorrectly require the individual to suffer from a "serious health condition" to refuse work and collect PUA. This requirement exceeds the broad range of less serious health conditions listed by the CDC’s COVID-19 employer guidelines.
New guidance needed. The letter thus urges the ETA to issue new guidance and FAQs that address standards applicable under federal UI law to determine when workers remain eligible for regular state UI or PUA if they leave work or refuse to work due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns. States should also be reminded of the federal "prevailing conditions of work" mandate contained in every state law. Under this mandate, offers of work from employers with conditions out of compliance with CDC guidelines for preventing virus spread are "per se unsuitable under this federal mandate," the organizations assert.
Vulnerable workers. Taking the lead from Colorado, Texas, and other states, the ETA "should clarify that UI and PUA claimants who reside with older and immunocompromised workers should not be required return to work under the suitable work rules," according to the letter. The ETA’s policy should also clarify the suitable work standards for workers with disabilities.
Termination and retaliation. Further, according to the letter, states, employers, and workers should be reminded that it’s against the law to terminate a worker or otherwise retaliate against workers collecting UI for exercising their protected rights under the OSH Act or their rights under the NLRA to engage in "concerted activity" to enforce their health and safety rights, as required by many state UI laws.
Source: Written by Pamela Wolf, J.D. |
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| HRDive Mailbag: Should our company set up on-site testing for COVID-19?
Testing alone won't form an effective reopening plan, and the realities of testing may outweigh the benefits, attorneys told HR Dive. Read Online>>
In HR Dive's Mailbag series, we answer HR professionals' questions about all things work. Have a question? Send it to hr.dive.editors@industrydive.com.
Q: Should our company set up on-site testing for COVID-19? How can we do this?
A: Employers can test employees for COVID-19 at work, and they can require a negative test as a precondition for an employee's return to work, Gus Sandstrom, partner at Blank Rome, told HR Dive in an interview. Notably, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has said that employers can test employees before permitting them to enter the workplace.
But whether every employer should test, and what that testing might look like in practice, is a much more complicated question. "Practically, there are a number of things that need to be thought through," Sandstrom said. "I'm not sure if this outweighs the positive benefits of testing."
Consider the realities of on-site testing
Employers first need to determine the reason for testing, Nancy Delogu, shareholder at Littler Mendelson, told HR Dive in an interview.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are two types of COVID-19 testing:
- Viral tests that tell a person if they have a current infection; and
- Antibody tests that tell a person if they have had a previous infection.
The ability to see whether someone is currently infected is likely to be more useful in the employment context, Delogu said.
Regardless of the type of test employers go with, testing should be conducted in a well-ventilated area, preferably somewhere private or that is sectioned off, said Debra Friedman, member of the firm Cozen O'Connor, who told HR Dive in an email statement that employers should pay to provide all individuals conducting the testing with personal protective equipment, as well as a touchless thermometer or scanner.
Employers must make sure any tests used are accurate and reliable, Laura Calhoun senior counsel at Clark Hill Strasburger, said in a statement. Employers may also decide to contract out the testing to an outside company, but if they choose to do so, they should thoroughly vet such companies, Calhoun said.
Bigger companies may have an easier time with testing logistics, Sandstrom said. For example, they could move testing to an on-site location that is less heavily used, or take advantage of large parking lots. Employers also must consider where medical waste will be disposed of, if necessary, and whether the testing will be mandatory.
All employers must consider how they will inform employees who test positive in a discreet manner — "employees don't want to be put into an awkward situation in front of their co-workers," Sandstrom said.
Testing alone is not enough
Because COVID-19 testing only provides results about a moment in time "you're not going to have any certainty going forward that the employee remains virus-free," Sandstrom said.
That's why testing on its own isn't a complete plan for returning employees to work, Delogu said. Employers will still need to implement social distancing requirements, as well as enhanced clearing measures, in line with state, local and federal government mandates and guidance.
This list of considerations for enforced social distancing is lengthy: Do desks need to be moved or spaces marked off so that employees sit far enough apart? How will social distancing be enforced in areas such as lobbies? Will there be rules for cleaning shared spaces?
"It's not something that can be done on the fly a few days before," Sandstrom said. "I think everyone has bought into the idea of distancing, but it's the kind of thing you easily forget when you're approaching someone to talk to them."
Temperature checks can supplement testing
Most sources who spoke to HR Dive recommended temperature checks as part of a reopening plan.
Both the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the CDC recommend that employers send home employees who have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, though some state or local orders on this subject vary, Calhoun said. "Employers are reminded that not all employees with COVID-19 run a fever; therefore, employees should also be asked if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in contact with someone with COVID-19," she added.
Temperature checks and questionnaires are the fastest way to test groups of employees for COVID-19 symptoms at present, Friedman said, due to the limited availability of tests and the delay that some patients experience in receiving their results. "Use of COVID-19 tests is expected to increase over time, however, as more employees return to work and the availability and reliability of the tests hopefully improve," she noted.
But employers also need to be careful about what they do with the information gathered from temperature checks, as it may pose confidentiality concerns, Delogu said. In its guidance, EEOC has said that an employee's record of fever or other COVID-19 symptoms would be subject to the confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If an employee refuses to be tested, be consistent
Employees may refuse to take a COVID-19 test and, if this happens, employers must consider whether an employee has a valid medical or religious reason for the refusal and whether a reasonable accommodation is available, Friedman said. If the answer to both of these questions is no, an employer may refuse to allow the employee to work, she added.
"The employer has several options depending on what policy it has put in place for refusal," Calhoun said. If possible, the employer might decide to allow the employee in question to work remotely, Calhoun added, but the employer may also decide to discipline, terminate or allow the employee to resign. "The employer needs to be consistent in its response to a refusal to submit to testing."
Similarly, employers must be flexible to prevent discrimination against those who test positive for COVID-19 or who require an accommodation to return to work, Friedman said: "This includes not limiting employees' work assignments based on a perception of what they can and cannot do or may or may not want to do."
Lastly, testing is not an ideal option for every employer, Delogu said, although it may be particularly useful for those operating in environments that involve constant human contact or work with vulnerable populations.
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| | | Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report For: 05/18/2020
These data represent confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health as of 05/18/2020 12:22:57. A confirmed case is defined as a person who has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus. (Total tests 364,289)
COVID-19 Confirmed Cases: Total 38,081 Hospitalized 6,916 Deaths 1,642
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Georgia Employers' Association |
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