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New Back-to-the-Office Guidelines in Light of Delta Variant

In my last article I discussed the importance of being flexible in your planning as you begin to bring employees back into the office. Consider each individual’s situation and co-create a solution that works for you both. This will help with employee relations and may help retain talent that you can’t afford to lose – especially in the current labor-shortage environment.

It’s also important to ensure that you are following the latest public health guidelines so that employees will feel safe when they come into the office. Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations resulting from the Delta variant, health officials are revising their guidelines again.

Additionally, many employers, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, are delaying their return-to-work plans and requiring vaccinations. Amazon, Wells Fargo and ride service companies Uber and Lyft are among many other companies delaying bring employees back into the office. Tyson Foods will require all U.S. employees to be vaccinated. Delta and United Airlines will also require employees to show proof of vaccination before returning to work.

Across the Bay Area, health officials are reinstating a mask mandate. For example, the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health is now requiring face coverings for all persons, regardless of vaccination status, when indoors except when:

They are in their own residence, working in an office alone, or with members of their household.
They are actively performing an activity that cannot be done wearing a face covering.
They are specifically exempted from use of face coverings by the California Department of Public Health.

The Santa Clara County Health Officer also urges all businesses and governmental entities to:

Implement mandatory vaccination requirements for all personnel.
Move operations and activities outdoors where possible, and/or maximize ventilation.
Prohibit personnel who are not fully vaccinated from engaging in travel to places with elevated rates of COVID-19.
Require all personnel not fully vaccinated to obtain frequent testing.
Require that any person, vaccinated or unvaccinated, who has COVID symptoms be tested immediately.

We are currently experiencing in this country what’s being called the Great Resignation. People are leaving their jobs in droves and one of many the reasons is fear of going back to an unsafe workplace. Be sure you are following the current protocols and communicating that to employees to eliminate “safety” as a reason for them move on.

Next month I’ll discuss best practices around retention and what you can do to proactively retain your talent.

Flexibility is Key in Your Return to the Office Planning

As the world is beginning to reopen, businesses of all types and sizes are finding that they don’t have enough staff to handle the demands of a public that is desperate to get back to normal. Hardest hit are the travel, hospitality and restaurant industries who had to dial back significantly during the pandemic and now are struggling to ramp back up.

The shortage has also affected the supply chain – there aren’t enough truck drivers to move gasoline, materials and other products from origin to final destination.

Even Disney, the world’s largest theme park operator and the “happiest place on earth” is finding it a challenge to bring people back to work, especially housekeepers and cooks. About 20 percent of service trade employees at Walt Disney World have not returned to work. To attract workers, the company is offering $1,000 sign-on bonuses.

So, what’s causing the labor shortage? According to economists, there are a number of factors that may be contributing. Lack of available/affordable childcare, concerns about going back to work when we’re not quite through the pandemic, early retirements, and health complications for COVID long-haulers.

Another factor is that the past 16 months or so have given many workers time to reassess their careers – what they do, whom they work for, and where they do their work.

According to a McKinsey & Co. report, 26 percent of workers in the United States are preparing to look for new employment opportunities and 40 percent of workers globally are considering leaving their current employers by the end of the year.

This is a pretty shocking statistic and should be of concern to business leaders who don’t want to lose their talent. It’s much easier (and less costly) to retain top talent than to replace it.

Two of the key reasons cited for this “resignation wave” by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) are better compensation and benefits and better life balance.

As you develop your plan to return to the office, let flexibility be your mantra. McKinsey & Co. found that there was a significant disconnect between what employers perceive as the best way forward (in the office) and what employees want (a hybrid model).

To bridge the gap, carefully evaluate which roles require being in the office and which can be performed partially or fully remotely. Take each employee’s personal situation into account. For example, parents may have childcare issues until schools are fully reopened. Consider delaying their return to the office until then. Offer a flexible work schedule. And follow the advice I gave in a previous article about best practices for the post-COVID return to work.

If you have questions or need help putting together your return-to-work plan, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. Many of my clients found this service helpful last year as they made the shift to a remote work model or needed to keep their essential business open safely.

You do not have to do it alone!

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com.

Updated Guidelines for Returning to the Office

As I described last month, there are specific health and safety guidelines for companies who are planning to bring their employees back into the office. In this article I provide you with some updates to the Santa Clara County and Cal OSHA guidelines. If you operate your business (or have employees who work) outside of Santa Clara County, please be sure to check your local County Health Department guidelines.

Per the Santa Clara County Public Health Order I wrote about in an article last month, employers must ascertain the vaccination status of all personnel. This includes employees, contractors, volunteers, and anyone who regularly works at worksites in the County. The County provides a self-certification form for this purpose. What has changed since that order is that businesses are no longer required to follow up every 14 days with personnel to determine their status. Click here for the full text of the updated order.

Cal OSHA also requires that employers document the vaccination status of employees but does not specify a method for doing so. Per their updated order:

The employer must record the vaccination status for any employee not wearing a face covering indoors and this record must be kept confidential. Acceptable options include:

Employees provide proof of vaccination (vaccine card, image of vaccine card or health care document showing vaccination status) and employer maintains a copy.
Employees provide proof of vaccination. The employer maintains a record of the employees who presented proof, but not the vaccine record itself.
Employees self-attest to vaccination status and employer maintains a record of who self-attests.

Per State, Cal OSHA ETS and County ordinances employees who are unvaccinated or decline to state whether they are vaccinated must follow these guidelines:

Wear a mask when entering the workplace and in common areas such as the breakroom, restroom, or conference rooms. They do not need to wear a mask when meeting outdoors, while eating, while working alone in an office, or while sitting alone in their vehicle.
Although face masks are not required outdoors, they are recommended for unvaccinated persons outdoors when six feet of physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Masks must be double layered. Face shields, neck gators and valve masks are not permitted.

For a summary of the revised Cal OHSA guidelines, click here. You may also find their revision FAQs helpful.

Disclaimer: Because information and guidelines continue to evolve, it’s essential for leaders to keep an eye out for the latest guidelines from the state, CalOSHA, and the city and county where you have personnel performing work, as defined above.

Also, if you have questions about your particular situation, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from your legal counsel.

Please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you need help creating a return-to-work plan.

Leadership Tips for Managing Back to the Office Anxiety

As of this month, many states, including California, have “re-opened” following the pandemic. A lot of people are embracing this transition with long awaited travel, outings to restaurants, bars and ballgames, and other social gatherings.

At the same time, there are also a large number of people who, after more than a year of isolation, have some angst about getting back out there.

And that includes concerns about returning to the workplace.

As you begin to bring your employees back to the office – whether completely in person or in a hybrid model – it’s important to be empathetic to those employees who are struggling with the transition.

For some it may be the fear of leaving the safety of their home and potentially contracting the virus. Others may feel anxiety around exercising social skills they haven’t used in over a year. And others may just be challenged in general by change. It was a transition going into pandemic-mode and it’s another transition coming out. Change can be difficult.

So, what can leaders do? Here are some tips.

Observe. Look for warning signs that an employee is struggling. They’re moody or argumentative. They come in late. The quality or timeliness of their work is lacking. They just don’t seem to be themselves.

Acknowledge. Make time to have a one-on-one with each of your team members as they return to the office. Gauge how they feel about returning to work and acknowledge that transitions can be difficult. Give them the opportunity to share their concerns. Listen without judging.

Educate. As early as possible, have an all-hands meeting to talk about the importance of self-care – both physical and mental. Remind them of the importance of taking breaks, eating properly, getting exercise, and participating in whatever stress-relief activities work for them. Make them feel more comfortable in talking about mental health by sharing what you do to relieve stress and anxiety. Let them know that your door is open if they need to talk.

Support. If your benefits program includes an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), inform employees how to access it and encourage them to use it. EAP is one of the most underutilized programs because of the stigma related to mental health. Remove the stigma. If you do not have an EAP, talk to your insurance broker about adding it. Provide information about other resources such as how to find childcare. Check into university counseling programs where students need to build up their hours in counseling fieldwork. This could be a free resource.

The important thing is for you, as a leader, is to be aware that sometimes the smallest thing can trigger an unexpected behavior, or worse. We have all heard about the rising number of violent incidents on flights and fist fights in stores due to the mask mandate.

Be proactive in keeping your workplace and employees safe – observe, acknowledge, educate, and support them.

If you have questions or need help putting together your return-to-work plan, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. With Just in Time Advisory Service, you can access up to 3 hours of “live” HR consulting support from a trusted, senior-level HR consultant by phone, email or in person.

Whether you need a sounding board to discuss approaches to your return-to-work plan, need to create a return-to-work communication, or have questions on how to be compliant with the various State, County and City required safety protocols in the office, Connect to HR’s Just in Time Guide is here to help.

New Health Guidelines for Post-COVID Return to Work

If you are a business leader starting to bring employees back into the office, there are some specific Public Health Department guidelines you need to follow. These may vary according to your business location and where your employees actually perform their work. Also, the state, county, city and CalOSHA all have guidelines. If these guidelines differ, the more restrictive ones prevail.

Santa Clara County issued a new health order effective May 19, 2021. If your business is in Santa Clara County or you have employees or volunteers who regularly work at worksites in the County, be sure that you comply with these guidelines. We’ve listed a few of them below. For more information, read the full health order.

Employers must require that employees immediately notify them if they test positive for COVID-19 and were present in the workplace within 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms (or the date when they were tested) or within 10 days after the onset of symptoms (or the date when they were tested if they were asymptomatic).
Employers must ascertain the vaccination status of all personnel who perform any work at a facility or worksite in the county within 14 days of this order (by June 1, 2021). Personnel includes employees, contractors, volunteers, and anyone who regularly works at worksites in the County.
Personnel who decline to provide vaccination status are to be treated as unvaccinated. After the initial request, businesses must follow up every 14 days with all personnel who were not fully vaccinated to determine their status.
Employers must require unvaccinated personnel to wear masks, maintain the appropriate physical distance, and comply with all other County health guidelines for unvaccinated individuals.
Employers are also required to provide unvaccinated personnel with information on how to get vaccinated.
All employers must maintain appropriate records to demonstrate compliance. Non-compliance may result in fines of up to $5,000 per violation per day.

Per the County FAQs, compliance with the vaccination/recordkeeping requirement takes just a few steps:

Provide staff members a copy of the one-page Self-Certification form the County has provided to assist businesses in meeting this requirement. It should take employees no more than a minute or two to fill out the form.
Collect the forms and store them in the same way you store confidential employee information like documents requesting medical leave, reasonable accommodations, etc.
Provide employees who are not vaccinated or declined to state whether they are vaccinated an information sheet on vaccination, which is available here.

Click here for the Santa Clara County Public Health Order FAQs.

If you are based in San Francisco or have employees working in San Francisco, check out these guidelines from the San Francisco Department of Health.

Learn about the State of California guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals here.

CalOSHA is in the process of revising their COVID-19 prevention guidelines (ETS), which may be stricter than those issued by California and the CDC. These will not be finalized until later this month. The revisions include updates to face coverings, physical distancing and other prevention measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers. The ETS applies to most workers in California. We suggest you visit their FAQ which will have more details on the proposed changes once they are approved and adopted later in June.

Also, if you have questions about your particular situation, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from your legal counsel.

Please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you need help creating a return-to-work plan.

HR Best Practices for the Post-COVID Return to Work

Now that companies have been given the green light to bring employees back into the office, many business owners and leaders are wondering how to do this safely and effectively.

I had the privilege last week to present at a webinar on this topic with the McManis Faulkner employment law team. Here are some tips I shared at that event.

Create a plan. Assemble a cross-functional team who will provide input on business needs to determine when to bring employees back and what that will look like. Survey employees to understand their concerns. Review individual jobs and decide which need to return to the office and which can stay remote. Take into account any out-of-state situations where guidelines may be different.

Be flexible – consider a “soft” re-opening. Some employees are anxious to return to the office. Others are not. Consider opening in phases to allow those with “wait and see” concerns to return at the later date. Also, based on your review of jobs, can you offer a hybrid work situation to those employees whose jobs aren’t required in the office five days a week?

Be compassionate. Over the past year there has been an increase in substance abuse, depression and anxiety. Some employees may still be struggling with fears and the effects of isolation even as they are able to return to work. Offer mental health services and brown bag lunches on mental health topics to help those with concerns.

Create an environment that attracts and retains women. Women were disproportionately impacted by the effects of the COVID pandemic. In fact, nearly 2.2 million women left the workforce entirely due to school closures, caring for a loved one, or the lack of affordable childcare. Consider implementing flexible schedules and parent-friendly policies. Review compensation annually and make adjustments to achieve pay equity. Promote more women to leadership positions at all levels of the company. And when hiring, give credit for activities and leadership roles taken during work gaps (for example, PTA president).

With Just in Time Advisory Service, you can access up to 3 hours of “live” HR consulting support from a trusted, senior-level HR consultant by phone, email or in person. Our service is specifically designed for small to medium sized companies:

Owners/CEOs/Nonprofit Leaders
Those running the HR function
People new to HR operations

Whether you need a sounding board to discuss approaches to an employee relations issue, want tips on how to create a workforce plan, or have questions about implementing a social distancing protocol in the office, Connect to HR’s Just in Time Guide is here to help.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you. Click the link below to schedule an appointment.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com.

Preparing to Return to the Office

A recent Gartner survey of HR leaders showed that 45% of them expect their workforce to reopen in the third quarter of 2021, while 24% plan to reopen in the fourth quarter.

But while everyone is anxious for things to get “back to normal” the survey indicated that the new normal will be more of a hybrid model, with most employees working remotely at least part of the time. Nearly 32% of respondents said they will let employees work remotely all of the time, while 49% said they would let employees work remotely on certain days.

This hybrid model presents a number of challenges for leaders as they wrestle with how to reconnect their teams, navigate various new rules and regulations, and manage the impact that the past 15 months has had on their people.

To provide some guidance around these challenges, I will be presenting at a webinar with legal experts from McManis Faulkner’s employment team on Wednesday, May 19 at 10:00 am PT.

We’ll be looking at the legal and HR side of returning to work and providing answers to questions such as:

Can I require employees to come back to the office?
What requirements can I put in place regarding vaccines?
How do I keep up with the ever-changing rules and regulations issued by various agencies?
How has the pandemic impacted men and women differently, and what effect will that have on the workplace?

This virtual training is brought to you by McManis Faulkner and the Santa Clara County Bar Association. It qualifies for 1 general MCLE credit from MCLE provider, McManis Faulkner (# 3573). To receive credit, please provide your CA State Bar Number on the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact events@mcmanislaw.com.

I hope to see you there.

Closing the Wage Gap – What Employers and Women Can Do Now

On April 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.7). If it becomes law, this legislation will require employers to prove that pay disparities between men and women are job-related. It would also prohibit employers from screening job applicants based on their salary history or asking about their previous salary during the hiring process. Additionally, it would prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who discuss their pay with other employees.

Passing in the House is an important first step to narrow the wage gap nationally. In California, where Connect to HR is located, the state passed two measures that strengthen California’s commitment to achieving gender pay equity. When California passed the Equal Pay Act in 1949, it was considered a pioneering piece of legislation meant to address pay inequity. A few years ago, the state passed The California Fair Pay Act which went into effect on January 1, 2016. The purpose of this law was to help eliminate the longstanding loopholes around pay equity and move toward eliminating the gender wage gap.

Although at both the state and Federal level there is current or pending legislation to create more pay equity, employers do not need to wait any longer before taking action to support female employees.

Here are some things you can do:

Implement parent-friendly policies with access to paid sick days and paid family leave that go above and beyond what the state mandates. Often women are punished for taking time off to care for their child or family members.
Consider job applicants’ experience and value to the organization when setting compensation rather than basing it on salary history. In California, salary can’t be your only basis for making hiring decisions.
Eliminate the employment gap penalty that often results in women being paid less than their worth. Take into account and give credit to non-professional experiences that an applicant has that can translate into the workforce, e.g., running volunteer events, holding leadership roles on the PTA, budgeting, etc.
Initiate an annual compensation review and make adjustments to achieve pay equity.
Promote more women to leadership positions.

Women: you can also help yourself by being more vocal about the value you provide and by advocating with your employer for equal pay. I heard a really good example of this recently during a forum I participated in on professional women returning to work.

The closing speaker, Raylene Nisbet, told us how she returned to the workforce after being out of it for more than 10 years. Prior to her interview, she did some research on the salary range of the job she was applying for. She got the job, but at a salary she knew was in the mid to lower range of the scale for that job. She accepted that salary because it offered her an entry back into the workforce. She justified it based on her employment gap. This is a typical situation for women who have been out of the workforce.

After only a few months on the job, Raylene had already demonstrated her value by her personal results and the results of other team members, whom she was coaching and mentoring. She went back to her boss – with data – and asked for and received an increase in pay to where she should have been in the first place!

So, women:

Do your research – know what the job should pay
Recognize and articulate your value
Keep track of your accomplishments
Consider hiring a coach, finding a mentor or sponsor for support
Prepare your case and have the conversation!

If you would like to learn more about this very important topic, plan to join me at a legal seminar where we will discuss pay equity from both a legal and HR perspective. The law firm of McManis Faulkner will host the seminar on May 19, 2021. I will be co-presenting with my colleague, Michael Warren, who leads the firm’s labor and employment litigation and compliance practice.

Additional information and how to register for the seminar will be announced soon. In the meantime, please save the date.

It’s Time to (Finally) Close the Gender Pay Gap

March 24, 2021. For many this may have been just another day. But for working women it marked Equal Pay Day – the day (3 months into the new year) that women had to work to in 2021 to earn what white, non-Hispanic men earned in 2020 alone. According to the National Women’s Law Center, women working fulltime, year-round are paid, on average, 82 cents for every dollar paid to men.

It’s amazing that in the 21^st century we’re still seeing a significant gap in the way men and women are paid. And we see it in every industry – from hi-tech to sports to entertainment. And given the impact the past 12 months have had on women in the workforce – 2.3 million have left it all together – it’s well past time to change things.

So, what is the long-term impact of this wage gap for women?

According to one study, over the course of a 40-year career, women on average could be paid nearly a half million dollars less than their male counterparts. The gap is even wider for women of color, many of whom earn only 75 cents for every dollar a man makes. As a result of lower lifetime earnings, women receive less in Social Security and pensions. In overall retirement income, women have only 70% of what men do.

An AAUW (American Association of University Women) study – The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap – provides additional statistics about the impact of pay discrimination on women.

Although gender-based discrimination has been illegal since the 1960s, it still thrives in many workplaces, especially those that discourage open discussion of wages and that rely on prior salary history in hiring. If the bar is set low for a woman early on, it may follow her from job to job throughout her career. Also, women may leave the workforce temporarily to raise children or to care for an aging parent. When they return, that employment gap works against them. It may result in their being offered (or accepting) lower pay to enable their re-entry.

It’s time for this to change, and there are many things that men can do to help close the gap. A recent article outlined 5 specific actions men can take to promote pay equity.

Sponsor, coach and mentor female coworkers. Men can advocate for their female co-workers to ensure their value is recognized and that they are considered in promotion opportunities.
Compensation transparency. Salary discussions are often taboo so women may not know that a man doing the same job is paid more. Men can take the lead in exposing inequity by sharing this information with their female mentees.
Take paternity leave. This could help reduce the so-called “motherhood penalty.”
Speak up when women are not present. Again, advocate for women.
Recognize unconscious bias. Don’t assume that a woman won’t want (or be able to handle) a job that requires long hours or travel. Advocate for their equal consideration.

Pay equity is an important discussion. We’ll continue it next time with some actions that employers can take to help close the gap, and what women can do to advocate for themselves.

Helping Women Get Back to Work

As I described in my last article, women – especially women of color – have been disproportionately impacted by job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, according to data from McKinsey & Company, women accounted for 56% of people leaving the workforce since February 2020. This has turned back the clock for women in terms of their gains in leadership and pay equity. And it has widened the opportunity gap for women of color, many of whom were employed in the industries hardest hit by the pandemic, such as hospitality and care.

This issue should be a concern not only for the women who have felt forced to leave the labor pool, but also for companies that could potentially employ them. According to the Center for Creative Leadership, gender-diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams, and gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units. Furthermore, a higher percentage of women in an organization predicts:

More job satisfaction
More organizational dedication
More meaningful work, and
Less burnout.

Fortunately, some companies are recognizing the gap that fewer women in the workforce will leave and are trying to address it. One example is Google, who recently announced an initiative to provide 100,000 Black women with career development and digital skills training by Spring 2022. The initiative is part of a $15 million commitment by Google to help Black job seekers grow their digital skills. The program will include training in resume writing, interviewing, online marketing and more.

A number of other large companies offer a variety of return-to-work programs for women who have left the workforce to raise their children or to care for an aging loved one.

What can you, as a small or medium sized company, do to create an environment that attracts and retains women? Here are some ideas:

Be clear about expectations and performance standards. The date when schools will fully open for in-person learning is still uncertain in many areas. This adds to the mounting stress for parents who may be worried about whether they will be required to go back to the office before their children go back to school. Or whether they will be able to secure childcare in time. Be as specific as possible about your return-to-office plans and give an adequate amount of lead time (and flexibility) to accommodate parental needs.

Implement flexible scheduling. Be creative about work hours, taking into consideration that during normal work hours parents, especially moms, may also be supporting their child’s distance learning or caring for an infant who would normally be in childcare. Consider allowing evening or weekend hours in place of daytime hours (not in addition to!) when the other parent or a relative/friend may be able to provide childcare support.

Practice empathy. Demonstrate that you understand that moms are going through a lot right now as they try to juggle work, distance learning support, and domestic responsibilities that traditionally fall to them. Make time for individual check-ins and co-create options that will ease the burden while continuing to advance the work. Assess priorities. Maybe the less critical goals can wait.

Don’t forget that that I will be participating in a panel discussion during a webinar – Professional Women Returning to Work – on Thursday, March 25, hosted by Phase2 Careers. You can register for the program here. Learn more about Phase2 Careers by visiting their website.

I hope you will join us!