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Archive for COVID-19

2022 CA Supplemental COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave

Governor Newsom has signed into law SB 114 California State Supplemental COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave, which goes into effect February 19, 2022. The new law applies to employers with 26 or more employees and requires them to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental COVID-related sick pay to employees who are:

Attending a COVID-19 vaccine or booster appointment for themselves or a family member
Experiencing symptoms or caring for a family member with symptoms
Subject to a COVID-19 quarantine or isolation period
Caring for a child whose school or place of care is unavailable due to COVID-19

In 2021, California passed a supplement COVID-19 paid sick leave bill that provided similar benefits to employees. However, these benefits expired on September 31, 2021 and were not replaced with additional leave. SB114 was a pathway for the California legislature to bring back this benefit due to the recent COVID surge. Please note, this would be a new allotment for employees.

The bill covers the period from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. Employees who took COVID-related leave between January 1 and February 19 and were not provided with paid leave may make an oral or written request to their employer for payment.

Employers are required to post a notice about the supplemental paid sick leave. The Labor Commissioner’s Office is currently working on and will make available a poster. Employers are also required to provide employees with written notice of the supplemental paid sick leave that the employee has used in the applicable pay period. Read the full bill here.

Leading in an Age of Uncertainty

As leaders and business owners continue to navigate the process of bringing people back to the office and fully reopening, many are finding that they are “leading in an age of uncertainty.”

The recent surge in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant prompted another revision in back-to-the-office guidelines, and yet more compliance issues for leaders to monitor.

Many employees have gotten used to the flexibility of working from home and are not ready to return to 5 days a week in the office. An Accenture report showed that 83% of employees prefer a hybrid work model, working remotely between 25% and 75% of the time.

Some workers have reassessed their careers over the past 18 months and do not plan to return to their current jobs at all, leaving employers struggling to replace them in the midst of The Great Resignation.

The opening, then closing again of schools and the lack of available/affordable childcare has left many parents (especially mothers) burned out as they strive to “do it all.” According to the National Women’s Law Center, female workforce participation has dropped to 57%, the lowest level since 1988.

Dealing with these challenges in the midst of so much uncertainty can be overwhelming. Yet sometimes all it takes is a sounding board, or some help putting together a plan, or a helpful nudge toward clarity.

You don’t have to do it alone!

Many of my clients have found Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service the “right size” service that they need to work through these and other HR challenges.

Our Just in Time: Your Guide to HR service provides you access with up to 3 hours of senior-level Human Resources consulting support and guidance by phone, email or in person. It’s designed for small to medium-sized companies, specifically owners, CEOs and nonprofit leaders; those running the HR function; and people new to HR operations.

Just in Time hours may be used for guidance on a variety of topics that need answers NOW. Some of our most popular topics are:

Return-to-the-office planning
HR compliance
Employee relations
Employee health and safety

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.

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.

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!

The COVID Economy and Its Impact on Working Women

As we enter Women’s History month, we want to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working women, who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID economy. In January of this year, women were down 5.4 million jobs from February 2020 as compared to men, who lost 4.4 million jobs over the same time-period.

Industries that typically employ a lot of women – education, retail, hospitality – have seen significant job losses over the past year.

But even women who were able to keep their jobs – either working remotely or because they are essential workers – have struggled because of the added burden of childcare issues, distance learning support, and domestic responsibilities that traditionally fall to women. These stressors can be even harder for women who face additional challenges such as poverty, race, having special needs children, or single parenting.

As a result, nearly 2.2 million women have left the labor force entirely, according to a report by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). This means they are no longer looking for employment and are no longer counted in unemployment statistics. School closures and the lack of available, affordable childcare are two of the main reasons.

At the beginning of 2020, women accounted for 50.3% of the workforce. The NWLC report noted that it may take years if not decades for women to fully return at that level. The long-term impacts of this for women include stalled career opportunities for higher-level jobs and reduced social security and other retirement savings.

So, what’s to be done?

In an open letter in the Washington Post, a group of men, including celebrities, sports figures, academics and a former Presidential candidate, declared their support for a “Marshall Plan for Moms” a bold 360-plan to get women back to work. The plan was put forth in January by 50 prominent women who called on the Biden Administration to provide direct payments to moms and pass long overdue policies addressing paid family leave, affordable childcare, and pay equity.

The men’s letter declared: “When more than 30 years of progress for women in the workforce can be erased in 9 months, the underlying system is broken. It’s time to create a new structure that works for women, that respects and values their labor. Men have a role to play. As partners and fathers, we need to start doing our share at home. Studies show we are failing.”

Employers also have a role to play. I’ll be talking about that in my next blog. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know 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.

The panel discussion will provide tips and practical advice on:

Transitioning back into the job market
Professional development
The job search process and networking
Resumes and interviewing
Balancing work and family
Resources

You can register for the program here. Learn more about Phase2 Careers by visiting their website.

I hope you will join us!

New COVID-19 Regulations

In addition to the new laws I described in my last blog, there are some new regulations related specifically to COVID-19.

Cal-OSHA COVID-19 Reporting Requirements

AB 685, effective January 1, 2021, requires that within one business day of being notified by an employee of potential COVID-19 exposure, an employer must provide written notice to all employees of the following:

Potential exposure
Information regarding all COVID-19 related benefits available under federal, state and local laws
Disinfection and safety plan the employer will implement per CDC guidelines

Employers must maintain records of notifications for at least three years.

Workers Compensation

SB 1159 creates “rebuttable presumption” that, in certain circumstances, illness or death from COVID-19 is work-related. This rebuttable presumption remains in place until January 1, 2023, and applies to all employees who:

Work for a company with five or more employees
Test positive during any COVID-19 outbreak at the place of employment

Workers Compensation now also has a new reporting requirement that employers must report to their Claims Administrator within three days that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19.

An employer may dispute the presumption by providing evidence of measures it took to reduce potential transmission of the disease or the employee’s nonoccupational risks of COVID-19 infection.

Testing and Vaccines

Employers may require, as part of their COVID-19 health and safety protocols, that employees who work onsite be periodically tested for COVID-19, as long as the employer pays for the test and adheres to HIPAA and privacy law.

Employers may not, however, require antibody testing.

As for vaccines, the rules on this are not clear yet, so the best thing to do is consult your legal counsel.

COVID-19 Prevention Plan

As of November 30, 2020 Cal-OSHA has required employers to have a written COVID-19 Prevention Plan. This can be a stand-alone document or integrated into the employer’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

The COVID-19 Prevention Plan applies to all employees except: 1) When there is only one employee who does not come in contact with other persons; 2) Employees working from home; 3) Employees already covered by the aerosol transmission standard.

The written COVID-19 Prevention Plan must include the following:

A system for communication
Identification and evaluation of COVID-19 hazards
Investigating and responding to COVID-19 cases in the workplace
Correction of COVID-19 hazards
Training and instruction
Physical distancing
Face coverings
Other engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
Reporting, recordkeeping, and access
Exclusion of COVID-19 cases
Return to work criteria

Cal/OSHA has a model COVID-19 Prevention Plan on its website as well as FAQs and other helpful information for employers about COVID-19.

As a reminder, we have an employer resource page that has links to a variety of sites that deal specifically with COVID-19 information. Here’s the link again for your reference Connect to HR Employer Resources.

Also, I spoke to my colleague, Mary Hiland, Ph.D earlier this year on the topic of health and safety in the workplace. Click here for a recap of the interview.

Please reach out if you need help updating your IIPP or have questions about implementing these new regulations.