In this webinar, we take a deeper look into how the novel coronavirus is not only affecting the way we live, but changing the way we work. From remote work environments, FMLA, contract agreements and more, we discuss how to navigate the changing workforce during this time of uncertainty, and answer questions to help you make the best decisions for the health and safety of your employees.
Part of our ERISA Compliance Series, this webinar is hosted by ERISA Attorney Larry Grudzien and moderated by chief marketing officer Julia Goebel. This webinar will discuss the top wage and hour issues that may be unknowingly lurking within your company.
COVID-19 Health & Welfare: Compliance for Employersbenefitexpress
As part of our continuing ERISA Compliance series, we covered such compliance topics and more in our April 9th webinar discussing COVID-19 and updates from the IRS and DOL concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Webinar: Mid-Year Election Changes for Cafeteria Plansbenefitexpress
Let's talk about cafeteria plans. When can participants make election changes?
While cafeteria plans can be a great option for employees wishing to pick and choose benefits based on cost, when and how to facilitate election changes outside of open enrollment can be tricky to navigate for employers. As the use of cafeteria plans continue to grow, we take a deeper look at the rules and regulations of these plans, particularly as they pertain to mid-year election changes.
Medicare & Employer Health Coverage - a Coordination Conversationbenefitexpress
Let's talk about Medicare and Employer Health Coverage. The rules on coordinating Medicare and employer coverage can be complex. How it complements other programs (such as COBRA, HSAs and the ACA) are also areas of question for both employees and their employers.
Employment Law and COVID 19 Chamber Chatlerchearly
Employers are likely to see an increase in COVID-19-related lawsuits as more and more people head back to work amid the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions.
The Impact of Communicable Diseases, Including Coronavirus, on the Workplace ...Financial Poise
When it comes to dealing with communicable disease-related issues within the workplace, planning is everything. What kinds of things might an employer do to lessen the impact of a communicable disease disaster on their business? Join this panel of experts as they explore these topics: (1) FFCRA-eligibility, hardship waivers, benefits required; (2) Increased employer medical screening, testing & temperature taking; (3) Managing remote work, how to assess eligibility for remote work (job descriptions, accommodations, electronic access); (4) Workplace communication--HIPAA, privacy, etc.
To listen to this webinar on-demand, go to: https://www.financialpoise.com/financial-poise-webinars/the-impact-of-communicable-diseases-on-the-workplace-2020/
Covid19 guidance for multiemployer plans and labor unions webinarWithum
COVID-19 Guidance: Multiemployer Plans and Labor Unions
In this webinar we talk about how COVID-19 is impacting Multiemployer Plans and Labor Unions, including relief programs and FAQs
Part of our ERISA Compliance Series, this webinar is hosted by ERISA Attorney Larry Grudzien and moderated by chief marketing officer Julia Goebel. This webinar will discuss the top wage and hour issues that may be unknowingly lurking within your company.
COVID-19 Health & Welfare: Compliance for Employersbenefitexpress
As part of our continuing ERISA Compliance series, we covered such compliance topics and more in our April 9th webinar discussing COVID-19 and updates from the IRS and DOL concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Webinar: Mid-Year Election Changes for Cafeteria Plansbenefitexpress
Let's talk about cafeteria plans. When can participants make election changes?
While cafeteria plans can be a great option for employees wishing to pick and choose benefits based on cost, when and how to facilitate election changes outside of open enrollment can be tricky to navigate for employers. As the use of cafeteria plans continue to grow, we take a deeper look at the rules and regulations of these plans, particularly as they pertain to mid-year election changes.
Medicare & Employer Health Coverage - a Coordination Conversationbenefitexpress
Let's talk about Medicare and Employer Health Coverage. The rules on coordinating Medicare and employer coverage can be complex. How it complements other programs (such as COBRA, HSAs and the ACA) are also areas of question for both employees and their employers.
Employment Law and COVID 19 Chamber Chatlerchearly
Employers are likely to see an increase in COVID-19-related lawsuits as more and more people head back to work amid the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions.
The Impact of Communicable Diseases, Including Coronavirus, on the Workplace ...Financial Poise
When it comes to dealing with communicable disease-related issues within the workplace, planning is everything. What kinds of things might an employer do to lessen the impact of a communicable disease disaster on their business? Join this panel of experts as they explore these topics: (1) FFCRA-eligibility, hardship waivers, benefits required; (2) Increased employer medical screening, testing & temperature taking; (3) Managing remote work, how to assess eligibility for remote work (job descriptions, accommodations, electronic access); (4) Workplace communication--HIPAA, privacy, etc.
To listen to this webinar on-demand, go to: https://www.financialpoise.com/financial-poise-webinars/the-impact-of-communicable-diseases-on-the-workplace-2020/
Covid19 guidance for multiemployer plans and labor unions webinarWithum
COVID-19 Guidance: Multiemployer Plans and Labor Unions
In this webinar we talk about how COVID-19 is impacting Multiemployer Plans and Labor Unions, including relief programs and FAQs
HR Webinar: The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: New Employer Opportunities ...Ascentis
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law H.R. 1319, the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” (APRA). The latest in an extended series of COVID-19 economic relief bills, with a price tag of $1.9 trillion and weighing in at an impressive 628 pages, ARPA will bring cumulative US federal pandemic relief spending to approximately $5.7 trillion. While the new law’s consumer provisions – like direct stimulus payments to about 89% of US taxpayers, extended unemployment benefits, and increased child tax credits – have gotten almost all the press coverage related to this law, as with prior laws (FFCRA, CARES Act, CAA) there are many employer-impacting provisions that have so far “flown under the radar.”
At Ascentis, we’ve hauled out our trusty “HCM radar detector” to hone in on just those provisions which may impact and delight (or maybe not?) employers, and the HR community, around the country.
HR Webinar: 2021 Compliance & Employment Law UpdateAscentis
2020 was nuts with employment laws changing rapidly so quickly to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 has no plans to slow down with new laws out of Congress and state legislatures contemplating higher minimum wages, paid leaves, additional protections against discrimination and harassment, and shifting priorities at federal agencies. With hopes of coming out of the pandemic by year’s end, HR professionals in all industries are preparing for the next wave of regulations affecting every industry.
HR Webianr: OSHA Reporting and Employee Record-KeepingAscentis
On January 24, 2019, during the longest partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government in history, US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta issued a rollback of 2016 OSHA regulations which would have required electronic reporting of key information relating to workplace injuries on OSHA Forms 300 and 301, on the basis that such reporting would "violate the privacy of individual employees." With the annual OSHA 300A reporting deadline of March 2, 2019 fast approaching, which health and safety recordkeeping and reporting requirements remain for employers of various sizes, and how can we best comply with them?
HR Webinar: The New Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021: What HR Pros Mus...Ascentis
On December 27, 2020, the President signed H.R. 133, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021". This omnibus law includes the much anticipated and long-awaited COVID Relief Bill, with many of the new provisions taking effect immediately. Weighing in at a "mere" 5,593 pages, the new law renews or extends most of the tax relief programs available to employers under both the FFCRA and the CARES Act. The renewed Paycheck Protection Program, funded with $284.45 billion in new federal spending, is expected to see new lending the week of January 11, 2021, with a number of changes in response to prior program criticisms. Join us at this webinar to review the many provisions of CAA'21 which will impact Human Capital Management.
HR Webinar: Immigration Changes and the Impact to Employers: 2018-2019Ascentis
It's not a government secret: The current administration is interested to change many elements of immigration policy and has a demonstrated preference that every job in the US that can possibly be filled by an American citizen, is. Yet despite one of the most full-throated verbal battles on Capitol Hill in recent memory (complete with a record government shutdown of 35 days), the Reconciliation Bills that finally got signed had virtually no changes to employment law or employer immigrant-status policy. E-Verify mandates continue to be controlled at the state level, with no nationwide mandate. So far, the primary changes in work visa and immigration policy have been via Executive Action, and in this session, we'll review the substantial movement on that front.
Payroll Webinar: A to Z of Garnishments Part 1Ascentis
In this three part series on the proper handling and processing of garnishments we will discussed the rules, regulations and requirements as they apply to withholding and paying child support, tax levies, creditor garnishments and others.
In Part 1 we focus on Child Support. Payroll departments must know both the federal laws and the state laws and must determine which one applies to the child support withholding order. In addition to these laws and regulations, the federal rules now require that a standard Income Withholding Order (IWO) be used for all child support withholding garnishments. This webinar will review this form and its requirements. And although the IWO can include all the information necessary to comply with the order, employers must familiarize themselves with both federal and state regulations to avoid penalties and liabilities. Withholding monies for child support is not the only requirement that applies to providing for a child, medical support orders are required to be process by payroll as well. And these orders have their own rules and regulations on both the federal and state level.
HR Webinar: The First 100 Days: Changes Employers Should be Aware ofAscentis
April 30, 2021 is the end of the first 100 days of the new Biden Administration. Not only did we have a change of party in the White House, but for the first time since 2011 we are also experiencing single party control of the House of Representatives, Senate and Presidency.
From vaccine logistics to small business relief, from minimum wage to gender pay equity, and from immigration reform to health care policy, political analysts expected big changes from the new Administration. In this session, we’ll review reality against expectations, and the HR technology implications for the change to come.
Payroll Webinar: The Essentials for Third Party Sick Pay in 2020Ascentis
This webinar discusses the proper taxation and reporting of the fringe benefit known as third party sick pay. It discusses what is and is not third party sick pay, how the taxation is affected by the status of the provider (is or is not the employer’s agent), when this type of payment is taxable and/or reportable and who is responsible for this taxation and reporting.
Topics include the following:
- issues related to COVID-19 in the workplace, including paid leave rights and benefits, return to work standards, and work-from-home arrangements
- Supreme Court decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Equal Pay Act
- new regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act
- expansion of employee rights and employer obligations under Illinois Law
- upcoming anti-harassment training deadline
- legal requirements taking effect in the second half of 2020 and in January 2021
- the impact of a California court’s decision regarding gig workers
- and more…
Payroll Webinar: What You Need to Know about Benefits TaxationAscentis
You will learn the payroll department’s responsibilities pertaining to the set-up of employee benefits, including retirement, health and welfare and other benefits. You will learn what payroll department staff need to know when tax withholding needs to occur and how to communicate the tax withholding effectively to employees. Learn how to be proactive on employee taxation issues with management and prevent surprises.
Payroll Webinar: The A to Z of Payroll Garnishments Part 2Ascentis
Tax levies and creditor garnishments can be some of the most complex tasks required of any payroll department. Payroll must understand all the laws that apply towards processing these types of garnishments backwards and forwards. It is sometimes even up to the payroll department to catch and correct any errors that have been made by anyone else along the way!
Precise and accurate compliance with garnishment regulation can help to reduce or eliminate the emotional and financial toll that can result from these unfortunate situations as well stave off any penalties that may result if processed incorrectly.
This webinar concentrates on processing garnishments, other than child support, in the payroll department. We’ll cover the federal rules for creditor garnishments, the IRS rules for federal tax levies, the various aspects of state tax levies, the key points for processing state creditor garnishments, how to handle voluntary wage assignments like payday loans and student loans. And that’s not all – we’ll also review the IRS Form 668-W.
This presentation reviews: what information must be protected, what policies and procedures need to be in place, what disclosures have to be given to employees, what agreements have to be in place for business associates, and what breach procedures have to be followed.
In today's multi-generational workforce, health and wellness benefits are weighted equally with salary expectations. This is why it's important for small and large businesses alike to embrace health and wellness benefits to recruit top talent as well as retain valued employees.
While offering these benefits has been shown to improve employee engagement and productivity, it comes with some challenges. This webinar reviews common questions human resources professionals confront when offering health and welfare benefits to employees.
Facilitated by ERISA attorney Larry Grudzien, this webinar covers the following:
- Questions Surrounding Tax
- Reporting Disclosures
- ERISA, COBRA & FMLA
- Workers Compensation
- Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Benefits are a critical piece of an employee compensation package, with health care benefits reigning most important. Whether you're already offering these benefits or considering adding them to your benefits offerings, view our webinar to learn more and remain competitive in the talent marketplace.
Network Return to Work Pack - guidance for your clients Alice Bowerman
Designed to help you support your clients, this Return to Work Information and guidance pack highlights critical questions to raise before allowing employees to return, and addresses these with some examples on how to manage this transition safely.
HR Webinar: The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: New Employer Opportunities ...Ascentis
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law H.R. 1319, the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” (APRA). The latest in an extended series of COVID-19 economic relief bills, with a price tag of $1.9 trillion and weighing in at an impressive 628 pages, ARPA will bring cumulative US federal pandemic relief spending to approximately $5.7 trillion. While the new law’s consumer provisions – like direct stimulus payments to about 89% of US taxpayers, extended unemployment benefits, and increased child tax credits – have gotten almost all the press coverage related to this law, as with prior laws (FFCRA, CARES Act, CAA) there are many employer-impacting provisions that have so far “flown under the radar.”
At Ascentis, we’ve hauled out our trusty “HCM radar detector” to hone in on just those provisions which may impact and delight (or maybe not?) employers, and the HR community, around the country.
HR Webinar: 2021 Compliance & Employment Law UpdateAscentis
2020 was nuts with employment laws changing rapidly so quickly to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 has no plans to slow down with new laws out of Congress and state legislatures contemplating higher minimum wages, paid leaves, additional protections against discrimination and harassment, and shifting priorities at federal agencies. With hopes of coming out of the pandemic by year’s end, HR professionals in all industries are preparing for the next wave of regulations affecting every industry.
HR Webianr: OSHA Reporting and Employee Record-KeepingAscentis
On January 24, 2019, during the longest partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government in history, US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta issued a rollback of 2016 OSHA regulations which would have required electronic reporting of key information relating to workplace injuries on OSHA Forms 300 and 301, on the basis that such reporting would "violate the privacy of individual employees." With the annual OSHA 300A reporting deadline of March 2, 2019 fast approaching, which health and safety recordkeeping and reporting requirements remain for employers of various sizes, and how can we best comply with them?
HR Webinar: The New Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021: What HR Pros Mus...Ascentis
On December 27, 2020, the President signed H.R. 133, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021". This omnibus law includes the much anticipated and long-awaited COVID Relief Bill, with many of the new provisions taking effect immediately. Weighing in at a "mere" 5,593 pages, the new law renews or extends most of the tax relief programs available to employers under both the FFCRA and the CARES Act. The renewed Paycheck Protection Program, funded with $284.45 billion in new federal spending, is expected to see new lending the week of January 11, 2021, with a number of changes in response to prior program criticisms. Join us at this webinar to review the many provisions of CAA'21 which will impact Human Capital Management.
HR Webinar: Immigration Changes and the Impact to Employers: 2018-2019Ascentis
It's not a government secret: The current administration is interested to change many elements of immigration policy and has a demonstrated preference that every job in the US that can possibly be filled by an American citizen, is. Yet despite one of the most full-throated verbal battles on Capitol Hill in recent memory (complete with a record government shutdown of 35 days), the Reconciliation Bills that finally got signed had virtually no changes to employment law or employer immigrant-status policy. E-Verify mandates continue to be controlled at the state level, with no nationwide mandate. So far, the primary changes in work visa and immigration policy have been via Executive Action, and in this session, we'll review the substantial movement on that front.
Payroll Webinar: A to Z of Garnishments Part 1Ascentis
In this three part series on the proper handling and processing of garnishments we will discussed the rules, regulations and requirements as they apply to withholding and paying child support, tax levies, creditor garnishments and others.
In Part 1 we focus on Child Support. Payroll departments must know both the federal laws and the state laws and must determine which one applies to the child support withholding order. In addition to these laws and regulations, the federal rules now require that a standard Income Withholding Order (IWO) be used for all child support withholding garnishments. This webinar will review this form and its requirements. And although the IWO can include all the information necessary to comply with the order, employers must familiarize themselves with both federal and state regulations to avoid penalties and liabilities. Withholding monies for child support is not the only requirement that applies to providing for a child, medical support orders are required to be process by payroll as well. And these orders have their own rules and regulations on both the federal and state level.
HR Webinar: The First 100 Days: Changes Employers Should be Aware ofAscentis
April 30, 2021 is the end of the first 100 days of the new Biden Administration. Not only did we have a change of party in the White House, but for the first time since 2011 we are also experiencing single party control of the House of Representatives, Senate and Presidency.
From vaccine logistics to small business relief, from minimum wage to gender pay equity, and from immigration reform to health care policy, political analysts expected big changes from the new Administration. In this session, we’ll review reality against expectations, and the HR technology implications for the change to come.
Payroll Webinar: The Essentials for Third Party Sick Pay in 2020Ascentis
This webinar discusses the proper taxation and reporting of the fringe benefit known as third party sick pay. It discusses what is and is not third party sick pay, how the taxation is affected by the status of the provider (is or is not the employer’s agent), when this type of payment is taxable and/or reportable and who is responsible for this taxation and reporting.
Topics include the following:
- issues related to COVID-19 in the workplace, including paid leave rights and benefits, return to work standards, and work-from-home arrangements
- Supreme Court decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Equal Pay Act
- new regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act
- expansion of employee rights and employer obligations under Illinois Law
- upcoming anti-harassment training deadline
- legal requirements taking effect in the second half of 2020 and in January 2021
- the impact of a California court’s decision regarding gig workers
- and more…
Payroll Webinar: What You Need to Know about Benefits TaxationAscentis
You will learn the payroll department’s responsibilities pertaining to the set-up of employee benefits, including retirement, health and welfare and other benefits. You will learn what payroll department staff need to know when tax withholding needs to occur and how to communicate the tax withholding effectively to employees. Learn how to be proactive on employee taxation issues with management and prevent surprises.
Payroll Webinar: The A to Z of Payroll Garnishments Part 2Ascentis
Tax levies and creditor garnishments can be some of the most complex tasks required of any payroll department. Payroll must understand all the laws that apply towards processing these types of garnishments backwards and forwards. It is sometimes even up to the payroll department to catch and correct any errors that have been made by anyone else along the way!
Precise and accurate compliance with garnishment regulation can help to reduce or eliminate the emotional and financial toll that can result from these unfortunate situations as well stave off any penalties that may result if processed incorrectly.
This webinar concentrates on processing garnishments, other than child support, in the payroll department. We’ll cover the federal rules for creditor garnishments, the IRS rules for federal tax levies, the various aspects of state tax levies, the key points for processing state creditor garnishments, how to handle voluntary wage assignments like payday loans and student loans. And that’s not all – we’ll also review the IRS Form 668-W.
This presentation reviews: what information must be protected, what policies and procedures need to be in place, what disclosures have to be given to employees, what agreements have to be in place for business associates, and what breach procedures have to be followed.
In today's multi-generational workforce, health and wellness benefits are weighted equally with salary expectations. This is why it's important for small and large businesses alike to embrace health and wellness benefits to recruit top talent as well as retain valued employees.
While offering these benefits has been shown to improve employee engagement and productivity, it comes with some challenges. This webinar reviews common questions human resources professionals confront when offering health and welfare benefits to employees.
Facilitated by ERISA attorney Larry Grudzien, this webinar covers the following:
- Questions Surrounding Tax
- Reporting Disclosures
- ERISA, COBRA & FMLA
- Workers Compensation
- Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Benefits are a critical piece of an employee compensation package, with health care benefits reigning most important. Whether you're already offering these benefits or considering adding them to your benefits offerings, view our webinar to learn more and remain competitive in the talent marketplace.
Network Return to Work Pack - guidance for your clients Alice Bowerman
Designed to help you support your clients, this Return to Work Information and guidance pack highlights critical questions to raise before allowing employees to return, and addresses these with some examples on how to manage this transition safely.
Guidance for Employers During the Evolving COVID-19 PandemicQuarles & Brady
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. employers are wrestling with many workforce issues to ensure workforce safety and mitigate operational disruptions. Our discussion will present key considerations for employers relating to employee workplace safety, implementing policies and procedures for working remotely, handling issues of paid and unpaid leave for employees or family member care, as well as addressing travel restrictions, all within the context of FMLA, EEOC, wage and hour and other legal guidelines. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.
Guidance for Employers During the Evolving COVID-19 PandemicQuarles & Brady
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. employers are wrestling with many workforce issues to ensure workforce safety and mitigate operational disruptions. Our discussion will present key considerations for employers relating to employee workplace safety, implementing policies and procedures for working remotely, handling issues of paid and unpaid leave for employees or family member care, as well as addressing travel restrictions, all within the context of FMLA, EEOC, wage and hour and other legal guidelines. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.
Risk insights: Reopening a Business After the Coronavirus ShutdownErin Schroeder
When stay-at-home orders are lifted and nonessential businesses are allowed to resume operations, there’s a lot for organizations to consider before they reopen their doors. Read on to learn more.
The Coronavirus and Australian Businesses myosh team
The Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is already significantly impacting Australian workplaces. This free webinar will assist human resources, legal counsel, risk and senior executives to prepare to deal with existing and future challenges. Harmers Workplace Lawyers presenters: Michael Harmer, Chairman & Senior Team Leader, Madeleine Boyd, Senior Associate and Zeb Holmes, Solicitor, will cover:
An introduction to the Coronavirus and its potential impact on Australian workplaces.
Your rights and obligations as the operators of business.
Rights and obligations of employees, contractors, customers and others coming into contact with your business.
Developing a Risk Management Plan for your business.
Change managing the introduction of your Risk Management Plan consistent with Australian workplace law.
Practical steps, trips and traps.
A brief case study.
Questions – which will be discussed by our panel during the webinar.
03.18.2020 COVIN 19 HR Compliance Update from Meadows Resources. All things up to date on compliance with OSHA, FMLA, H.R. 6201 for traditional and remote workers.
What Is Life After Coronavirus? Understanding Employer Compliance And SafetyRea & Associates
Join us for a high-level coronavirus overview designed to help employers make sense of current CDC recommendations for small- to mid-sized businesses. This hour-long presentation will cover prevention tips, employee safety, and potential legal liabilities owners and managers must consider as this unprecedented and historical event continues to unfold.
Please note, these resources are for informational purposes only. Rea & Associates does not provide legal advice and will not make management decisions for your organization. You are encouraged to consult with legal counsel of your choice prior to implementing policies and procedures. Additionally, the information presented during this webinar was accurate at the day and time the presentation was recorded (Thursday, March 19, 2020). As events continue to unfold, we understand that the information in the webinar may be outdated. For the most current information, please check the government resources provided above or reach out to the Rea & Associates human resources consulting team directly.
COVID-19 Return to Work Plan: Who Returns, When, Where & HowMeyers Nave
As COVID-19 vaccines become more available, bringing employees back to work safely requires a detailed Return to Work Plan. Employers must adapt to ever-changing local, state and national requirements to keep employees, clients, customers, vendors, and the visiting public safe. Meyers Nave Labor and Employment Law Principals Camille Hamilton Pating and Arlene Yang presented a webinar on employers’ frequently asked questions.
The webinar covered:
Determining who returns to work and when, where, and how
Vaccination policy options
Managing workplace safety on a daily basis, including travel, health checks, masks and social distancing, and other requirements
Mandated legal reporting of COVID-19 positive cases
What to do when an employee refuses the vaccine or refuses to return to work
Resources for the evolving hybrid workplace
Avoiding the types of employment litigation claims most likely to arise from the “new normal” workplace
[ON-DEMAND WEBINAR] New Year, New COVID 19 Vaccine, New Unemployment Rules, N...Rea & Associates
Ringing in the new year is a lot different this time around, particularly if you are a business owner trying to make sense of human resources updates. The rules are a lot different from what they were a year ago and now business owners must shuffle through a slew of updated HR policies and best practices to ensure compliance with ever-changing legislation. Renee West, SHRM-SCP, PHR, senior manager and leader of Rea & Associates' HR consulting services practice, has been committed to following federal and state-wide legislation in order to provide you with key updates to ensure ongoing compliance in your organization.
During this free, hour-long webinar, Renee will go over:
- FFCRA Leave updates and unemployment extension information PUA unemployment details, and unemployment benefits
- COVID 19 vaccine resources for employers
- 2021 HR policies
- Best practices to mitigate risk in 2021.
- And more ...
For more insight into the HR considerations for businesses, visit https://www.reacpa.com
#ReaCPA #HRCompliance #COVIDCrisis
Ethos Return to Work Pack - guidance for clients Alice Bowerman
Designed to help you support your clients, this Return to Work Information and guidance pack highlights critical questions to raise before allowing employees to return, and addresses these with some examples on how to manage this transition safely.
Coronavirus: Business Questions AnsweredTom Willis
There's a lot of legal issues surrounding COVID-19. From employment to tax relief, current circumstances mean that businesses are and will inevitably be affected.
To help, we’re running a special webinar on COVID-19 at 12:00pm on Thursday 2 April 2020. In this webinar, experienced business lawyer Damin Murdock will cover:
- Options for business owners on retail, commercial and residential leases
- Leave entitlements for staff who are in self-isolation or who have been diagnosed with COVID-19
- How to implement an effective Working From Home (WFH) arrangement
- Managing employees and restructuring your business
- Managing your cash flow
- How to know if your insurance covers you for interruptions caused by pandemics
We will also be dedicating time at the end of the webinar for Damin to answer your questions.
Employers' considerations for the COVID-19 vaccinePacific Prime
With COVID-19 vaccination rollouts underway around the globe, hopes of returning to normal are high for employers and employees. For now, employers can prepare for the vaccine rollout by keeping these considerations in mind.
Normal working practices have changed dramatically in a very short period. Most staff are still working remotely, and many organisations have made use of the furlough scheme. This has meant organisations are having to manage and support staff remotely; review some existing policies to ensure they are still fit for purpose; and manage with a reduced and rotating staff capacity. In partnership with our Trusted Supplier Croner, in this webinar we will be sharing good practice on managing and supporting staff in this new environment. We will be joined by Vicky Scott, Operations and HR Manager at Hackney CVS who will share the experiences and learnings of Hackney CVS in this new context.
Arizona Is Reopening for Business Soon: Navigating COVID-19’s Impact on Reope...Danielle Miller
This webinar answers these questions and addresses the issues keeping employers up at night as they plan to reopen, including changing workplace safety requirements, managing employee safety concerns, employer liability for sick employees, recall planning issues and employees who refuse to return, WARN Act considerations, and managing the new FFCRA benefits. This session focuses on Arizona, but has practical considerations for all states. Questions submitted by participants were answered during the webinar.
Similar to Plan Sponsor Webinar: Navigating COVID-19 for Employers (20)
The Affordable Care Act touches the lives of most Americans. In fact, nearly 21 million will be at risk if Obamacare is struck down, and may even lose health insurance completely if the law is ruled unconstitutional. This webinar will discuss what the outcome may be if ACA is repealed.
Watch our free one-hour webinar reviewing the rules for the new Individual Coverage HRA and the new Excepted Benefit HRA (ICHRA and EBHRA).
In June 2019, Treasury, DOL and HHS released final regulations that are effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. These regulations created two new HRAs, Individual Coverage HRAs (ICHRA) and Excepted Benefit HRAs (EBHRA).
These new HRAs will be subject to ERISA and COBRA, but will not be subject to the nondiscrimination rules under Code Section 105(h). Any employer can offer these new HRAs to their employees. They can be offered to common law employees, but cannot be offered to self-employed individuals, partners and more than 2% S-Corporation shareholders.
Facilitated by ERISA attorney Larry Grudzien, and moderated by Chief Marketing Officer Julia Goebel, this webinar will cover the following:
-Why are these new HRAs so important?
-Which employees can be included or excluded
-What documentation is needed to be completed by employers to adopt them
-What reporting and disclosure requirements must be met
-What types of expenses can be reimbursed
-The pros and cons of establishing and participating in these new HRAs for employers
How to Administer Wellness Programs in Today's Regulatory Environmentbenefitexpress
Are you struggling to make sense of the recent legislative updates surrounding employer sponsored wellness programs? Perhaps you are trying to decide whether to continue with current wellness plans, modify your plans without guidance from the EEOC, postpone new wellness programs or discontinue them all together.
It’s a complicated landscape ripe with several options for “next steps” for employees and plan sponsors of wellness plans in 2019 — with perhaps the biggest barrier of all being that employers cannot measure the risk of wellness plans at this time.
To help guide you through this maze of options, watch our one-hour webinar on-demand to learn what rules remain after the EEOC’s regulations were found invalid and what rules have to be met in 2019 in order to offer a valid wellness program.
How to administer wellness programs in today's regulatory environment
This webinar covers:
Requirements under HIPAA
Requirements under the Internal Revenue Code
Requirements under ERISA
Requirements under GINA
Requirements under ADA
Requirements under ACA
HIPAA Training: Privacy Review and Audit Survival Guidebenefitexpress
HIPAA Privacy Overview for Employers. Review a helpful checklist of requirements an employer must adopt to stay compliant with HIPAA and to survive an audit by Health and Human Services (HHS).
Webinar | Texas vs. United States - The Repeal of ACA?benefitexpress
Recently a Federal District Court held in Texas, et al. v. United States of America, et al. that the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional, and that the other provisions in the ACA are invalid because they are inseverable from the individual mandate.
Our ACA compliance webinar reviews:
- What the Federal District Court decided.
- The basis for the decision.
- The impact of the decision.
- What may happen over the next months or year.
- What Congress may do to address the situation.
Healthcare Check-in: The Latest Developments in Health and Welfare Plansbenefitexpress
We work in an exciting industry – which means quick changes are the norm, and adaptability is a necessity. Keep your compliance plans up to date with a download of all legislative changes since our last update webinar. This webinar covered legislation that's passed in the last six months, what's on the way, and what it means for your organization.
Webinar | From Analysis to Action: How Personalization Can Lower Employer Cos...benefitexpress
Personalization is everywhere – from Amazon to Spotify, and is now the expectation for consumers. Personalization in benefits elections is also the new normal, thanks to decision support tools and data analytics. Modern decision support tools draw on data points including demographics, preferences and medical need, all highly relevant towards personalization ... as opposed to the "one-size fits all" modeler of the past that relied on strict business rules.
Using data to advise clients can be a game changer for a broker. With analytics, you can quantify your benefit plan suggestions based on hard evidence, and advise based on unbiased data versus mere opinion. But where does this data come from? And how do you know which data to use?
This webinar shows how decision support tools can provide data to simplify health benefit decisions, allowing employees to feel more confident in their decisions, leading to lower costs for employers and client retention for brokers as a result.
In this webinar, brokers will learn how decision support analytics can reinforce their role as a trusted adviser by:
• Helping employer clients understand which health plans and programs are being used and which ones are the most cost-effective
• Minimizing the number of employees who are over-insured or under-insured, helping to save on annual and long-term costs for healthcare premiums, leading to better client retention over time
• Supporting healthy employee behaviors, resulting in lower health care expenses overall
FSAs can do some heavy lifting for your benefits plan – they allow employees to save pretax dollars for healthcare costs without the price tag of other financial wellness initiatives.
However, many HR professionals lack a deep understanding of the compliance requirements to offer and administer a well-rounded program for their employees. Engage your employees with a financial wellness benefit that works.
Key webinar takeaways:
- How different types of FSAs interact with benefit plans as a whole
- FSA and reimbursement limits for 2018
- Legal implications of offering an FSA to employees
- Best practices for administering a successful FSA benefit plan
Webinar | COBRA Pitfalls: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Thembenefitexpress
Leaving the organization isn't the end of the benefits cycle for employees. This webinar focuses on how to avoid one of the most common compliance pitfalls in benefits ... COBRA administration.
Some of the top takeaways were:
• The basics of successful COBRA administration
• Required notices associated with COBRA coverage
• How Medicare interacts with COBRA for employees and dependents
• Penalties for noncompliance
Smooth and successful off-boarding of departing employees is as important as well-planned on-boarding of new hires. Log on to your roadmap for a smooth ride into COBRA compliance.
Webinar | Clients Calling “Mayday”? Design a Benefits Technology Strategy to ...benefitexpress
Benefits administration can be a delicate, and even difficult balancing act for employers. From managing costs and administrative demands, to maintaining compliance, and integrating with workforce wellness plans, it’s not surprising that three in four employers called “mayday” and turned to benefits administration outsourcing in 2017. With the administrative difficulty level rising, and advisory competition increasing, it is now critical to become the partner of choice to relieve this distress. But how?
Join Scott Evans, chief product officer at benefitexpress, this May Day, as he guides benefits advisers through the top considerations for building, buying or borrowing benefits administration technology solutions to offer clients. If you and your clients have benefits technology questions, Scott has answers.
Webinar takeaways include:
• How to assess your readiness: learn and identify the benefits administration business model that is right for you
• Key criteria for evaluating potential benefits technology partners, plus a valuable checklist
• How to create a benefits technology strategy for your business which is seen as an imperative – not a “value-add” – by your clients
• Tips for staying competitive in a changing market, using your solutions portfolio
Webinar | Training the Technique: Advanced ERISA Compliancebenefitexpress
If your organization offers any form of retirement plan, chances are you have questions about ERISA. This advanced compliance training will go beyond the basics of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Attend our one-hour training to learn:
- Which employers are affected by ERISA regulations
- Which benefits plans are subject to ERISA
- What documentation employers must provide to prove
compliance
- Penalties for noncompliance
ERISA attorney Larry Grudzien will share industry inside knowledge to help participants ensure total compliance with ERISA regulations.
Factors of Self-Funding: Evaluating the Pros and Consbenefitexpress
In a changing healthcare landscape, employers are increasingly considering taking the funding of their healthcare benefits into their own hands. If you're one of them, this webinar is the one-hour guide you must see.
Participants will learn:
- The legal implications associated with self-funding
- Common administrative pitfalls
- Solving employee issues involved in self-funded plans
- A full overview of laws and regulations governing self-funding
Our compliance expert will weigh in during a compact, one-hour guide.
Healthcare check in the latest developments in health and welfare plansbenefitexpress
We work in an exciting industry—which means quick changes are the norm, and adaptability is a necessity.
Keep your compliance plan up-to-date with a download of recent legislative changes.
We'll cover legislation that's passed, what's on the way, and what it means for your organization.
Topics Covered Include:
• IRS Information Letters
• Tax Reform Legislation
• Wellness Regulations - EEOC, AARP
• Comprehensive Guidance on QSEHRAs
• ACA: Elimination of Individual Mandate Penalty
• Employer Tax Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave
• DOL Annual Adjustments to Employee Benefit Plan Penalties
• “Good Faith” Penalty Relief
• Final Disability Claim Regulations
• Cadillac Tax Updates
• And More!
Presented by Larry Grudzien, Attorney at Law
CDHP 101: Behind the Wheel of Consumer-Driven Plansbenefitexpress
The most effective benefits are the ones that fully engage employees - which is why employers are increasingly putting their employees in the driver's seat when it comes to choosing their plans.
"Cafeteria Plans" or Consumer-Driven Health Plans help employers efficiently offer tailored benefits to a diverse workforce.These plans can have immense benefits - but only if you don't hit common potholes in administering the plans. This webinar covers:
- A legal perspective on the pros and cons of CDHPs
- Compliance implications of using a benefits marketplace
- Best practices for administering a CDHP
Piece of Cake: Perfecting the Recipe for ACA Compliancebenefitexpress
Repeal and replace efforts have come and gone - it's time to prepare to comply with the Affordable Care Act for another year.
With chatter and speculation surrounding the ACA, it's easy to lose track of what's required of employers. Our one-hour refresher course covers:
- How to fill out form 1095-C
- Important filing dates
- Common compliance errors
- Penalties for noncompliance
Make this year’s ACA reporting a piece of cake.
68% of employees would prefer to enroll online
...but only 38% of employers believe that.
Join our panelists in a discussion about the benefits of switching to a digital enrollment platform - complete with examples and case studies to support successful online enrollment.
Puzzling Precedents: Piecing Together MEWAsbenefitexpress
The convenience of a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement comes with an additional regulatory burden. It takes a deep understanding of compliance requirements to keep both your employees and your bottom line healthy when it comes to MEWA.
Skip the struggle with complicated legal briefs and sort out your strategy in this one-hour seminar with our benefits attorney.
How many patients does case series should have In comparison to case reports.pdfpubrica101
Pubrica’s team of researchers and writers create scientific and medical research articles, which may be important resources for authors and practitioners. Pubrica medical writers assist you in creating and revising the introduction by alerting the reader to gaps in the chosen study subject. Our professionals understand the order in which the hypothesis topic is followed by the broad subject, the issue, and the backdrop.
https://pubrica.com/academy/case-study-or-series/how-many-patients-does-case-series-should-have-in-comparison-to-case-reports/
QA Paediatric dentistry department, Hospital Melaka 2020Azreen Aj
QA study - To improve the 6th monthly recall rate post-comprehensive dental treatment under general anaesthesia in paediatric dentistry department, Hospital Melaka
Defecation
Normal defecation begins with movement in the left colon, moving stool toward the anus. When stool reaches the rectum, the distention causes relaxation of the internal sphincter and an awareness of the need to defecate. At the time of defecation, the external sphincter relaxes, and abdominal muscles contract, increasing intrarectal pressure and forcing the stool out
The Valsalva maneuver exerts pressure to expel faeces through a voluntary contraction of the abdominal muscles while maintaining forced expiration against a closed airway. Patients with cardiovascular disease, glaucoma, increased intracranial pressure, or a new surgical wound are at greater risk for cardiac dysrhythmias and elevated blood pressure with the Valsalva maneuver and need to avoid straining to pass the stool.
Normal defecation is painless, resulting in passage of soft, formed stool
CONSTIPATION
Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. Improper diet, reduced fluid intake, lack of exercise, and certain medications can cause constipation. For example, patients receiving opiates for pain after surgery often require a stool softener or laxative to prevent constipation. The signs of constipation include infrequent bowel movements (less than every 3 days), difficulty passing stools, excessive straining, inability to defecate at will, and hard feaces
IMPACTION
Fecal impaction results from unrelieved constipation. It is a collection of hardened feces wedged in the rectum that a person cannot expel. In cases of severe impaction the mass extends up into the sigmoid colon.
DIARRHEA
Diarrhea is an increase in the number of stools and the passage of liquid, unformed feces. It is associated with disorders affecting digestion, absorption, and secretion in the GI tract. Intestinal contents pass through the small and large intestine too quickly to allow for the usual absorption of fluid and nutrients. Irritation within the colon results in increased mucus secretion. As a result, feces become watery, and the patient is unable to control the urge to defecate. Normally an anal bag is safe and effective in long-term treatment of patients with fecal incontinence at home, in hospice, or in the hospital. Fecal incontinence is expensive and a potentially dangerous condition in terms of contamination and risk of skin ulceration
HEMORRHOIDS
Hemorrhoids are dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum. They are either external or internal.
FLATULENCE
As gas accumulates in the lumen of the intestines, the bowel wall stretches and distends (flatulence). It is a common cause of abdominal fullness, pain, and cramping. Normally intestinal gas escapes through the mouth (belching) or the anus (passing of flatus)
FECAL INCONTINENCE
Fecal incontinence is the inability to control passage of feces and gas from the anus. Incontinence harms a patient’s body image
PREPARATION AND GIVING OF LAXATIVESACCORDING TO POTTER AND PERRY,
An enema is the instillation of a solution into the rectum and sig
One of the most developed cities of India, the city of Chennai is the capital of Tamilnadu and many people from different parts of India come here to earn their bread and butter. Being a metropolitan, the city is filled with towering building and beaches but the sad part as with almost every Indian city
CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary gene-editing tool, holds immense potential to reshape medicine, agriculture, and our understanding of life. But like any powerful tool, it comes with ethical considerations.
Unveiling CRISPR: This naturally occurring bacterial defense system (crRNA & Cas9 protein) fights viruses. Scientists repurposed it for precise gene editing (correction, deletion, insertion) by targeting specific DNA sequences.
The Promise: CRISPR offers exciting possibilities:
Gene Therapy: Correcting genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis.
Agriculture: Engineering crops resistant to pests and harsh environments.
Research: Studying gene function to unlock new knowledge.
The Peril: Ethical concerns demand attention:
Off-target Effects: Unintended DNA edits can have unforeseen consequences.
Eugenics: Misusing CRISPR for designer babies raises social and ethical questions.
Equity: High costs could limit access to this potentially life-saving technology.
The Path Forward: Responsible development is crucial:
International Collaboration: Clear guidelines are needed for research and human trials.
Public Education: Open discussions ensure informed decisions about CRISPR.
Prioritize Safety and Ethics: Safety and ethical principles must be paramount.
CRISPR offers a powerful tool for a better future, but responsible development and addressing ethical concerns are essential. By prioritizing safety, fostering open dialogue, and ensuring equitable access, we can harness CRISPR's power for the benefit of all. (2998 characters)
India Clinical Trials Market: Industry Size and Growth Trends [2030] Analyzed...Kumar Satyam
According to TechSci Research report, "India Clinical Trials Market- By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2030F," the India Clinical Trials Market was valued at USD 2.05 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.64% through 2030. The market is driven by a variety of factors, making India an attractive destination for pharmaceutical companies and researchers. India's vast and diverse patient population, cost-effective operational environment, and a large pool of skilled medical professionals contribute significantly to the market's growth. Additionally, increasing government support in streamlining regulations and the growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases further propel the clinical trials market.
Growing Prevalence of Lifestyle Diseases
The rising incidence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer is a major trend driving the clinical trials market in India. These conditions necessitate the development and testing of new treatment methods, creating a robust demand for clinical trials. The increasing burden of these diseases highlights the need for innovative therapies and underscores the importance of India as a key player in global clinical research.
CHAPTER 1 SEMESTER V - ROLE OF PEADIATRIC NURSE.pdfSachin Sharma
Pediatric nurses play a vital role in the health and well-being of children. Their responsibilities are wide-ranging, and their objectives can be categorized into several key areas:
1. Direct Patient Care:
Objective: Provide comprehensive and compassionate care to infants, children, and adolescents in various healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics, etc.).
This includes tasks like:
Monitoring vital signs and physical condition.
Administering medications and treatments.
Performing procedures as directed by doctors.
Assisting with daily living activities (bathing, feeding).
Providing emotional support and pain management.
2. Health Promotion and Education:
Objective: Promote healthy behaviors and educate children, families, and communities about preventive healthcare.
This includes tasks like:
Administering vaccinations.
Providing education on nutrition, hygiene, and development.
Offering breastfeeding and childbirth support.
Counseling families on safety and injury prevention.
3. Collaboration and Advocacy:
Objective: Collaborate effectively with doctors, social workers, therapists, and other healthcare professionals to ensure coordinated care for children.
Objective: Advocate for the rights and best interests of their patients, especially when children cannot speak for themselves.
This includes tasks like:
Communicating effectively with healthcare teams.
Identifying and addressing potential risks to child welfare.
Educating families about their child's condition and treatment options.
4. Professional Development and Research:
Objective: Stay up-to-date on the latest advancements in pediatric healthcare through continuing education and research.
Objective: Contribute to improving the quality of care for children by participating in research initiatives.
This includes tasks like:
Attending workshops and conferences on pediatric nursing.
Participating in clinical trials related to child health.
Implementing evidence-based practices into their daily routines.
By fulfilling these objectives, pediatric nurses play a crucial role in ensuring the optimal health and well-being of children throughout all stages of their development.
Welcome to Secret Tantric, London’s finest VIP Massage agency. Since we first opened our doors, we have provided the ultimate erotic massage experience to innumerable clients, each one searching for the very best sensual massage in London. We come by this reputation honestly with a dynamic team of the city’s most beautiful masseuses.
Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
Plan Sponsor Webinar: Navigating COVID-19 for Employers
1. Copyright 2020 – Not to be reproduced without express permission of benefitexpress
Coronavirus in
the Workplace:
New Challenges
for Employers
WEBINAR
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2
Webinar Presenters
PRESENTER
Lawrence (Larry) Grudzien, JD, LLM is an attorney
practicing exclusively in the field of employee benefits.
MODERATOR
Julia Goebel is Chief Marketing Officer, benefitexpress
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4
Pulse Survey
1. How has the Coronavirus (COVID-19) affected standard business
operations in your organization?
• Business operations cannot continue
• Business operations are severely restricted
• Business operations continue at a reduced level
• There is little disruption to business operations
• Business operations continue as normal
• Business operations have increased
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5
Common large employer revisions to employee compensation and
benefits policies to help mitigate risks associated with COVID-191
• Offering pay continuation to employees that have been exposed to
coronavirus or who are exhibiting cold/flu symptoms and can’t work from
home.
• Offering emergency leave/pay continuation to employees with cold or flu-
like symptoms (but who have not tested positive for coronavirus) until they
are cleared to return to work.
• Supporting employees with pay continuation in certain circumstances, if
they are not currently eligible for paid leave benefits.
• Implementing benefits and resources to assist employees with childcare
benefits and needed flexibility as a response to school closures due to
coronavirus
1Large Employer Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Quick Survey Part II, The Business Group On Health
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6
What is COVID-19, and what isn’t it?
Data as of 3/30/2020 via WHO, CDC
Via @siouxsiew @XTOTL via the spinoff.co.nz
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7
Tips for Benefits Communication in uncertain times
1. Communicate early, communicate often
2. Promote relevant benefits offerings
3. Use content to comfort
4. Make it personal
5. Be consistent
According to a recent report from Gallup, large employers have used
these tools most frequently throughout last month:
Email, direct mail, text messages, hotlines and internal systems such as
intranets and microsites to promote pertinent information
Takeaway: Use the tools at your disposal and meet employees where they are.
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8
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8
Title goes here
• Understanding the Coronavirus
• Work Rules
• FMLA, Sick Leave and
other Leaves of Absences
• HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
• Contract and Agreement Issues
• Other Issues
• Action Plans
• Questions
Agenda
8
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9
Understanding Coronavirus
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10
Understanding Coronavirus
How can an individual protect themselves?
• Because there is currently no vaccine to prevent infection, the best way to
protect yourself is to avoid being exposed to this virus.
• The CDC recommends the following additional steps:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least
60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue,
then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
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11
Understanding Coronavirus
What happens if I suspect I or someone
I know has coronavirus?
• If an individual exhibits symptoms of Coronavirus, he or
she should contact a health care professional ASAP.
• If an individual has had close contact with someone
exhibiting Coronavirus symptoms, he or she should call
ahead to a health care professional and mention his or
her close contact.
• A health care professional will work with a state's public
health department and CDC to determine if he or she
needs to be tested for Coronavirus.
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12
Understanding Coronavirus
As of March 30, what is the current state of the virus?
COVID-19: U.S. at a Glance
Total cases: 140,904
Total deaths: 2,405
Jurisdictions reporting cases: 55
(50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, and US
Virgin Islands)
Many states have implemented social distancing or stay-at-home
measures; Federal Government extending recommendation through 4/30
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13
Work Rules
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14
Work Rules
• Review your human resources policies and
practices to ensure that they are flexible and
comply with applicable laws and public
health recommendations, as well as develop
a communications plan for sharing critical
information with employees.
• In advance of any outbreak, an employer
should remind employees of its sick leave
policies, including their rights under
applicable laws, and share details of your
response plan.
• Review with IT department the need if
employees are working remotely.
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15
Title goes here
Can an employer ask employees to stay home if it suspects they may have Coronavirus
or have been exposed to Coronavirus?
• Employers are obligated to protect their employees from known hazards, which may
include Coronavirus.
• However, employers should tread very carefully if employees do not voluntarily divulge
that they have the Coronavirus and employers are acting on mere suspicion.
• To contain the spread of Coronavirus, an employer should actively encourage sick
employees to stay home and remind sick employees of any rights that they may have to
paid time off when they are sick or caring for an ill family member.
• If employees have symptoms of an acute respiratory illness (e.g., fever, cough, shortness
of breath), you can ask them not to return to work until they no longer have a fever for at
least 24 hours.
Work Rules
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16
Work Rules
Do employees need clearance to return to work?
Can an employer request documentation?
• Currently, there is no formal clearance process for employees to return to work
from Coronavirus.
• However, employers may request documentation under certain circumstances.
• For example, under some state and local leave laws, if an employee has been
absent for more than three consecutive workdays, an employer may request a
doctor’s note from a licensed healthcare provider.
• If the employee did not have any fever, cough or shortness of breath during these
14 days, there is no medical reason to exclude that employee from the workplace
and the employer should allow him or her to return to work.
• As a reminder, all medical documentation should be maintained confidentially and
separately from the employee’s personnel file.
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17
Work Rules
What does an employer do if an employee arrives at work presenting
symptoms of Coronavirus?
• If an employee arrives at work displaying symptoms of respiratory illness, an employer should
immediately separate the employee from the other employees and send him or her home.
• An employer cannot subject the employee at issue to medical examinations to
determine if he or she is sick (taking an employee’s temperature is considered by the
EEOC to be a “medical examination”).
• It can be if doing so must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.
• That evaluation should be made on objective evidence and not simply general news reports,
personal experience, fear or assumptions.
• Even if the employee does not perform any work on the date in question, the employer should
be mindful of any legal requirements to provide the employee sent home with call-in pay.
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Work rules
How can an employer prevent Coronavirus
from spreading to its workplace?
An employer should:
• encourage employees to stay home and seek medical
care when they are sick.
• encourage employees to partake in good hygiene by
washing their hands often with soap and water (for at
least 20 seconds) and covering their mouths and noses
with a tissue (or their sleeve) when coughing or sneezing.
• make alcohol-based hand sanitizer and disposable
cleaning wipes available, provide tissues and no-touch
trashcans and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such
as doorknobs, countertops and workstations.
18
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19
Work Rules
Can an employer prohibit employees from wearing medical masks or
respirators?
• Under most circumstances, an employer can prohibit employees, particularly
customer-facing positions, from wearing medical masks or respirators.
• Further, the current consensus is that masks are not necessary to protect the
health of most employees and are needed only if a person is treating someone
infected with the coronavirus.
• Therefore, unless an employee has a disability requiring the use of a mask or
works directly with individuals affected by the coronavirus, an employer likely
can prohibit employees from wearing masks at work.
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20
Work Rules
Can we impose travel restrictions on our employees?
• Employers may require employees to limit all non-essential business travel to CDC-
designated countries and strongly encourage employees to limit all non-essential
personal travel to CDC-designated countries.
• In constructing such a policy, employers are advised not to impose a ban on all travel or a
ban on travel to only one cohort of the several CDC-designated countries (e.g., banning
travel to Level 4 countries, but not to a specific country
• Additionally, employers should be mindful that certain state and local laws prohibit
discrimination against employees based on their lawful off-duty conduct (including legal
recreational activities), and, if it is lawful to travel to CDC-designated countries, then there
may be legal concerns with prohibiting employees from personal travel to those areas.
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21
Work Rules
If a vaccine for Coronavirus becomes
available, can an employer
require our employees to get it?
• No, you cannot require employees to
be vaccinated for the coronavirus
if a vaccine becomes available.
• However, if a vaccine becomes
available, you can educate employees
about the vaccine, consider making it
available at no cost to employees, and
consider offering employees leave to
obtain the vaccination.
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22
Work Rules
• An employer should be very careful in taking any
action, particularly if its beliefs are mere suspicion,
because it is against the law to deny a person entry to
your establishment and refuse service based on a
person’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national
origin or disability.
• Thus, an employer cannot treat persons differently if,
for example, they are of a nationality or ethnicity
(Italian, Chinese, Iranian) because those countries have
areas with widespread or sustained community
transmission of Coronavirus.
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23
Work Rules
What should an employer do if a client or customer makes inquires
about whether any employees have Coronavirus or recently traveled to
a CDC-designated area?
• An employer must maintain the confidentiality of any employee’s
medical information.
• However, in response to a client or customer inquiry, you may choose to inform
that client or customer as to whether any employees recently traveled to a
CDC-designated area and/or have been diagnosed with Coronavirus.
• The employer also may choose to inform the client or customer of the
precautions that you have taken to minimize the risk of transmission to any
person who enters the establishment.
24. Copyright 2020 – Not to be reproduced without express permission of benefitexpress
24
Work Rules
Must an employer keep paying employees who are not working?
• Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), for the most part the answer is “no.”
• FLSA minimum-wage and overtime requirements attach to hours worked in a workweek, so
employees who are not working are typically not entitled to the wages the FLSA requires.
• One possible difference relates to employees treated as exempt FLSA “white collar”
employees whose exempt status requires that they be paid on a salary basis.
• Generally speaking, if such an employee performs at least some work in the employee's
designated seven-day workweek, the salary basis rules require that they be paid the entire
salary for that particular workweek.
• There can be exceptions, such as might be the case when the employer is open for
business but the employee decides to stay home for the day and performs no work.
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25
Work Rules
• Also, non-exempt employees paid on a “fluctuating-workweek” basis under the FLSA
normally must be paid their full fluctuating-workweek salaries for every workweek in
which they perform any work.
• There are a few exceptions, but these are even more-limited than the ones for exempt
“salary basis” employees.
• Of course, an employer might have a legal obligation to keep paying employees because
of, for instance, an employment contract, a collective bargaining agreement, or some
policy or practice that is enforceable as a contract or under a state wage law.
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26
Work Rules
• Finally, caution employers to consider the public relations
aspect of not paying employees who may not be working if
they have contracted or are avoiding the COVID-19
coronavirus.
• Given the publicity surrounding this outbreak, it is possible
that situations involving these kinds of issues could reach
the media and damage your reputation and employee
morale.
• Consider the big picture perspective when making decisions
regarding paying or not paying your employees.
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27
Work Rules
Can an employer charge time missed to vacation
and leave balances?
• The FLSA generally does not regulate the accumulation and use of
vacation and leave.
• The salary requirements for exempt “white collar” employees can
implicate time-off allotments under various circumstances.
• Again, however, what an employer may, must, or cannot do where
paid leave is concerned might be affected by an employment
contract, a collective bargaining agreement, or some policy or
practice that is enforceable as a contract or under a state wage law.
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28
Work Rules
Can an employee refuse to come to work because of fear of infection?
• Employees are only entitled to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger.
• Section 13(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) defines “imminent
danger” to include “any conditions or practices in any place of employment which are
such that a danger exists which can reasonably be expected to cause death or serious
physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such danger can be eliminated
through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this Act.”
• OSHA discusses imminent danger as where there is “threat of death or serious physical
harm,” or “a reasonable expectation that toxic substances or other health hazards are
present, and exposure to them will shorten life or cause substantial reduction in physical
or mental efficiency.”
30. Copyright 2020 – Not to be reproduced without express permission of benefitexpress
30
Pulse Survey #2
After the COVID-19 disruption subsides, when do you expect standard
business operations in your organization to return to "normal"?
• Less than 3 months
• 3-6 months
• 6-12 months
• 12+ months
• Never
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FMLA, Sick Time &
Leaves of Absence
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
Under what situation will an employer need to provide
paid sick leave to its employees?
Employers with fewer than 500 employees and public
agencies with at least one employee must provide paid sick
leave.
• Full-time employees can be provided with up to 80 hours
of paid leave and part-time employees with a number of
hours that would equal the hours that such employee
works over a 2-week period.
• Employees are allowed to immediately use such leave,
regardless of how long they have been employed by the
employer.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
What are the qualifying reasons for the leave?
1. The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or
isolation order related to Coronavirus
2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-
quarantine due to concerns related to Coronavirus.
3. The employee is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus and seeking a
medical diagnosis.
4. The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to either
number 1 or 2 above.
5. The employee is caring for his or her son or daughter if the school or
place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the childcare
provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to Coronavirus
precautions.
6. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition
specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
consultation with the Secretary of The Treasury and the Secretary of
Labor.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
What are the pay requirements?
• Paid sick leave must be paid at the
employee's regular rate of pay, or minimum
wage, whichever is greater, for leave taken for
reasons 1-3.
• An Employee taking leave for reasons 4-6
may be compensated at two-thirds of his or
her regular rate of pay, or minimum wage,
whichever is greater.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
RECAP - Pay Requirements based on the qualifying reasons for the leave:
1. The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or
isolation order related to Coronavirus
2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-
quarantine due to concerns related to Coronavirus.
3. The employee is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus and seeking a
medical diagnosis.
4. The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to either
number 1 or 2 above.
5. The employee is caring for his or her son or daughter if the school or
place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the childcare
provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to Coronavirus
precautions.
6. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition
specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
consultation with the Secretary of The Treasury and the Secretary of
Labor.
35
Reasons 1-3:
Employee's regular
rate of pay, or
minimum wage,
whichever is greater,
for leave taken
Employee taking
leave for reasons 4-6
may be
compensated at
two-thirds of his or
her regular rate of
pay, or minimum
wage, whichever is
greater.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
Are there any limitations on the amount of pay provided?
• For an employee who is unable to work because of Coronavirus quarantine
or self-quarantine or has Coronavirus symptoms and is seeking a medical
diagnosis:
• Eligible employers may receive a refundable sick leave credit for sick
leave at the employee's regular rate of pay, up to $511 per day and
$5,110 in the aggregate, for a total of 10 days.
• For an employee who is caring for someone with Coronavirus, or is caring
for a child because the child's school or child care facility is closed, or the
child care provider is unavailable due to the Coronavirus:
• Eligible employers may claim a credit for two-thirds of the employee's
regular rate of pay, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate,
for up to 10 days.
• Eligible employers are entitled to an additional tax credit determined
based on costs to maintain health insurance coverage for the eligible
employee during the leave period.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
What if the employee has other paid leave
available from the employer?
• An employer may not require an employee to use
other types of paid leave provided by the employer
before the employee uses the paid sick time
available under this law.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
When does employer have to comply?
• April 1, 2020
• DOL issued a temporary non-enforcement policy that
provides a period of time for employers to come into
compliance with the Act.
• Under this policy, DOL will not bring an enforcement action
against any employer for violations of the Act so long as the
employer has acted reasonably and in good faith to comply
with the Act.
• DOL will instead focus on compliance assistance during the
30-day period.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
Are there any exceptions to providing paid sick leave?
• DOL will issue rules to exempt small businesses with fewer
than 50 employees from the requirements of providing paid
leave to care for a child who is out of school (#5 on the
above list of permitted purposes) when the imposition of
such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the
business as a going concern.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
• Does an employer need to pay employees who are being
quarantined, self-monitoring at home or are otherwise ill
with the coronavirus or caring for a family member with the
coronavirus?
• Initially, an employer would be required to pay employees who
are absent from work for these reasons if they have accrued
paid time off pursuant to any paid safe/sick leave law.
• Additionally, employees may be entitled to paid leave benefits
pursuant to state or local leave laws if the employees are caring
for a family member with the coronavirus.
• However, after employees exhaust any paid safe/sick leave, the
obligation to pay them depends on whether they are classified
as exempt or non-exempt employees and whether you are
requiring them to be absent from work.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
• Generally, an employer is only required to pay non-
exempt employees for the actual hours that they
work.
• Therefore, legally, an employer do not have to pay
these employees if they are unable to return to
work after they exhaust any applicable paid leave
entitlement.
• However, an employer likely would be required to
grant them an unpaid leave of absence.
• As for exempt employees, an employer is required
to pay them their full weekly salary if they perform
any work during a given week.
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FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
What are an employer obligations for offering an employee
a leave of absence related to Coronavirus?
• If an employee requires time off from work, you should engage in a cooperative dialogue
and interactive process with that employee regarding his or her individual situation and
consider granting that employee an unpaid leave of absence (after exhausting any paid
leave to which the employee may be entitled) until the employee is able to return to work.
• An unpaid leave of absence should be considered regardless of whether the employee is
eligible for leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
• Employers that are covered by the FMLA should determine whether employees who are
out of work due to Coronavirus qualify for FMLA leave for their own serious health
condition or the serious health condition of a covered family member.
• The employer also should extend the protections of any state or local leave laws to any
eligible employees suffering from coronavirus or taking leave to care for an infected
family member or other qualifying dependent.
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FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
Can an employee stay home under FMLA leave to avoid getting pandemic influenza?
• The FMLA protects eligible employees who are incapacitated by a serious health
condition, as may be the case with the flu where complications arise, or who are needed
to care for covered family members who are incapacitated by a serious health condition.
• Leave taken by an employee for the purpose of avoiding exposure to the flu would not be
protected under the FMLA.
• Employers should encourage employees who are ill with pandemic influenza or are
exposed to ill family members to stay home and should consider flexible leave policies for
their employees in these circumstances.
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FMLA, Sick Time & Leaves of Absence
What legal responsibility do employers have to allow parents or care givers time off
from work to care for the sick or children who have been dismissed from school?
• Covered employers must abide by the FMLA
as well as any applicable state FMLA laws.
• An employee who is sick, or whose family members
are sick, may be entitled to leave under the FMLA.
• The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered
employers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid,
job-protected leave in a designated 12-month leave
year for specified family and medical reasons which
may include the flu where complications arise that
create a “serious health condition” as
defined by the FMLA.
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• There is currently no federal law covering non-government employees who take off from
work to care for healthy children, and employers are not required by federal law to
provide leave to employees caring for dependents who have been dismissed from school
or child care.
• However, given the potential for significant illness under some pandemic influenza
scenarios, employers should review their leave policies to consider providing increased
flexibility to their employees and their families.
• Remember that federal law mandates that any flexible leave policies must be
administered in a manner that does not discriminate against employees because of race,
color, sex, national origin, religion, age (40 and over), disability, or veteran status.
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
• Moreover, if an employer is requiring them to be absent from work—such as to self-
monitor for the coronavirus at home—the employer must pay them their full weekly salary.
• On the other hand, if they are diagnosed with the coronavirus and unable to work due to
their medical condition, then you likely would not have to compensate them after they
exhaust any applicable paid leave entitlement.
• However, granting such employees an unpaid leave of absence is advisable.
• An employer also should extend any state-provided, or employer-provided, disability
benefits to eligible employees who are absent from work due to coronavirus.
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FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
Is an employer required by law to provide paid sick leave to employees who are out of
work because they have pandemic influenza, have been exposed to a family member
with influenza, or are caring for a family member with influenza?
• Federal law generally does not require employers to provide paid leave to employees who are absent
from work because they are sick with pandemic flu, have been exposed to someone with the flu or are
caring for someone with the flu.
• Pursuant to Executive Order 13706, some federal contractors may be required to provide such leave to
employees under certain circumstances, such as if the employee or a family member is sick with the flu
or seeking care related to the flu.
• Certain state or local laws may have different requirements, which should be independently considered
by employers when determining their obligation to provide paid sick leave.
• If the leave qualifies as FMLA-protected leave, the statute allows the employee to elect
or the employer to require the substitution of paid sick and paid vacation/personal leave
in some circumstances.
• Employers should encourage employees that are ill with pandemic influenza to stay home and should
consider flexible leave policies for their employees.
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FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
May employers change their paid sick leave policy if several employees are out
and they cannot afford to pay them all?
• Federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prohibit employers from changing their paid sick leave
policy if it is done in a manner that does not discriminate between employees because of race, sex, age (40
and over), color, religion, national origin, disability, or veteran status.
• Be sure also to consult state and local laws.
• In addition, an employer should consider that if its workforce is represented by a labor union and the
collective bargaining agreement covers sick leave policies, an employer may be limited in either the manner
in which its change the policy or the manner of the changes themselves because the collective bargaining
agreement would be controlling. In a workplace without a collective bargaining agreement, employees may
have a contractual right to any accrued sick leave, but not future leave.
• An employer’s sick leave policy also must follow the requirements of the FMLA (if your employees are
covered by the Act), and it needs to be consistent with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws, such as
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (See the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division or call
1-866-487-9243 for additional information on FMLA. See the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission or call 1-800-669-4000 if you have questions on ADA.)
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Some employees may not be able to come to work because they must take care of sick
family members. May an employer lay them off?
• It depends. If an employee is covered and eligible under the FMLA and is needed to care for
a spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition, then the employee is entitled
to up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period.
• Some states may have similar family leave laws.
• In those situations, covered employers must comply with the federal or state provision that
provides the greater benefit to their employees. (See the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage
and Hour Division for additional information or call 1-866-487-9243 if you have questions.)
• In lieu of laying off employees in this situation, we would encourage you to consider other
options such as telecommuting and to prepare a plan of action specific to your workplace.
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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What types of policy options do employers have for preventing abuse of leave?
• Both the FMLA and the Americans with Disabilities Act affect the provision of leave.
• Under the FMLA, employees seeking to use FMLA leave are required to provide 30-day
advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need is foreseeable and such
notice is practicable. In addition, employers may require employees to provide:
- medical certification supporting the need for leave due to a serious health
condition affecting the employee or a spouse, son, daughter or parent, including
periodic re-certification;
- second or third medical opinions (at the employer's expense);
- periodic reports during FMLA leave regarding the employee's status and intent
to return to work; and
- consistent with a uniformly-applied policy or practice for similarly-situated
employees, a fitness for duty certification.
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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• The FMLA also allows the employee to elect or the
employer to require the substitution of paid sick and paid
vacation/personal leave in some circumstances.
• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, qualified
individuals with disabilities may be entitled to unscheduled
leave, unpaid leave, or modifications to the employer sick
leave policies as “reasonable accommodations.”
• These are modifications or adjustments to jobs, work
environments, or workplace polices that enable qualified
employees with disabilities to perform the essential
functions (i.e., fundamental duties) of their jobs and have
equal opportunities to receive the benefits available to
employees without disabilities.
ADA
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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• The FMLA also allows the employee to elect or the employer to require the substitution
of paid sick and paid vacation/personal leave in some circumstances. (See the U.S.
Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division for additional information on the FMLA
or call 1-866-487-9243 if you have questions.)
• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, qualified individuals with disabilities may be
entitled to unscheduled leave, unpaid leave, or modifications to the employer sick leave
policies as “reasonable accommodations.”
• These are modifications or adjustments to jobs, work environments, or workplace polices
that enable qualified employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions (i.e.,
fundamental duties) of their jobs and have equal opportunities to receive the benefits
available to employees without disabilities. (See the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission’s Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship
under the Americans with Disabilities Act for additional information.)
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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Do employer-instituted quarantines or temporary shutdowns or
mass layoffs entitle workers to unemployment benefits?
• Yes, workers are generally entitled to unemployment insurance if they are
furloughed when a business temporarily shuts down and all other
unemployment requirements are met.
• Depending on the size and length of the temporary shutdown, the
jurisdiction may require notification to the applicable unemployment
department as a mass separation.
FMLA, Sick Time, & Leaves of Absence
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Pulse Survey #3
What degree of impact do you expect COVID-19 will have on your
organization’s 2020 revenue?
• Extremely High
• High
• Medium
• Low
• No Impact
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
Does the COVID-19 Coronavirus emergency override HIPAA privacy rules?
• No, the government recently sent a stern reminder to all employers, especially those
involved in providing healthcare, that they must still comply with the protections
contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy
Rule during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
• The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) issued a reminder after the WHO declared a global health emergency.
• In fact, the Rule includes provisions that are directly applicable to
the current circumstances.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
What are our obligations under the HIPAA privacy rules if we are contacted by officials
asking for emergency personal health information about one of our employees?
• The privacy restrictions mandated by HIPAA only apply to “covered entities” such as medical
providers or employer-sponsored group health plans, and then only in connection with
individually identifiable health information.
• Employers are not covered entities, so if you have medical information in your employment
records, it is not subject to HIPAA restrictions.
• Nevertheless, disclosures should be made only to authorized personnel, and care should be
taken even in disclosures to government personnel or other groups such as the Red Cross.
• Further, an employer should be careful not to release information to someone until you
have properly identified them.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
How should an employer treat medical information?
• It is recommended that employers treat all medical information as confidential and afford it
the same protections as those granted by HIPAA in connection with your group health plan.
• In certain circumstances, if an employer has health plan information, it can share it with
government officials acting in their official capacity, and with health care providers or
officially chartered organizations such as the Red Cross.
• For example, an employer can share protected health information with providers to help in
treatment, or with emergency relief workers to help coordinate services.
• In addition, an employer can share the information with providers or government officials as
necessary to locate, identify, or notify family members, guardians, or anyone else
responsible for an individual’s care, of the individual’s location, general condition, or death.
• In such case, if possible, an employer should obtain the individual’s written or verbal
permission to disclose.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
• However, if the person is unconscious or incapacitated, or
cannot be located, information can be shared if doing so
would be in the person’s best interests.
• In addition, information can be shared with
organizations like the Red Cross,
which is authorized by law to assist in disaster relief efforts,
even without a person’s permission, if providing the
information is necessary for the relief organization to
respond to an emergency.
• Finally, information can be disclosed to authorized personnel
without permission of the person whose records are being
disclosed if disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a
serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a
person or the public.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
May covered entities share protected health information with public health authorities?
• When there is a legitimate need to share information with public health authorities and
others responsible for ensuring public health and safety, covered entities may share PHI to
enable them to carry out their public health responsibilities.
• This may arise with the current outbreak of COVID-19.
• The key, as always, is to limit disclosures to the minimum necessary to the purpose, strictly
in accordance with these parameters.
• For example, covered entities may share information as necessary with the Centers for CDC,
as well as health departments authorized by law to receive such information, to prevent or
control disease or injury.
• An employer may even disclose PHI to foreign government agencies that are working with
authorized public health authorities.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
If employees are no longer working, are they still entitled to
group health plan coverage?
• Not necessarily. An employer will need to check your group health plan document
(or certificate of coverage if your plan is fully insured) to determine how long employees
who are not actively working may remain covered by your group health plan.
• Once this period expires, active employee coverage must be terminated (unless the
insurance carrier or self-funded plan sponsor otherwise agrees to temporarily waive
applicable eligibility provisions), and a COBRA notice must be sent.
• If the health plan is self-funded and you would like to waive applicable
plan eligibility provisions, you should first make sure that any stop-loss coverage
insurance carriers agree to cover claims relating to participants who would
otherwise be ineligible for coverage.
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HIPAA and Healthcare Issues
What happens to group health plan coverage if employees are not working and
unable to pay their share of premiums?
• In the normal course of events, group health plan coverage will cease when an employee’s
share of premiums is not timely paid.
• However, several actions might be taken that could allow coverage to continue.
• First, the insurance carrier providing the health coverage may voluntarily continue the
coverage while the disaster is sorted out and until an employer reopens its doors.
• More likely, the employer may arrange with the insurance carrier providing health
coverage to pay the employees’ share of premiums to keep coverage in place (at least
temporarily) and possibly until the employer can reopen its doors.
• Each situation will be different, depending upon the insurance carrier and the relationship
between the employer and the insurance carrier.
• Therefore, each factual situation will need to be individually assessed.
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Contract & Agreement Issues
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Contract & Agreement Issues
If an employer’s workforce is unionized, can it make changes to unionized employees
work schedules or duties in response to Coronavirus?
• The NLRA imposes on employers the duty to bargain in good faith over mandatory
subjects of bargaining such as wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
• Employers who make unilateral changes to these facets of employment may be subject to
unfair labor practice charges that would apply even in emergency situations such as this
one, unless your collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise.
• Many collective bargaining agreements contain provisions that allow for employer
flexibility in determining work assignments, scheduling, and layoffs.
• The first authority for determining your rights and obligations is your own collective
bargaining agreement.
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Contract & Agreement Issues
An Employer has a “force majeure” clause in my contract.
Does it cover an outbreak such as Coronavirus?
• Possibly.
• A “force majeure” clause is a contract provision that relieves the parties from performing
their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise,
making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
• Whether an outbreak like Coronavirus triggers the force majeure clause in a contract,
and the effect of that clause on the provisions of the contract, will vary significantly
with each employer.
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Contract & Agreement Issues
There is no force majeure clause in a contract. Does that mean an employer still has to
abide by all the contract provisions during the outbreak?
• The general duty to bargain over changes in contractual terms may be suspended where compelling
economic exigencies compel prompt action.
• The law views “compelling economic exigencies” as extraordinary, unforeseen events having a major
economic effect that requires the employer to take immediate action and make a unilateral change.
• Although an outbreak like the Coronavirus would seem to fit the description of a “compelling
economic exigency,” realize that its effect will be different for every employer.
• That is, while it may suspend the duty to bargain for one employer whose only facility was infected, it
will likely not suspend the duty for an employer that has lost significant accounts or contracts as a
result of the outbreak.
• In practice, the safest course of action (and the one most likely to avoid future litigation) is to notify
the union in all cases, even if you believe that your situation fits into the “compelling economic
exigency” category.
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Other Issues
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Other Issues
If an employee alleges that they contracted Coronavirus while at work,
will this result in a compensable workers’ compensation claim?
• It depends.
• If the employee is a health care worker or first responder, the answer is likely yes
(subject to variations in state law).
• For other categories of employees, a compensable workers’ compensation claim is
possible, but the analysis would be very fact-specific.
• It is important to note that the workers’ compensation system is a no-fault system,
meaning that an employee claiming a work-related injury does not need to prove
negligence on the part of the employer.
• Instead, the employee need only prove that the injury occurred at work and was
proximately caused by their employment.
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Other Issues
If an employee alleges that they contracted Coronavirus while at work,
will this result in a compensable workers’ compensation claim?
• Additionally, the virus is not an “injury” but is instead analyzed under state law to
determine if it is an “occupational disease.”
• To be an occupational disease (again subject to state law variations), an employee must
generally show two things:
- the illness or disease must be “occupational,” meaning that it arose out of and
was in the course of employment; and
- the illness or disease must arise out of or be caused by conditions peculiar to the
work and creates a risk of contracting the disease in a greater degree and in a
different manner than in the public generally.
• The general test in determining whether an injury “arises out of and in the course of
employment” is whether the employee was involved in some activity where they were
benefiting the employer and was exposed to the virus.
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Other Issues
Do employers have any EEO concerns related to Coronavirus?
• Employers cannot select employees for disparate treatment based on national origin. The CDC
recently warned: “Do not show prejudice to people of Asian descent, because of fear of this new
virus. Do not assume that someone of Asian descent is more likely to have COVID-19.”
• Employers will need to closely monitor any concerns that employees of Asian descent are being
subjected to disparate treatment or harassed in the workplace because of national origin.
• This may include employees avoiding other employees because of their national origin.
• An employer may not base a decision to bar an employee from the workplace on the
employee’s national origin.
• However, if an employee, regardless of their race or national origin, was recently in China and
has symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus, you may have a legitimate reason to bar that
employee from the workplace.
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Other Issues
Do employers have an obligation to provide notice under the WARN Act if it is forced
to suspend operations on account of the coronavirus and its aftermath?
• Yes, if the employer is covered by the
Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification (WARN) Act.
• The federal WARN Act imposes a notice
obligation on covered employers (those with
100 or more full-time employees) who
implement a “plant closing” or “mass layoff”
in certain situations, even when they are
forced to do so for economic reasons.
• It is important to keep in mind that these quoted terms are
defined extensively under WARN's regulations, and that they are
not intended to cover every single layoff or plant closing.
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Action Plans
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Recommended Actions
• Start planning now for a possible partial or full shutdown
• Actively encourage sick employees to stay home
• Separate sick employees
• Emphasize staying home when sick, respiratory etiquette and
hand hygiene by all employees
• Perform routine environmental cleaning
• Advise employees before traveling to take certain steps
• Additional measures in response to currently occurring sporadic importations
of the Coronavirus
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Recommended Actions
• Educate employees on the Coronavirus
• Review sick leave and leave of absence policies
• Restrict travel plans for the next 3 months
• Limit attendance at any large meetings
• Require employees to report contact with sick family members or friends
• Speak to insurance broker or TPAs regard to changes that can be made to coverages
• Review all service agreements
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Questions?
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Contact Information
Larry Grudzien, Attorney at Law
• Phone: 708-717-9638
• Email: larry@larrygrudzien.com
• Website: www.larrygrudzien.com
• Address: 708 South Kenilworth Ave,
Oak Park, IL 60304
Howard Lapin, Attorney at Law
• Phone: 224-402-0932
• Email: how257@aol.com
• Address: 521 Harris Ct,
Buffalo Grove IL 60089