HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources

When the pandemic first hit the United States, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed to help protect American citizens. The FFCRA has been in effect for some time since then, and employment lawsuits have begun hitting the courts. You can also listen here: https://bit.ly/3gWirRB In this episode, we are going to go over some of the hot-spots surrounding the FFCRA with return...

The early effects of the pandemic on the workforce saw many businesses close, and many others take extreme measures to survive, including downsizing, cutting pay, and reducing or eliminating benefits. Our guests today believe that getting a better handle on your people costs and benefits can help organizations be less draconian in their approach to surviving the ongoing pandemic. We are pleased to...

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has invited a new wave of discrimination, particularly against pregnant women, employees over the age of 65, and those of Chinese or Asian heritage. There are other issues as well, including managing discrimination while employees are working remotely. As your organization meets the other challenges of COVID-19, make sure you are not accidentally discriminating against thes...

Last time on HR Works COVID-19 Update we began to explore the many new types of wage and hour lawsuits that might be coming your way in light of the pandemic. This week we'll hear from a lawyer that specializes in these types of cases to discuss where she is seeing new lawsuits, what they look like, and what might happen going forward. We are pleased to have back on the show Maggie Spell (https://...

This episode strives to answer one important question: can COVID-19 testing play an effective role in bringing workers back to the workplace? New information and data about the disease are available every day and with it comes changes in best practices for keeping everyone safe. Meanwhile, many employers are bringing workers back to the workplace and they need to understand the most current testin...

Imagine this: your employees have been working with a wage cut for the last few months. But there is good news! Your business has recovered enough for you to restore their pay. Not only that, but you also want to make them whole, so you pay everyone a bonus on top of restoring their pay. Did you know that you may have just committed at least three wage and hour violations? Wage and hour laws have...

Last week we began to explore employer liability when it comes to COVID-19-related issues. Today we are going to dive in a little deeper, and answer some very important questions like can you force employees to take a COVID-19 test? What about antibody tests? Can you measure their temperatures? Can you make them wear a mask? What happens if they don’t comply; can you fire them? Here to talk about...

While the pandemic has influenced every worker in the united states, it has not done so evenly. Already there are serious differences between essential workers who stay on the front lines and those who were lucky enough to work from home. In short, the country is in total chaos. Some states are closing down for the first time, some are opening back up, others are ignoring their very serious corona...

As the landscape of work changes, so will the landscape of employment law. Across our nation, some states are closing down while others are opening up. That creates a lot of variability in how employers approach keeping everyone safe and the return to work. What are the liabilities? How can they keep up when best practices change constantly? Will due diligence help when, retroactively, employers r...

The major win for DACA recipients a few weeks ago made the news for how unexpected it was. However, the issue is far from solved. In this episode, we discuss what you need to know about supporting your DACA workers right now before things change. We are pleased to have back with us today, Jonathan Petts, Co-Founder of a non-profit organization called Immigrants Like Us (https://www.immigrantslikeu...

In this special episode of HR Works Podcast, my colleague Justin Scace from the EHS On Tap Podcast (https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/podcasts/) joins me to interview an EHS and an HR professional from one of the largest private companies in the United States: Koch Industries, Incorporated (https://www.kochind.com/). Our collective goal is to better understand how EHS and HR work together, overcome...

Between general travel restrictions, anti-immigrant travel restrictions, massive unemployment, closed businesses, and now the recently announced ban on certain foreign national visas, immigrant workers in the U.S. are undergoing particularly challenging times. They are not the only ones feeling the pain; employers of foreign national workers are also struggling. In this episode we are pleased to h...

In this episode I speak with a highly respected authority on the psychology of change about the return to work. Many have adjusted to the new realities presented by the coronavirus, and yet states and workplaces alike are reopening their doors. What does that mean for those of us who stayed home? What if we don’t want to go back? What if we can’t? Can it even be done safely and does anyone else fe...

Now more than months into the pandemic, we are starting to see the first COVID-related employee lawsuits. Last week we began to discuss which employee policies need to be updated or created to handle new legal challenges surrounding the coronavirus. For example, we recently saw a wrongful death and survival action for the coronavirus related fatality of an employee who worked in a Pennsylvania mea...

COVID-19 has changed everything, but has your employee handbook been updated? In this episode of HR Works COVID-19 Update, my guest discusses the critical policy updates that your organization needs to make in order to avoid an upcoming wave of coronavirus-related litigation. Now three months into the pandemic, we are starting to see the first COVID-related employee lawsuits. For example, the worl...

In today's episode, emotional intelligence expert Don Everett, CEO of Workforce Interactive (https://www.workforceinteractive.com/) joins us with another guest to explore how EQ can be successfully measured and implemented to help HR solve a number of problems. We are also hosting a webinar called Someone Moved My Cheese Again; and It's Okay This Time on June 10th. Register here: https://event.on2...

In the last episode we began to explore some of HR's responsibilities when it comes to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, or the PPP for short. Today we'll continue that conversation and learn about compliance obligations, the likelihoods of audits, and when the loans stay a loan or become forgiven. We are again are joined by Terry Dawson, Partner at Barnes and Thornb...

As companies struggle to stay in business, many have decided to take advantage of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, or the PPP for short. The details surrounding this type of loan has some HR considerations, like whether you have to hire back the same employees to take advantage of loan forgiveness, whether you can pay employees not to work, to name a few. In this ep...

The isolation of stay at home orders are accelerating behavioral health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, but even during the best of times, making sure you are aware of the mental health needs of your employees is very important. That means understanding risk factors, having a well trained HR team to handle everything from benefits to interacting with employees when they have a crisis. In this...

In the last episode of HR Works: COVID-19 Update we began speaking with employment attorney Jacob M. Monty (https://montyramirezlaw.com/attorneys/jacob-m-monty-managing-partner), managing partner and founder of Monty & Ramirez LLP (https://montyramirezlaw.com) about the potential for concerted activity during the pandemic. Today we dig a little deeper into how collective action happens and what yo...

Employers beware! The situation we find ourselves in provides unique leverage and incentives for collective action. Many low paid workers have been labelled essential and are obligated to work in hazardous conditions for the same low pay, or in some cases even with pay cuts. Workers in non-essential businesses have watched their companies cut pay, furlough, and layoff in great numbers. That means...

Note: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Website: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org The topic of this episode is a difficult one, but one that is very important in the context of employee mental health: suicide. What does HR do when an employee threatens suicide? What if they attempt it? What if they succeed? These troubling circumstances are more than a maybe. Suicide is the...

Last week we began discussing the Trump Administration's immigration freeze and what that means for employers with Jacob M. Monty, managing partner and founder of Monty & Ramirez LLP (montyramirezlaw.com/). We discussed furloughs and layoffs affecting the status of foreign national workers, details about the freeze itself, and more. This week we finish that talk and dive into what kinds of ICE act...

As you may be aware, the Trump Administration recently announced a 60 day suspension of immigration to the united states. The freeze is said to prevent green card workers from moving to the U.S. but will allow temporary workers on non-immigrant visas to enter. Today we will discuss the consequences of the ban for U.S. employers. We are pleased to have with us today employment attorney Jacob M. Mon...

In this episode we discuss the new remote workforce. Most of us that remain employed do so from our homes. This has created a host of new problems. That includes people having to setup their home offices that didn’t have the technology or space to do so. People are working alongside their children, pets, and spouses. Risk factors for mental health and other issues are through the roof including is...