Enticing employees to return to the office

Having now transitioned back to working in the office, there are quite a few employees who are not thrilled about it. Some will even take a decrease in salary to be able to work from home. What tactics can organizations use to ease this transition, show they’re listening to their employees’ needs, and change their views on returning to work?

Commuting Stipends: Commuting expenses paid by workers can include train, subway, bus, ferry, or gas. Media company Bloomberg is offering its U.S. staff a $75 daily commuting stipend—which they can spend however they want.

Child Care Allowance: Employers can help the economy bounce back from the pandemic by offering childcare benefits. A Care.com study found that 67 percent of working parents would be more loyal to their current job if they were offered employer-subsidized child care and 60 percent believe their job performance would improve if child-care benefits were available. HR professionals are listening, and 50 percent of companies plan to offer or expand their child-care benefits.

Pet Perks: 70 percent of workers are willing to accept a pay cut to join a company that allows pets at work. To retain employees, organizations are offering pet-friendly offices and pet stipends—a monthly reimbursement for dog-walking and cat-sitting.

Return to Office Extravaganzas: Microsoft recently held a lawn party to welcome employees back to the office with tacos, gyros, fried chicken, a beer garden, and a life-size chessboard. Qualcomm did something similar in which several thousand workers attended a happy hour with food, drinks, and free t-shirts.

Free Food: Until recently, Wall Street firms like investment bank Goldman Sachs provided free breakfast and lunch to employees working in the office. They have now moved to “new experiences and offerings,” including snack pop-ups and “Support a Local Restaurant” days.   

Summary

As workers slowly return to the office during post-pandemic recovery, the cost increases can be overwhelming. Organizations can help ease their workers’ stress by offering perks and allowances to help offset costs. Workers should take an inventory of all of the expenses required for in-person work— that may have dropped off their radar while working remotely over the past two years—and budget accordingly.

Contact us to learn more!

The post The Effects of Inflation on Workers’ Post-Pandemic Return to the Office, Part Two appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

The cost of returning to work

After working from home for much of the pandemic, employees are back to commuting into the office—and not all of them are happy about it. 27 percent of workers are willing to take a salary reduction to work from home. In addition to providing work-life balance, working remotely offers employees significant cost savings.

• According to a FlexJobs survey, the biggest benefit of working from home was “not having a commute.” The national average price of gas stands at $4.12 per gallon compared to $2.87 a year ago. Lending Tree calculated that workers in six major U.S. cities face an average of more than $10,000 a year in opportunity costs because of their commutes.
• Parents—especially working women—adapted to supervising their children while working remotely, reduced their work hours, took unpaid leave, or left the workforce during the pandemic. In January of 2022, the women’s workplace participation rate was 57 percent—a record low unseen since 1988. After calculating child care costs by state, World Population Review found that in 28 states the annual cost of child care exceeds the cost of college tuition. In some states, the cost of childcare amounts to 18 percent of a family’s income.
• Square data reveals a new trend of “lunchflation” with lunch item costs rising faster than the average cost across all food items. Taco prices have increased 19 percent and sandwiches are up by 14 percent from March of 2020.
• After two years of Zoom calls in comfortable lounge clothes, going back to the office means spending more money on work attire. The average adult aged 25-34 spends $161 per month on clothing and people aged 35-44 spend slightly more at $209 per month.
• Rover—an online marketplace for people to buy and sell pet-care services—estimates the following expenses for workers that are no longer working from home and in need of pet care:
• If you send Rex to doggy daycare—at $30 per weekday—it amounts to $600 per month.
• If you hire a dog walker to let Fifi out once a day at $20 each visit—five days per week—it adds up to $400 per month.

Check out part two and learn how to entice employees to return to the office.

Contact us to learn more!

The post The Effects of Inflation on Workers’ Post-Pandemic Return to the Office, Part One appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

Broadleaf’s Associate Counsel, Earl Cantwell, has studied this controversial topic to examine potential legal implications for employers and employees. Here are his thoughts on how the implementation of vaccine mandates could impact businesses and their workers in the United States.

Is it legal for an employer to mandate vaccines for their employees?

As of the date of this publication, employers in all states except for Montana may lawfully require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a term and condition of employment. Employers, however, must be prepared to consider and grant reasonable accommodations to employees who have been unable to become vaccinated due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief.

If deciding not to implement a vaccine mandate, what are employers doing to encourage employee vaccinations?

Employers use other less direct methods to increase the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations in their workforce. Some employers have had success providing cash or other incentives. Employers also can remove barriers to vaccination by providing paid time off for employees to get the vaccination or arrange for a third-party vaccination service to provide vaccines at the workplace. Data shows, however, that the population of individuals in the United States that remain unvaccinated will not likely respond to these half-step measures.

What should employers do if their employees refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?

If an employer has implemented a mandatory vaccine policy, and employees refuse to become vaccinated against COVID-19, the unvaccinated employees should be terminated, unless the employee has demonstrated entitlement to a disability or religious accommodation. If the employer only encourages—but does not require—COVID-19 vaccinations, the employer should consider adopting a mandatory vaccine policy.

Have there been any employer-employee lawsuits surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes. Of these lawsuits, two notable federal cases challenged the legality of an employer’s mandatory vaccination policy. In both cases, the court rejected the lawsuit. And in one case involving Houston Methodist Hospital, the judge wrote a scathing opinion, stating “The plaintiffs can freely accept or refuse the vaccine . . . [but if they refuse] they will simply need to work somewhere else.” These rulings, however, do not mean that mandatory vaccine policies are not without legal risk. Employers still need to pay careful attention to how the policy is communicated during recruitment while limiting access to employees’ vaccine status information and managing disability and religious accommodations.

Summary

In the current business climate, organizations face a difficult decision: do they keep their employees safe with a vaccine mandate while putting their talent attraction and retention success at risk? Or do they refrain from vaccine requirements to appease workers—both current and prospective—that are unwilling to receive the inoculation? As employers continue to deliberate whether to mandate vaccines for their employees, it is evident that more tough choices are forthcoming in the weeks ahead.

Looking for more legal insight? Check out our Broadleaf blog on how the withdrawal of the independent contractor rule will affect businesses.

For more workforce implications surrounding the pandemic, check out the COVID-19 section of our blog.

The post Can Employers Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines? appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

Preventing Job Turnover by Prioritizing Top Talent

If your organization is seeking to accelerate your recruiting efforts and expedite your hiring timeline, consider a recruiting partner that offers recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). A popular staffing method, RPO is “a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) where an employer transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to an external service provider” who assumes ownership of the design, management of the recruiting process, and responsibility for the results.

Leveraging RPO services can bring value and generate proven results for your organization in these five ways:

1. Scalability

Rapid expansion is usually a good problem to have for almost any organization. But when business needs are growing, you will need ample staff on hand to support these demands. RPO can help your organization meet hiring deadlines without sacrificing productivity, as most RPO services can be scaled up or pared down. The ebbs and flows of business should dictate how often — and for which services — you engage your partner, whether you are looking to fill several niche roles or need robust recruiting resources for a considerable ramp-up.

2. Customizability

Let’s say that your organization is faced with an unexpected hiring spike to fill over 100 customer service specialist roles within a 10-week timeframe. Is your TA team equipped to handle this large-scale recruitment initiative? Do they understand the market for this type of talent? RPO allows you to customize the hiring process to align the most effective recruiting tools for the specific skill sets you need while meeting that tight deadline.

3. Cost-Effectiveness

Companies that choose to streamline their recruiting processes with help from RPO providers often benefit from increased cost savings. Not only can the hiring lifecycle be made more efficient, but metrics like time-to-hire and cost-per-hire ultimately decrease. A targeted recruiting process should generate higher quality hires who will have a more positive impact on your organization and reduce turnover rates. Cost-effective pricing models for volume placements can often be tailored to decrease your company’s overall hiring costs.

4. Technology

Recruiting methods today utilize a myriad of sophisticated tools that can enhance candidate quality, from integrated applicant tracking systems to AI-based recruiting platforms. Unfortunately, most organizations don’t have the ongoing volume of open jobs to justify the expense of some of these technologies on their own. These platforms will typically be included in your RPO recruitment package, significantly increasing the quality, alignment, and size of your potential candidate pool.

5. Support

The chances are high that your internal recruitment teams are stretched pretty thin at the moment and would welcome additional support to help with hiring searches. Partnering with an RPO provider allows your TA team to redirect its recruiting strategy, perhaps to focus on fewer hard-to-fill or strategic searches while the RPO concentrates more on high volume repetitive openings.

Maximize Your RPO Investment

If you’re interested in deploying an RPO solution to address your organization’s talent needs, here are some best practices to maximize your investment.

1. Fully integrate RPO with your talent acquisition department.

The RPO provider must be viewed as a strategic partner. This means setting up RPO recruiters with a company email address and granting them the authority to act as a representative of your TA team. Candidates should not know that they’re dealing with an RPO recruiter. This differentiates the RPO from staffing companies and search firms, who may be contacting the same candidates for positions.

2. Divide and conquer.

Your TA team and your RPO provider should not be fishing in the same pond. It doesn’t make sense to compete with each other and duplicate efforts. At the outset of a project, determine the specific positions that the RPO provider will be recruiting for. These should be totally separate from what your TA team is working on. Otherwise, you will get in each other’s way and be far less productive. Your RPO provider acts as an extension of your TA department, so a collaborative approach that leverages all resources most efficiently will yield the best hiring results.

3. Agree on the rules of engagement.

It’s important to have full executive-level support from the company, with appropriate resources allocated to the project. Any concerns from resisters should be addressed at the outset. Also, the RPO provider must commit sufficient staff and recruiting tools to the program while adhering to agreed-upon metrics to measure performance.

RPO providers should have some skin in the game. It’s common to establish a pricing model with an open req fee and close or fulfillment fee, rather than one based on time and materials. Both parties should set realistic expectations and manage them appropriately. Occasional level-setting can take place as needed.

4. View your RPO provider as a subject matter expert.

Your RPO provider should be engaged for their recruiting expertise, so take full advantage of this. Let them examine your current processes and determine how you can acquire talent better, faster, and cheaper. Maximize the experience by being open to receiving feedback on your recruiting processes without being defensive. In this way, your company will reap the benefits of RPO long after the project has ended.

Summary

As organizations continue to face an onslaught of internal hiring needs, partnering with a dedicated RPO provider could be the difference between staying on top of potential business opportunities and letting them slip through your grasp.

Looking to learn more about recruitment process outsourcing? Check out this blog post that discusses 10 facts about RPO from our partner Acara Solutions.

This blog was originally featured on Forbes.com and written by Broadleaf’s President and CEO, Lynne Marie Finn. 

The post How Recruitment Process Outsourcing Can Help Businesses Address The Great Rehire appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

“Our country is hovering at an 8% unemployment rate, so how am I still struggling to fill my open jobs?”

In recent weeks, I’ve been inundated with questions just like this one from clients across an array of different industries. In what has commonly been portrayed as a buyer’s market when it comes to talent, why are some companies experiencing difficulties in sourcing and recruiting qualified workers? Although there is no simple answer to this question, a more complex justification is uncovered upon studying one of America’s population of unemployed workers.

A Common Misconception

While there are dozens of erroneous perceptions surrounding the current labor pool, arguably the biggest is that many believe there is a plethora of available talent on the market. Findings from a recent SIA report show that approximately 7.5 million jobs were lost within the hospitality space at the height of COVID-19—effectively wiping out about 50% of the industry’s entire workforce almost overnight. Yet even though thousands of event venues, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, and other hospitality companies were forced to furlough or lay off their workforces, many of these employees possess a specialized, customer-facing skillset that can sometimes be difficult to apply to other industries.

Hospitality Workers Hoping for Work

To date, many of these former hospitality employees still find themselves jobless. With unemployment benefits having shifted to state control in August and the Families First Act expiring at the end of 2020, the pressure is mounting for these workers to find new job opportunities.

Experts are anticipating that it may be a few more months until the demand for hospitality workers picks back up. As companies continue to shift from more of a retail presence to an online one, these organizations can seize a golden opportunity to capture this available talent. Plus, with the holiday season just around the corner, their workforce demands will begin to ramp up in a hurry.

Bridging the Skills Gap

While the desire for hospitality workers to get involved in warehouse jobs may exist, the hands-on skills and overall expectations required for success in such a role may not. For companies with an abundance of distribution and logistics positions that need to be filled, there will undoubtedly be an employee disconnect that must be addressed when targeting this specific portion of the workforce. Ultimately, these organizations will realize the need to invest time and resources into designing skill-based training and development programs. Getting these workers up-to-speed on working in a manufacturing environment will be crucial to their overall success. Learning the ins and outs of a warehouse or manufacturing setting can be a daunting task for any employee, especially one that has never worked in this unique setting before. A degree of patience and understanding will be necessary for companies to effectively encourage these workers.

Summary

As our country recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies will continue to ramp up their hiring processes at varying paces—depending on industry and geography, among other variables. If your organization is seeking to boost its pool of talented resources, developing recruiting strategies for workers within the hospitality industry could be a viable solution. While some of these individuals possess unique skill sets that may not immediately translate to your business, these employees—if given proper training, growth, and development—present a long-term answer to your employment challenges.

Have an employment-related question that you’d like to pose to Ryan? Connect with him on LinkedIn.

To read additional thought leadership content from our Broadleaf team, check out our blog. You can also discover more of our industry-leading advice on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

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Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published guidance related to what is possibly the hottest topic on most parents’ minds: the reopening of schools. Specifically, the WHD issued additional FAQs within its “Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers” guidance, which address various scenarios where an employee who is a parent might (or might not) qualify for paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

First, a brief reminder about an employer’s coverage under the FFCRA: according to the WHD, a business with fewer than 500 full- and part-time employees in the United States must provide paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for its workers. This includes all active employees, employees on leave, temporary employees who are jointly employed by your business and another employer (regardless of whether the jointly-employed employees are maintained on only your or another employer’s payroll), and any day laborers supplied by a temporary agency. If you operate as a private-sector employer with more than 500 employees, the FFCRA does not apply to you.

Now, let’s examine the latest guidance pertaining to school issues that employees might face. The WHD guidance speaks to three specific scenarios: (1) where in-person instruction is only available on certain days of the week and a child attends a school operating on an alternate day basis; (2) where in-person instruction is available each day but a parent opts to have their child participate in a remote learning program; and (3) where a school commences the year with remote learning but eventually shifts to in-person instruction if/when conditions change.

Scenario 1: An employee’s child’s school is operating on an alternate day (or other hybrid attendance) basis. The school is open each day, but students alternate between attending school in person and participating in remote learning. They are permitted to attend school only on their allotted in-person attendance days. May the employee take paid leave under the FFCRA in these circumstances?

According to the WHD, the answer is yes. The employee is eligible to take paid leave under the FFCRA on days when their child is not permitted to attend school in person and must instead engage in remote learning. This paid leave applies as long as the employee needs the leave to care for the child during that time and only if no other suitable person is available to do so. For purposes of the FFCRA and its implementing regulations, the school is effectively “closed” to the employee’s child on days that the child cannot attend in person. The employee may therefore take paid leave under the FFCRA on each of their child’s remote-learning days.

Scenario 2: An employee’s child’s school permits parents to choose between having their child regularly attend school in person or participate in a remote learning program. The employee elected to choose the remote learning alternative for their child because they are concerned with the possibility of their child contracting COVID-19 and worry that the virus may be brought home to the family. Since the child will be learning from home throughout the school week, may the employee take paid leave under the FFCRA in these circumstances?

According to the WHD, the answer is no. The employee would not be eligible to take paid leave under the FFCRA because the child’s school is not “closed” due to COVID–19 related reasons; it is open for the child to attend. FFCRA leave is not available to take care of a child whose school is open for in-person attendance. If the employee’s child is home because the employee has willingly chosen for the child to remain home, the employee is not entitled to FFCRA paid leave. However, if – because of COVID-19 – an employee’s child is placed under quarantine order or has been advised by a health care provider to self-isolate, the employee may be eligible to take paid leave to care for the child.

Scenario 3: An employee’s child’s school is beginning the school year under a remote learning program out of concern for COVID-19, but has announced it will continue to evaluate local circumstances and make a decision about reopening for in-person attendance later in the school year. May the employee take paid leave under the FFCRA in these circumstances?

According to the WHD, the answer is yes. The employee would be eligible to take paid leave under the FFCRA while their child’s school remains closed to in-person instruction. If the child’s school reopens, the availability of paid leave under the FFCRA will depend on the particulars of the school’s operations, as discussed in Scenarios 2 and 3 above.

Understanding the many eligibility rules for these various scenarios is crucial to remaining in compliance with federal law. Moreover, by comprehending these regulations and conveying information to its employees, organizations can do their part in properly managing employee expectations (and stresses) in the current working environment.

Be sure to also check your employees’ leave eligibility under state or local laws, which may provide for more favorable leave than the FFCRA. For example, jurisdictions in California (such as Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, and, more recently, Sonoma County) have passed ordinances providing for paid leave for employees of companies with 500 or more employees if an employee needs to care for a family member whose senior care provider or whose school or child care providing temporarily ceases operations in response to COVID-19.

Interested in further discussing the WHD’s recent guidance? Connect with James on LinkedIn or get in touch with your Broadleaf contact.

You can view James’ latest blog on managing return-to-work in the workplace here.

Please note that the information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information available on this blog is for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. 

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Yet as COVID-19 concerns continue to swirl throughout the country, it is evident that businesses may never return to the “normal” that we once knew. As uncertainty remains prevalent, many are left to wonder: what will the future of the workplace look like?

We sat down with Suzie Mitchell, our Vice President of Client Delivery, to pick her brain on the future of work and learn more about what our workplaces may look like in the months ahead.

Will there be less of a reliance on physical office spaces?

Anecdotally, I think it’s fair to say that there will be less of a reliance on physical offices moving forward. While it might be a bit premature to make that sort of claim, I really believe that businesses have witnessed the value of the work-from-home model. One of our clients in the financial services industry had originally been initially opposed to letting their employees work remotely. But having talked with them recently, they told me how much they’ve been completely rethinking their workforce strategy. Because it has proven to be less expensive and employee productivity has not dipped, the company is looking to implement a hybrid workplace model for the foreseeable future. I strongly feel that this kind of approach—one where companies place less of an emphasis on their employees being physically present in the office—will become the norm.

How can workplaces maintain their corporate culture, even without physical interaction in the office?

This has become a common topic of conversation in the workplace as of late. Is it possible to maintain a company culture when every employee is working virtually? In my opinion, organizations need to lean on Microsoft Teams or other video-conferencing platforms. The importance of face-to-face communication is paramount if we aren’t able to be in the same room as one another. Getting to observe facial expressions and emotions is HUGE! After all, studies show that 93% of the way we communicate is non-verbal. Companies must also discover how to bring the “fun” into their virtual calls. By coming up with creative events like a costume party or pajama day, employees will be kept energized and engaged. This will ultimately foster the type of positive workplace environment that every company hopes to create.

Lots of employees are struggling to maintain a work-life balance while working from home. How can companies better promote a healthy sense of equilibrium?

The most important thing that companies can do to help their workers keep a work-life balance is to enforce boundaries. Too many people are choosing to work round-the-clock from dawn until dusk while making little to no time for breaks. Eventually, this will lead to employee burnout, which leads to an overall decrease in overall productivity. Companies should promote work-free weekends for their employees, encouraging them to step away from the various stresses and pressures that accompany their jobs. That way, come Monday morning, their workers are well-rested and ready to tackle the week ahead of them.

Will we see an increase in staggered workplace schedules?

It’s my opinion that staggered work schedules are going to become increasingly popular in the months (and maybe even years) ahead. Organizations around the country are choosing to expand their hours of operation to abide by capacity regulations based on their area while also making sure to guarantee full-time hours for their employees. For some popular businesses like hair salons and barber shops, it could become the new norm to remain open 7 days per week or offer extended morning/evening hours to support increasing demand. I’m intrigued to see how organizations will come up with creative and innovative ways to remain viable as our nation continues to battle with COVID-19.

Looking for more workforce advice from our industry experts? Check out our Broadleaf blog here.

To learn more about Suzie, be sure to connect with her on LinkedIn.

The post The Future of the Workplace: What Can You Expect? appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

There’s been a wealth of information released by various government agencies in recent weeks regarding workplace safety and equal employment opportunity issues. In April, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminded employers of their legal obligations when facing employee concerns about workplace safety. Similarly, the EEOC has been continually updating guidance on its website in a publication titled, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.”

To help your organization navigate these uncharted waters, Broadleaf’s Associate Counsel James Beyer is here to provide insight on return-to-work issues during the pandemic:

If an employee expresses safety concerns or refuses to show up at work because of these safety worries, what are your options for dealing with this employee?

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. On April 8, 2020, OSHA reminded employers that it is illegal to retaliate against workers “because they report unsafe and unhealthful working conditions” during the coronavirus pandemic. Acts of retaliation can include terminations, demotions, denials of overtime or promotion, or reductions in pay or hours.

Customers may be interested in simply ending the assignment of problematic employees who make too much noise about workplace safety, but employers absolutely cannot take adverse employment action against employees who express genuine safety concerns. Often, the simplest way to allay employee safety concerns is to educate them about the steps your company and your customers are taking to provide a safe and healthy workplace. Please contact Legal and HR if an employee says, “There is nothing you can do that can make me feel safe.” Additionally, you should seek further guidance from Legal and HR if information about safety measures is provided to an employee, but the employee still refuses to come to work or causes a disruption in the workplace.

What should an employer do if an employee entering the worksite requests an alternative method of screening due to a medical condition?

Many customers are choosing to screen employees, including temporary workers, immediately when arriving on-site. Employers have begun to take workers’ temperatures and ask them other health-related questions. What happens if, for some reason, a worker requests an alternative method of screening because they have a specific medical condition?

The EEOC makes it clear that this would be a request for reasonable accommodation, and an employer should proceed as it would for any other request for accommodation under the ADA. If the requested change is inexpensive and easy to provide, the employer should generally voluntarily make it available to anyone who asks without having to go through an interactive process. Alternatively, if the disability is not obvious or previously known, employers have a legal obligation to engage in the interactive process, which simply means that employers have to talk to the employee to understand what his/her needs are. Employers can ask the employee for information to establish that the condition is a disability and what specific limitations require accommodation. If necessary, employers may also request medical documentation to support the employee’s request, and then determine an effective accommodation that can be provided, absent undue hardship.

Similarly, if an employee requests an alternative method of screening as a religious accommodation, employers would have to determine whether accommodation is available under Title VII, another federal anti-discrimination law. But if an employee simply dislikes having their temperature taken and their request is not tied to a medical condition or religious reason, employers need not provide accommodation.

You can read our first legal blog, “Lessons Learned from the First COVID-19 Lawsuits,” here.

For more insight on the best ways to deal with return-to-work concerns, you can also visit Broadleaf’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Please note that the information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information available on this blog is for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. 

The post Managing COVID-19 Return-to-Work Issues appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

Today, a fairly large percentage of America’s unemployed workforce, especially those in the temporary labor space, is choosing not to pursue employment. Instead, millions of workers who have lost their jobs are reaping the benefits of the CARES Act and other federal stimulus packages. Studies have shown that the average worker in more than half of states stands to collect a higher weekly salary as a result of coronavirus stimulus relief efforts than they did at their jobs.

As unemployment benefits are helping to promote social distancing and other safety practices while lessening countrywide health concerns, they have consequently created a whole new problem for employers. With business needs beginning to escalate, companies may not have time to waste in bringing back their workforces. Yet these unintended unemployment ramifications could throw a wrench in their plans to quickly bring back these workers.

Here’s the million-dollar question: if laid-off and furloughed employees can earn more money through unemployment benefits while also staying out of harm’s way in the comfort of their own homes, how can employers entice this demographic to return to work?

Safety First

Whether businesses like it or not, employees’ perception is reality. Workers cannot simply rely on their employers to tell them that their workplaces are safe – they must see it for themselves. The development of advanced safety protocols is a good place to start for any organization. Whether these protections involve screening procedures for all employees and visitors, reorganizing office seating charts to maintain a safe distance between each worker, or committing to a thorough nighttime clean of the workspace, prove that maintaining the safety and well-being of your employees is your main priority.

Granting the Gift of Healthcare

Providing health benefits to employees could be a true difference-maker for your organization. Some workers may seize the opportunity to return to work if health care coverage or other insurance plans are offered in return. This is a perfect way to demonstrate to your employees that you are serious in taking care of them and their families. While this may be one of the most costly ways to get workers to return to the workplace, it presents workers with a compelling reason to do so. If your organization does not currently offer health benefits, now is the time to begin considering the possibility.

Incentives in the Office

Incentivizing your employees’ return to the office could pay dividends for your organization. Promote a daily raffle for all employees who are in the office. Distribute gas cards to help pay for transportation costs. Offer workers a free lunch catered by a locally-owned restaurant. Give away company-branded clothes and other apparel. Thinking outside the box and showcasing your company’s creativity is a great way to boost office morale and motivate your workplace. And c’mon – who doesn’t love free stuff?!

It’s All About Culture

Ultimately, the solution to this unemployment problem lies in one word: culture. If organizations have successfully established a positive working environment, there should be no coaxing necessary to get employees to return to work. One of the many lessons that companies will learn as a result of the pandemic involves the grave importance of corporate culture and employee branding. Through the promotion of the organization’s goals and objectives, employees must feel respected, recognized, and rewarded in the workplace. Not only is a strong corporate culture important in recruiting efforts and retaining current employees, but it’s also vital in getting workers to return from COVID leave. For companies who have previously struggled in fostering a successful workplace setting, they could face challenges in bringing back furloughed workers. These organizations may be left with no other option than to hire fresh employees and train them from scratch, thereby furthering the strain on the organization’s time and financial resources. If your company is looking for its own alumni solutions program to tap into your expansive network of ex-employees, check out this latest blog to learn more about how Broadleaf can help.

Moving Forward

It goes without saying that COVID-19 will continue to play a significant role in labor market fluctuations in the months ahead. As expanded coronavirus benefits are set to expire in late July, those who have chosen to refrain from seeking employment will face stiff competition when forced to begin searching for work again. Fortunately for employers, state governments have begun discussions on legislation meant to coax available workers away from bloated unemployment benefits. Until then, employers must step up their game to entice their employees to return to work and help put America’s economy back on track.

To learn more about how Broadleaf can assist your talent and workforce management needs, you can contact us today!

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest industry trends? Be sure to keep up with our Broadleaf blog.

The post Enticing Employees to Return to Work appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

COVID-19 remains a primary concern for businesses around the country. Though the situation is beginning to improve, how employers decide to manage pandemic-related issues can often spur disputes with employees. To help your business navigate any challenges that may arise, Broadleaf’s Associate Counsel James Beyer provides some workforce management advice and highlights relevant coronavirus lawsuits that have recently been filed across the United States.

Lesson #1: Always involve counsel in mass terminations

Mass terminations should never be handled without involving your legal and HR departments due to potential legal exposure under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and other similar state laws. If faced with this circumstance, alert these departments as soon as possible so they can determine what, if any, actions must be taken.

Case in point: Scott et al. v. Hooters III, Inc. – Middle District of Florida

On April 16, 2020, in a federal court in Florida, two ex-Hooters restaurant employees alleged that the restaurant’s unexpected firing of nearly 700 workers in Florida amid the COVID-19 pandemic violated the WARN Act. The full-time employees who were fired were not provided with any advance notice of their termination, and the federal WARN Act generally requires businesses that employ more than 100 workers to give them at least 60-days’ notice of plant closures or mass layoffs, unless they can prove they were caused by “unforeseen business circumstances” or natural disasters.

Lesson #2: Use caution when disciplining employees for social media activity

Disciplining employees based on their social media activity is a complex legal area. Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees are permitted to engage in “protected concerted activity,” which includes speech/social media postings that discuss the terms and conditions of their employment. Involve your legal or HR departments if you have a concern about a worker’s social media activity.

Case in point: King v. Trader Joe’s East Inc. – Jefferson Circuit Court, Kentucky. In April in Kentucky state court, a former Trader Joe’s employee sued the company, claiming it wrongfully fired him for posting about Coronavirus-related concerns in a private Facebook group. The plaintiff alleged he was terminated from his job at the Louisville Trader Joe’s for “inconsistent behavior patterns” connected to his creation of a Facebook group for store employees to share concerns related to COVID-19.

The worker, who had worked for Trader Joe’s for more than eight years, said he noticed the company’s lack of concern and support for its employees when he began suffering symptoms he initially believed might have been related to the virus. He ultimately tested negative for COVID-19, but had another illness. While home sick, the worker created a private Facebook group to communicate with and hear concerns from other employees about Trader Joe’s alleged lack of attention toward employee safety and health procedures during the pandemic. When the worker returned to work, his supervisors asked for a meeting and confronted him with screenshots of his Facebook posts. Trader Joe’s eventually fired the worker, referencing his Facebook activity and a pair of incidents from 2019 as the cause.

Lesson #3: Use empathy when handling employee leave situations

It is important that employees feel like they are heard and that their concerns are genuinely addressed, especially when their worries related to the safety of themselves and their loved ones. Flexibility is key, and dismissing workers’ concerns out of hand is likely to cause more problems rather than solve them. This is a challenging time for many, so act with empathy towards your employees’ personal situations.

Case in point: Jones v. Eastern Airlines, LLC – Eastern District of Pennsylvania

In mid-April 2020, a former Eastern Airlines LLC employee filed a lawsuit claiming she was fired for requesting paid leave to care for her 11-year-old son after his school closed because of COVID-19. The plaintiff claimed her firing violated the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a law passed by Congress in March to provide paid sick and family leave to workers affected by the coronavirus. The FFCRA gives workers at companies with more than 50, but fewer than 500, employees the right to sue their employer if it does not afford employees the amount of paid leave required by that law.

The plaintiff requested at least two hours per day to care for her son, along with the ability to work from home. She discussed her child care and leave concerns over the phone with her boss, who was acting as chief human resources official for the company. This employee asserted her eligibility for leave under the FFCRA. The plaintiff formally requested FFCRA leave in an email to her boss and the Eastern Airlines CEO. The plaintiff’s boss allegedly responded that the new law wasn’t supposed to be used as a means to force the company into making decisions that were not in the best interest of the organization. Three days later, the plaintiff claimed she was fired over the phone, and the only reason given for the termination was her boss’s vague reference that she had a conflict with others in the company.

Conclusion: COVID-19 has raised a host of employee relations issues over the past few months. How employers choose to respond to questions and concerns raised by employees – especially those related to both employee health and safety and taking leave as required by law – will have a lasting impact on organizations for years to come.

For more insights on the best ways to deal with COVID-19 and your workforce, you can also visit Broadleaf’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Please note that the information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information available on this blog is for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. 

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