Author: AllMyHR

The Top 4 Ways to Develop a Great Manager

Posted on by AllMyHR

Think about your favorite manager. Now think about what made them your favorite. Was it the success you earned while working with them? Your employer may have evaluated them based on metrics like team productivity or turnover rates. Great managers are usually good at leading productive, low-turnover teams, but those aren’t the things their employees remember.

So what about them left such an indelible mark on you? Perhaps this manager was easily approachable and worthy of your trust. Perhaps they effectively led your team through a major change and had your back the whole way. Perhaps they were always laser focused on developing their team—on developing you.

In our view, the success of a manager is defined by the success of the people they lead. We rate a manager’s performance based largely on how their team is doing.

Bad Management Practices Are Rampant, But That Can Change

Unfortunately, the terrible manager remains a popular character in our collective consciousness—and for good reason. There’s no shortage of managers unwisely promoted into the role or given insufficient training to manage people well.

You’ve got the micromanager, the bully, the leader who plays favorites, and the boss who emails subordinates in the middle of the night only to not be available for clarification or responses during the workday. You’ve likely met or heard about the manager who frequently blows off meetings, neglects to give needed details on a project, or takes credit for the work of others. Horror stories abound in review sites, online communities, and conversations across the land.

With bad management practices so rampant, it’s easy for people to forget that there are lots of managers who do their job well. Many do it exceptionally well. That’s why we want to look at the characteristics of the best managers and what businesses can do to hire, promote, and develop these leaders.

Qualities of the Best Managers

The best managers work hard to improve the work lives of their team members. A big part of that is setting and communicating clear expectations. Good managers focus on performance, so their people get better at what they do. This includes empowering employees to identify development areas that matter the most to them. Another big part is facilitating cooperation so that their reports work better together and better with other teams. The best managers also recognize and advocate for their people. They listen carefully to know what their people need to be successful, and they aim to deliver it.

These managers are empathetic, understanding, and supportive. They listen to their people and have a keen understanding of what motivates and inspires them. They’re available to troubleshoot problems, brainstorm ideas, and provide guidance on projects. They communicate effectively and correct mistakes in ways that build people up rather than tear them down. They teach what they know and always seek to learn. They have an eye for equity.

Developing the Best Managers

If your managers—or the people you intend to promote into management—don’t have all of these qualities, don’t worry. These traits and behaviors can be taught and nurtured. Managers also need to be managed. Here are some ways you can build more effective managers and nurture the traits that make managers great.

1. Train New Managers After You’ve Promoted Them

When you promote a stellar employee into a managerial role, you also must give them the tools to successfully manage people. They may feel ready to lead a team, but it’s up to the employer to be certain they know the responsibilities involved, and how your organization wants them to execute those responsibilities. Also consider managers that are building a new team. Do they have the resources to successfully interview candidates? Perform tasks in your applicant tracking software? Communicate with HR or recruiting about the process? Your newer or less experienced leaders may have ideas about the way they want to manage based on their experience as employees—but that’s not enough.

To build truly successful managers, leadership may need to go back to the basics and provide not only base-level training, but clear avenues for answers, guidance, and support. Should new managers go to their own managers first or to HR with questions or problems? These are things that should be spelled out and communicated, even if you think they might be obvious or rudimentary.

It also doesn’t hurt to prepare new managers for the role before you hire or promote them into it. Talk with them about what the job will be like, especially if they haven’t managed before. Go over what’s needed and what’s nice to have. Be open about the struggles and the stress the new manager can expect to experience. Make sure they have the desire to manage.

2. Practice Presence

Most managers don’t want to or have the time to micromanage. They hope their reports have the skills and knowledge to do the job they were hired to do, and so they take a hands-off approach and let their reports get to it. Or they’re too busy with their own projects to do anything more than basic managerial duties. But that’s a sure way to see projects or tasks go off-track, especially if managers don’t make themselves available for troubleshooting, or provide clarity on instructions.

Remind your managers to treat silence from their reports as an opportunity to check in, offer an ear, problem solve, or simply cheerlead. Check-ins don’t have to be formal, overwhelming, or take more time than necessary. Software programs that allow employees to note what they’re working on or bring up obstacles and share these with their manager can be a great tool and don’t have to take anyone more than a few minutes at a time. Less formal but still as productive, a scheduled check in call (at an agreed-upon frequency) gives managers insight into projects and helps employees feel heard and celebrated.

3. Guide the Guiders

Good managers don’t necessarily have all the answers—but they know where to get them. Company leadership should aim to provide managers at all levels with the resources and training they need to do their best for their reports. Do your people leaders have access to mentors either inside the company or with partners or resource groups, and do you encourage these relationships? Mentorship programs, “day-in-the-life-of” presentations, or even informal programs that connect managers from different departments can provide managers with inspiration and support.

Newer managers might not know immediately how to handle a situation where an employee has a health crisis or family issue that suddenly takes them away from work. Do your managers know where to turn? Is there an online repository for information and guidance for situations managers may be presented with (and do all managers know about it)? Or would you rather they immediately bring the issue to HR?

Programs can be robust, such as mandatory manager trainings scheduled throughout the year, or as simple as setting up an internal messaging process (e.g., Slack, Skype, text messaging) or smaller interdepartmental groups of managers that can provide informal support to one another. Whether your company has the budget for a formal training program or not, connections can and should be made to support managers.

If you’re not sure where your managers could use guidance or development, ask them. They’re more likely to be engaged in their development if they have a say in what they’re learning.

4. Promote Teamwork Among Managers

Are your managers operating as a team? Each of your managers has a distinct personality and approach to management that affects their leadership style. One may be highly self-driven while another needs deadlines to motivate action. One may focus on building their team’s strengths, another on correcting their team’s weaknesses. One may communicate a lot, another only a little.

These differences can work, but they can also cause confusion and inequality, whether real or imagined. For instance, employees who report to or work with more than one manager may not know what is expected of them. Or they may find themselves overworked if managers don’t coordinate workloads. Cross-team efforts may be delayed or even ruined due to misunderstandings or failures to communicate. The company may be guided by several conflicting personalities instead of a single, unified company culture. In extreme cases, inconsistent management practices may lead to discrimination claims.

To bring managers together, you need something to unite them around. This is your company culture—the personality of the organization, its mission and values, working environment, policies, and practices. Ensure your managers are following consistent management practices, making decisions aligned with the values of the company, and regularly communicating with one another about their needs, obstacles, and workforce changes.

Neither good managers nor bad managers exist in a vacuum. They either have the support or the inattention of company leadership—the latter to dangerous consequences. A culture of poor management can lead to employee dissatisfaction, burnout, and increased turnover, all of which can be costly. An investment in selecting with intention and training your managers is not just an investment in them, but an investment in the company.

New Rules on Arbitration for Sexual Harassment Claims

Posted on by AllMyHR
  • Under a new law, employers can no longer force employees into arbitration on claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment. 
  • This new law invalidates previously signed arbitration agreements with respect to claims of harassment or assault that arise after the law takes effect. 
  • A strong anti-harassment program is your best deterrent and your best defense against these types of claims.


Last month on March 3, President Biden signed an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act which upends the table on sexual harassment claims. This legislation was initially called the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims Act of 2021.” EFASASHCA doesn’t really roll off the tongue, so we’ll call it “the Act.” Up until now, many employees who experienced sexual harassment were forced into arbitration. But under this new law, they can have their day in court.

Employers prefer arbitration for several reasons. Among them, employees can’t shop for the most sympathetic jurors since the case is only heard by the arbitrator. It’s also less expensive than going to court. While plaintiffs can still win in arbitration, punitive damages are rare.

This model has another big advantage for employers: secrecy. Arbitration takes place behind closed doors. Additionally, settlement agreements almost always come with a confidentiality clause. So, an employee who has been harassed and gone through the arbitration process can’t discuss it with coworkers, prospective employers, or the media. This reduces the pressure on the employer to improve their culture and prevent future issues.

This new law prevents employers from requiring arbitration of these claims. But it doesn’t just apply going forward– it’s also retroactive. This means employers can’t even enforce current arbitration agreements around sexual harassment after the law takes effect, even though an employee willingly agreed to it.

So, what’s an employer to do now?

Many employers don’t use arbitration agreements in this way. Some who did use them also had good harassment prevention policies. But some employers relied on forced arbitration to provide cover for unchecked sexual harassment, considering this a simpler solution than changing their workplace culture. Employers who take that approach will now need to seriously rethink their policies.

Your company might have relied on forced arbitration or not. Either way, there are some things you can do to manage the risk of sexual harassment claims:

1. Develop clear, thorough harassment prevention policies.  

Draft policies in plain English. Share those policies with each employee and collect signed acknowledgments. Train on the policies on a regular schedule. When talking about sexual harassment, include a variety of examples – don’t just cite quid pro quo and physical assault.

2. Maintain clear, multi-channel complaint policies and procedures. 

Give your employees the ability to report harassment to more than just their manager. Their boss might be the harasser or could hold a bias. You might build a system where other managers, HR Specialists, or even an outside service can field these complaints. Ensure that anyone who has been named as a receiver of complaints has been trained on how to handle the complaint once they receive one.

3. Respond to complaints systematically, quickly, and thoroughly. 

Have a comprehensive plan for what to do when you receive a complaint. You must be able to prioritize and investigate the situation immediately. The speed and depth at which you handle these matters is important. Having a plan in place ensures that you do right by your employee and minimizes long term disruptions to your business.

4. Train your employees. 

Some states require that you train your employees, but it’s considered best practice for businesses everywhere. Remember that training isn’t shelf stable. You’ll need to reinforce this information periodically. This isn’t just a way to protect your business. It also protects employees from behaving in ways they may not realize are out of line.

5. Train your managers. 

Don’t forget that managers are employees too, but their authority exposes you to even greater liability if their behavior is problematic. Managers should know how these policies affect them as employees. They should understand how their specific roles present additional risks and expectations.

Managers should also be aware of their role in mitigating harassment among others. Even a strong harassment prevention program is worthless if managers don’t understand what to do with a complaint. Investigating complaints doesn’t have to be complicated. It does, however, need to be done quickly, thoroughly, without bias, and with the right documentation.

In conclusion

For many employers, this change won’t have much impact. But for those who have relied on forced arbitration in the past, it’s time to reevaluate your approach. You’ll need to focus more on preventing sexual harassment rather than simply containing its effects. The tips we outlined above can help you do both of those things. Together, they reduce your risk of devastating lawsuits, PR fallout, and disruptions to your business. They also help ensure that your workplace is a safe and welcoming environment for employees.

Employment Law Updates: March 2022

Posted on by AllMyHR

Employment Law Updates: March 2022

Four Federal and six State Law Updates have been issued this month.  Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Download All Updates

Federal Labor Law Updates:

1

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act

On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (HR 4445). The act amends the Federal Arbitration Act by allowing employees subject to pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements to pursue their claims related to sexual assault or sexual harassment in court. The law also allows workers to choose how to pursue their cases after sexual assault or harassment has occurred.

According to the White House press briefing, “[t]his law will affect the more than 60 million workers who are subject to mandatory arbitration clauses in the workplace, often without realizing it until they come forward with a claim against their employer. President Biden has long spoken against forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts, and today marks an important milestone in empowering survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment and protecting employee rights.”

The White House also live broadcasted the signing and the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also released a statement about the act.

Back To Top

2

HSA Telehealth Relief Extended Under Appropriations Act

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (HR 2471)(CAA 2022) with a provision that temporarily allows high deductible health plans (HDHP) to cover telemedicine services without a deductible from April 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, and without health savings account (HSA) eligibility disruption. This is essentially an extension of the CARES Act provisions that expired on December 31, 2021, with a gap for calendar year plans from January 2022 through March 2022 when the standard deductible applies.

Back To Top

3

New DOL Employer Resources to Prevent Retaliation

On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor published the following new resources to assist in preventing retaliation against employees who assert their workplace rights or cooperate with Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigations:
Employers cannot retaliate against a worker for exercising their rights. Retaliation happens when an employer (through a manager, supervisor, administrator, or directly) fires an employee or takes any other type of adverse action against them for engaging in protected activity. An adverse action is an action that would discourage a reasonable employee from bringing up their concerns about a possible violation of their rights or discourage them from taking part in other related protected activity. Retaliation can have a negative impact on overall employee morale.

Back To Top

4

Updated EEOC Guidance on Religious Accommodations and Vaccines

On March 1, 2022, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated section L of its COVID-19 guidance about vaccinations and Title VII religious objections to COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion. This includes a right for job applicants and employees to request an exception, called a religious or reasonable accommodation, from an employer requirement that conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. If an employer shows that it cannot reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs, practices, or observances without undue hardship on its operations, then they are not required to grant the accommodation. Read more about Section 12: Religious Discrimination and EEOC Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Religion.

Although other laws, such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, also may protect religious freedom in some circumstances, the EEOC’s guidance only describes employment rights and obligations under Title VII and specifically addresses:

  • That employees with a religious objection to getting the COVID-19 vaccine must tell their employer about it—when requesting an accommodation from getting it—and how.
  • That generally, employers should accept an employee’s assertion of their religious at face value but could make a factual inquiry for additional supporting information if it questions it.
  • How an employer shows that it would be an “undue hardship” to accommodate an employee’s request for religious accommodation.
  • When an employer grants some employees a religious accommodation from a COVID- 19 vaccination requirement because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances, it is not required to grant all such requests.
  • When there is more than one reasonable accommodation that would effectively resolve the conflict between the vaccination requirement and the employee’s sincerely held belief, etc., that an employer may choose which accommodation to offer.
  • The obligation to provide religious accommodations absent undue hardship and that it is a continuing obligation that allows for changing circumstances.

Back To Top

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

Compliance can weigh down even the most experienced professionals. Our HR Advisors, one click compliance Handbook, Compliance Database, HR Tools and Employee Training are ready to help navigate HR all year long. Everything included with your AllMyHR Solutions. 

tryhris HR Solutions guarantee and signature

Previous Labor Laws & Information

Have your HR Questions professionally answered quickly.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

How to Make the Best Use of Your Employee Handbook

Posted on by AllMyHR
employee handbook - blog header

Employee handbooks are a nifty communication and reference tool for the workplace, but only if they’re used and not collecting dust on some physical (or digital) shelf. A handbook is only as good as what it does. At the minimum, it should do the following:

Introduce employees to the fundamentals of your organization’s culture—the beliefs and values that members of the organization are expected to share. This introduction explains what you do and why you do it. It may also give employees a look into the history of your organization, how you got to where you are, and where you intend to go. Last but not least, it gives employees an idea of how they can contribute to the culture.

Communicate to employees what general behaviors and procedures are expected of them. These include general safety responsibilities, confidentiality expectations, timekeeping processes, reporting procedures, dress codes, and any other ways of doing things at your organization.

Educate employees about what they can expect from the organization’s leadership. Executives, managers, and HR departments have obligations to their employees—both those they’ve established themselves and those required by law. A good handbook tells employees what those obligations are and how they will be met. If your employees are entitled to leaves or accommodations, for example, your handbook should explain these.

Support consistent enforcement of company policies. Employers expose themselves to risk when they interpret, apply, or enforce policies inconsistently. Transparency about policies and how they are enforced helps keep everyone accountable and the enforcement of rules consistent across the company.

Showcase the benefits the organization offers. Does your organization offer vacations, 401(k), health insurance, paid parental leave, or other employee benefits? If so, your handbook should outline these programs and their eligibility requirements.

Let employees know where to turn for help. Employees should feel safe turning to HR or a manager to report workplace violations, get workplace-related assistance, and get answers to any other questions they may have. The alternative is for them to turn to an outside third party, like the EEOC, the DOL, or an attorney, which could trigger a costly and time-consuming investigation. When a handbook provides multiple ways for an employee to lodge a complaint (ensuring they won’t have to report the problem to the person creating the problem), they are more likely to keep their complaints in-house.

How do I keep my handbook compliant?

Our tools are designed to streamline your workday.

Schedule a Demo and see how AllMyHR works for you.

Schedule a Demo

Avoiding Burnout When You Work in HR

Posted on by AllMyHR
avoiding burnout

If you work in HR, you know that employee burnout remains pervasive. You also know that the task of supporting overly stressed employees often falls on your shoulders. But you’re exhausted too. Burnout isn’t just a problem you have to help others solve; you also have to solve it for yourself. Here are seven ways to do that.

Set Boundaries

First and foremost, set boundaries. You cannot possibly be all things to all your people, available at all times no matter the cost. That’s not your job. More to the point, your job is not the supreme ruler of your time. Having a job means that you’ve committed to using some of your time to complete a certain amount of work, but you should still think of that time as yours. After all, it’s your life, your energy, your health. Don’t feel bad about giving time to your needs just because you’re working. The mindset that you can never prioritize your needs while on “company time” is an unhealthy one.

Place boundaries around both the time during which you work and what you spend your time doing while working. If you say that you’re done with work at 6 p.m., don’t do any work after 6 p.m. Emails and Slack messages can wait until the next workday. If people at work need to be able to reach you in an emergency, establish a specific way for that to happen (e.g., a call or text to your cell) and make sure the people who may contact you know what qualifies as an emergency and what doesn’t.

You can set boundaries during the workday by delegating tasks that don’t need to be done by you. HR is a big job for one person or even one department. Not every personnel issue even should be handled by you. Managers and department heads should be able to handle a lot of those issues themselves, and only come to you for help if it’s actually needed. If they are bringing you so many small problems that you don’t have time to resolve the big ones, you may need to set different expectations or train managers to resolve certain issues themselves. If you’re having to manage employees for them, they’re not doing their jobs (and may need to be developed or replaced).

Know What You Can and Cannot Control

In HR, we often feel responsible for everything related to employees. If there’s an issue, it’s on us to address it. A problem? We own the solution. Something not improving? We’re at fault. This belief that we are responsible for all the things causes stress to mount and leads to burnout. It also isn’t true.

We can’t be responsible for what we can’t control, and so much that happens in the workplace is simply out of our control. It’s vital—both for our work and our mental health—for us to know what is and isn’t in our power to change. If employees are quitting as a result of ineffective workplace policies, and you have purview over those policies, you can probably do something about this attrition. But if they’re quitting because there are better opportunities for them that your organization can’t match, there may be nothing you can do. Spending time trying to solve unsolvable problems isn’t going to have a good return. Or, as the old saying goes, if there is no solution, there is no problem.

Implement Clear and Simple Policies and Practices

The more ambiguous or complex your workplace policies and practices are, the more questions people will have about what they mean or require. If you find that your people often come to you asking what they’re supposed to do in a given situation, look at what you can do to answer their questions proactively. Do you have an employee handbook? Standardized practices for managers? Granted, some employees aren’t going to read any policy documents you give them, but in general you can save yourself (and others) a lot of time by defining policies and practices so that they are clear, accessible, and easy to follow. Accordingly, you should ensure that leaders are aware of where the handbooks, policies, and guidelines reside so that employees may self-serve whenever possible.

Train Your Colleagues

Being the only one who can do a certain essential task may be good for your job security, but it isn’t good for your health. If no one else can do what you do, you can’t truly get away or be guaranteed to focus on one task to the exclusion of all others. People can only cover for you if they have the knowledge and skills to complete the tasks you need covered.

Realistically, you can’t plan for every contingency, but teaching colleagues the skills and knowledge they’d most likely need when covering for you increases the likelihood that they’ll be able to handle whatever arises while you’re away or focused on an urgent project.

Take Time Off

Speaking of getting away, take time off. You need a break from work as much as anyone—maybe more so—and you don’t need to justify it. You don’t have to feel sick or especially overwhelmed or have something special planned. Breaks from work are good for you, period. If you feel the need to justify a break from work, take time off to set a good example to everyone else that they should be taking time off too.

When employees see leaders in their organization taking ample time away from work, they feel more confident taking time off themselves. That helps save those employees from burnout, which in turn saves their leaders’ time.

Connect with Other HR Professionals

Working in HR can be a lonely profession, especially if you’re a department of one. When you’re in HR, friendships at work range from tricky to ill-advised. You may not have anyone at work you can really open up to or who appreciates the challenges of your job. Fortunately, there’s an active community of HR professionals online who are more than happy to share ideas, answer questions, or just listen. You can find them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and elsewhere by searching #hrcommunity or #hr. They’re a friendly and chatty bunch, eager to converse about the latest trends, specific pain points, and the generally daunting challenges of working in HR.

Consider following a few HR practitioners, participating in a conversation, or just watching from the sidelines until you feel more comfortable. It’s not quite the same as having a close friend at work, but what it lacks in close proximity, it makes up for in shared experience.

Treat Yourself

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Special Agent Dale Cooper says to Sherriff Harry S. Truman in the television series Twin Peaks. “Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen.”

The present doesn’t have to be extravagant. Cooper’s examples include a catnap in one’s office chair and taking a few minutes to enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee. Yours might be a 20-minute walk to get some fresh air and Vitamin D. The point is to be not just reasonable, but generous with yourself every day. The work we do in HR is stressful, emotionally taxing, and tiring. We spend our days supporting others in difficult situations. Our job is giving time, comfort, and care to others. It’s important to give those things to ourselves too.

Our tools are designed to streamline your workday.

Schedule a Demo and see how AllMyHR works for you.

Schedule a Demo

Turning the Great Resignation Into a Great Re-engagement for Your Company

Posted on by AllMyHR
great resignation

“Help Wanted” signs – virtual or storefront – are everywhere. In 2021, millions of American workers quit their jobs, including a record 4.5 million in November alone, a 30% increase over the same month last year. Perhaps more startling, another 65% of Americans are looking for a new job. Predicted back in May 2021, the Great Resignation is underway.

But that’s only half the story. Business hiring is also at record levels. Most Americans aren’t simply quitting their jobs and leaving the workforce. They’re pursuing new roles and companies, or opportunities in new industries altogether.

There are many theories for what’s causing Americans to do this. One of the most prevalent I’ve seen is the “epiphany” theory. The COVID pandemic, like other disruptive events, caused people to reexamine their needs and priorities, and make life changes accordingly. Perhaps it’s spending more time with family, aligning their work with their personal values and interests, staying home to take care of children, having more flexible hours, or moving somewhere new.

Employers are scrambling to keep up. In the face of unprecedented employee turnover, supply chain challenges, new federal and state regulations, and pandemic protocols, their patience is wearing thin. It’s tempting for businesses to bemoan their employees’ reordering of priorities – and willingness to leave their jobs because of it – as entitled, short-sighted and ill-timed. The Great Resignation, the prevailing wisdom says, is a thorn in employers’ sides.

But what if the Great Resignation wasn’t just an opportunity for employees to build a more purpose-driven and engaging career and life? What if it was also an opportunity for employers to build a more purpose-driven and engaged company?

Over a decade ago, online retailer Zappos gained fame when it pioneered the “pay-to-quit” concept: paying employees a bonus if they left their jobs. Zappos believed it would be better off if employees who weren’t dedicated to the mission, values, and work simply opted-out. As then-CEO, Tony Hsieh, wrote in his book Delivering Happiness, “Our goal at Zappos is for our employees to think of their work not as a job or career, but as a calling.”

Now the pandemic is doing organically what Zappos and other businesses have been doing artificially: prompting workers to ask themselves whether their jobs and companies are the right fit, and causing them to make changes if not. If managed effectively, employers can turn The Great Resignation into a renaissance for their teams and companies, creating a more engaged, productive, cohesive, and loyal team in the process.

Here are 6 steps business leaders can take to turn the Great Resignation into a Great Re-engagement for their companies:

  1. Embrace the Change. The labor market will not always be as tight as it is today, but the world of work is fundamentally and permanently changing. For companies to emerge stronger from this period than they were when they entered it, leaders need to embrace the idea that employees are key stakeholders in their organizations. And just like shareholders or customers, employees’ needs and goals need to be understood and addressed as a strategic and cultural commitment. Only then will businesses be able to leverage the current environment and maximize organizational success.
  2. Conduct Stay Interviews. Many companies conduct “exit interviews” to learn why employees leave the organization. It’s important to invest the same time, attention, and curiosity in employees who have not chosen to leave. “Stay interviews” are 1:1 meetings between managers and their employees to discuss what’s going well, what’s not going well, and what changes the employee, the manager, or the organization could make to strengthen the relationship. These meetings require a foundation of trust between the employee and their manager, and are most effective if they are recurring, not one-off, conversations.These conversations should also not be constrained simply to job responsibilities. To achieve a Great Reinvigoration, managers and employees need to open lines of communication about employees’ life goals and values, and how both can be furthered at the organization, or even at a different organization. For example, a manager might learn that one of their employees has a dream of writing a novel or has a family member they need to care for. By opening the dialogue, the manager can help the employee connect or adapt their current role to their goals and needs, or discuss whether there are other roles or even other opportunities that might be a better fit. Sometimes the most powerful conversations occur in discussing opportunities outside the company, as that’s when an employee understands their manager is truly invested in their success.
  3. Don’t Chase. If an employee has decided that they don’t want to stay with the company, it’s generally better to support them in departing gracefully than in pulling out the stops to keep them. The pay-to-quit programs at Zappos, for example, not only don’t chase employees, they nudge them out the door. The key, of course, is to make sure the employee has full information about the direction the company, their team, and their role is heading. If they do, and they choose to leave anyway, trying to “save” an employee risks retaining employees who are not fully bought in, putting a band aid over underlying issues, and undermining the company’s ability to achieve a Great Re-engagement.
  4. Be as Intentional in Hiring as Your Candidates are in their Job Search. American workers are reevaluating their priorities, values, and goals, and are looking for opportunities that better support and align with them. This is a perfect environment to hire employees who will engage in their work at a deeper level and for a longer period of time, assuming you find a match. The key is to adapt your recruiting and hiring processes to find these people. For instance, make sure the interviewing process invites a dialogue with the candidate about not just having the right competencies and capabilities, but also about what’s important to them from a culture, values, team, expectations, and responsibility perspective, so both you and the candidate have confidence that the company and role fit their reexamined priorities.
  5. Shift Dollars from Recruiting to Training. After factoring in recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and lost productivity, the cost of replacing an individual employee is at least 50% of that employee’s annual salary. For employees who are performing well, consider reallocating a portion of what you would spend to replace them from your recruitment budget to expand your training budget. The training could focus on upskilling an employee who is looking to advance their current focus, or reskilling an employee who would have better opportunities in a different career track. Most workers want to grow their skills and will value an opportunity that allows them to do so. Set aside an annual training budget and engage your employees in discussing the best ways to use those resources to further both their and the organization’s goals.
  6. Invite Your Employees to be Co-Creators. Ten years ago, researchers discovered that consumers more highly value products they invest their own time, energy, and creativity in than “off-the-shelf” products. Called the IKEA effect, this same principle also applies to employee engagement and retention. People value organizations more highly if they are part of building them, whether it be their culture, processes, innovation, team, or strategy. To turn The Great Resignation into a Great Reengagement for your company, engage your team more fully in the process of building an organization that serves both their and your customers’ and shareholders’ needs. Turn organizational decisions or initiatives over to employee task forces or informal leaders, or simply empower employees to do things such as define the company’s values or develop programs. Given that people are investing so much though in their lives and work, now is an ideal time to hear their ideas and engage them in bringing them to fruition.

Make no mistake: with millions of American workers leaving their jobs each month, it’s a challenging time for employers. But it’s also an opportunity, one that leading employers like Zappos have previously invested in.

By embracing the moment, rather than ignoring or trying to resist it, employers can turn the Great Resignation into a Great Re-engagement for their businesses, and emerge with a new strategic advantage: a more engaged, productive and loyal workforce.

Our tools are designed to streamline your workday.

Schedule a Demo and see how AllMyHR works for you.

Schedule a Demo

Employment Law Updates: January 2022

Posted on by AllMyHR

Employment Law Updates: January 2022

Five Federal and eighteen State Law Updates have been issued this month.  Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Download All Updates

Federal Labor Law Updates:

1

2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collection Tentatively Opens on April 12, 2022

The 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is tentatively scheduled to open on Tuesday, April 12th, 2022. The tentative deadline to file the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Report
is Tuesday, May 17th, 2022. Updates regarding the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection will be posted on this website as they become available.

Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is discontinuing the EEO-1 Component 1 Type 6 Establishment List Report for reporting establishments with fewer than 50 employees. Beginning with the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection, all filers reporting data for establishments with fewer than 50 employees must use a Type 8 Establishment Report to submit their data.

Back To Top

2

COVID and ADA

The Justice Department updated its Common Questions About COVID and the ADA to address the following COVID-era issues affecting people with disabilities:

Medical facilities’ visitor policies must account for the rights of people with disabilities to receive equal access to care; and outdoor retail or dining spaces (sometimes called “streateries”) must be accessible to people with disabilities and not prevent their use of sidewalks and accessible parking.

Back To Top

3

COVID-19 FAQs and Mandatory Coverage for Free OTC At-Home Tests by January 15, 2022

On January 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) posted its FAQs regarding implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and the Affordable Care Act. These FAQs were prepared jointly by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury and—like previously issued FAQs here and here—answer questions about the laws and legal compliance.

Importantly, the new FAQs discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s requirement that insurance companies and group health plans cover the cost of over-the-counter (OTC), at- home COVID-19 tests, so people with private health coverage can get them for free starting January 15th. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, this new coverage requirement means that most consumers with private health coverage can go online or to a pharmacy or store, buy a test, and either get it paid for up front by their health plan, or get reimbursed for the cost by submitting a claim to their plan. This requirement incentivizes insurers to cover these costs up front and ensures individuals do not need an order from their health care provider to access these tests for free.

Beginning January 15, 2022, individuals with private health insurance coverage or covered by a group health plan who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test authorized, cleared, or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be able to have those test costs covered by their plan or insurance. Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover eight free over-the-counter at-home tests per covered individual per month. That means a family of four, all on the same plan, would be able to get up to 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month. There is no limit on the number of tests, including at-home tests, that are covered if ordered or administered by a health care provider following an individualized clinical assessment, including for those who may need them due to underlying medical conditions.

Over-the-counter test purchases will be covered in the commercial market without the need for a health care provider’s order or individualized clinical assessment, and without any cost-sharing requirements such as deductibles, co-payments or coinsurance, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements.

As part of the requirement, the Administration is incentivizing insurers and group health plans to set up programs that allow people to get the over-the-counter tests directly through preferred pharmacies, retailers or other entities with no out-of-pocket
costs. Insurers and plans would cover the costs upfront, eliminating the need for consumers to submit a claim for reimbursement. When plans and insurers make tests available for upfront coverage through preferred pharmacies or retailers, they are still required to reimburse tests purchased by consumers outside of that network, at a rate of up to $12 per individual test (or the cost of the test, if less than $12). For example, if an individual has a plan that offers direct coverage through their preferred pharmacy but that individual instead purchases tests through an online retailer, the plan is still required to reimburse them up to $12 per individual test. Consumers can find out more information from their plan about how their plan or insurer will cover over-the-counter tests.

State Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs are currently required to cover FDA-authorized at-home COVID-19 tests without cost-sharing. In 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration issued guidance explaining that State Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs must cover all types of FDA- authorized COVID-19 tests without cost sharing under CMS’s interpretation of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2019 (ARP). Medicare pays for COVID-19 diagnostic tests performed by a laboratory, such as PCR and antigen tests, with no beneficiary cost sharing when the test is ordered by a physician, non-physician practitioner, pharmacist, or other authorized health care professional.

Back To Top

4

Supreme Court Halts OSHA ETS

The United States Supreme Court has halted the OSHA vaccine-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). As a result, covered employers (those with 100 or more employees) are not currently required to comply with the ETS.

Employers should continue to comply with all other federal, state, and local requirements— this ruling only affects the OSHA ETS. If you’re in a state with an OSHA State Plan,
you should continue to keep an eye out for state OSHA requirements.

The Supreme Court ruling was limited to whether the stay should be put back in place. The case now returns to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether the ETS is beyond OSHA’s authority. Based on the reasoning of the Supreme Court, which indicated that OSHA had overstepped its bounds by regulating public health generally rather

than just occupational health, it seems unlikely that the ETS will be revived. This post has been changed since its original publication.

Back To Top

5

Processing Vaccination Accommodation Requests under the ADA

On January 14, 2022, the Job Accommodation Network published Processing Vaccination Accommodation Requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act outlining a sample process for employers to determine whether they must grant a vaccination exception or delay as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA when employees are subject to a federal or state-imposed vaccination mandate or an employer policy. When an employee requests an accommodation and the disability and need for the accommodation are not obvious or already documented, the employer can require reasonable medical documentation. There is no required ADA medical documentation request form, but the Safer Federal Workforce provides a template for federal employers that can be modified by other employers as needed.

Is the employee unable to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of a disability?

No: Deny the request under the ADA, apply other laws if appropriate, or follow usual policies.
Yes: Can the employee safely work while unvaccinated in the current job and work environment?

Yes: Allow the vaccination exception or delay.
No: Can accommodations be provided to eliminate or reduce exposure risk to an acceptable level, absent undue hardship?

Yes: Grant the vaccination exception or delay and provide the accommodations.
No: Deny the request under the ADA, apply other laws if appropriate, or follow usual policies.

More information is located at FAQ: COVID-19 Vaccination and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

Compliance can weigh down even the most experienced professionals. Our HR Advisors, one click compliance Handbook, Compliance Database, HR Tools and Employee Training are ready to help navigate HR all year long. Everything included with your AllMyHR Solutions. 

tryhris HR Solutions guarantee and signature

Previous Labor Laws & Information

Have your HR Questions professionally answered quickly.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

The Rewards of Trust and How to Get Them

Posted on by AllMyHR

Why do people stop trusting in one another? And what happens to a team when trust disappears? To answer these questions, let’s start with a fable.

About a year ago, Abigail began her first day on a new job. She was a software engineer, new to the workforce, and eager to make a good impression on her colleagues. At the end of the day, she noticed a fine, jagged line on the floor of the office, stretching the length of the building. She examined it, puzzled. She was pretty sure she hadn’t noticed it earlier, and almost as sure that it hadn’t been there when she’d arrived. For a moment she considered asking someone about it, but she didn’t feel comfortable inquiring about structural integrity on her first day.

Truth be told, she wasn’t the only employee who noticed the jagged line, and it had just appeared that day. But no one else had brought it up.

The next morning, the line had grown to an unmistakable crack. Javier, another software engineer, saw it straight away and thought about mentioning it to his supervisor, but the last time Javier spoke up about a problem, his supervisor had scolded him for not also presenting a solution. He had no solution, so he said nothing.

Dipendu thought he had an easy fix for the ugly crack, but he too was hesitant to speak up. The last time one of his designs hadn’t worked out as planned, the executive team was livid, and his manager threatened to demote him if his work ever failed again. Lupita, a senior designer, also had a solid idea for repairing the crack, but she’d seen too many of her good ideas stolen by others in the company, who received the credit for her ingenuity. Both Dipendu and Lupita kept quiet.

As the days passed, the crack expanded several inches. Everyone stepped over it as nonchalantly as they could so as not to acknowledge its existence. After a few weeks, the rift was several feet wide, and HR quietly updated job descriptions to say that the physical requirements of every job might entail some jumping.

Finally, after office supplies, a laptop, and Fred got lost in the rift, management decided to acknowledge the issue. But its message was inconsistent. In some instances, management seemed to take the gap seriously and promised it prompt attention. At other times, management seemed less committal. Only after an OSHA inspector showed up on an anonymous tip and summarily disappeared into the rift did company leadership clarify their position. Whatever the cause of the still-growing crack, employees were at fault for not speaking up sooner, and they’d just have to live with the consequences.

The consequences, however, were not sustainable. Valuable team members and intellectual property got lost in the abyss, electrical wires and phone lines got disconnected, and team meetings involved a lot of shouting over the gap. Soon everyone only communicated if they absolutely needed to, and oftentimes not even then.

What happened to this company may sound farfetched, but the rift is real . While you probably won’t find gaping holes in workplace floors, you will find trust destroyed by broken promises, lies, spin, retaliation, and inconsistency. And when trust is lost, relationships and teams break apart. In the workplace, people keep their distance from others, withholding information, refraining from identifying problems, and erecting barriers to protect themselves. In short, they stop working together.

Benefits of Trust

The whole point of forming a team is to facilitate cooperation. Trust is the foundation of that cooperation. With trust, teams increase their productivity, improve their ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, act more creatively, delegate work more easily, and achieve greater financial success. Trust enables teams to accomplish what they’re designed to accomplish. Trust creates a sure footing for success. But without trust, cooperation cracks, shatters, and dies. People can’t act as a team.

Building Trust

Trusting your employees and gaining their trust isn’t easy. As Wendy Dailey says, it takes time and effort. It’s work.

But trust is achievable. And worth it. We human beings are social animals, after all. It’s normal for us to trust one another. All of our social institutions require it. That’s one reason violations of trust feel so wrong and hurt so much. They cause rifts in friendships, romantic partnerships, families, neighborhoods, churches, teams, and other organizations. And yet those rifts are not the norm. They’re not what we typically expect. In the workplace, we expect to be able to trust our teammates, at least as far as work is concerned. So how do we get there? Let’s examine a few practical ways to build trust at work.

Learn What Trustworthiness Means to Your Employees
Laurie Ruettimann, author of Betting on You and host of the Punk Rock HR podcast, advises organizations “to learn more about how their employees define, value and evaluate trustworthiness — and act on it.” What establishes and strengthens trust with one employee may be different than what builds trust with another. For one thing, every employee has their own reasons for being an employee of their organization and expectations for what that relationship entails. For another, everyone has their own experience with building and losing trust. All else being equal, gaining the trust of someone who’s had their trust in others betrayed will be more difficult than gaining the trust of someone who’s not experienced such devastating betrayals. It’s vital to understand these differences.

Build Relationships on Authenticity, Logic, and Empathy
Executive coach Sarah Noll Wilson offers similar guidance. There is “a complexity to trust because what everyone values and what they need is going to be different based on every situation,” she writes. Her team recommends a framework they call the ‘Trust Triangle.’ We build high-trust relationships at work by being authentic about our values and impact, logical in how we’ve come to our conclusions, and empathetic in all our interactions.

Give Employees Your Time and Attention
Consider this simple advice from HR author and speaker Steve Browne: show “a little respect.” Respect brings people together. It empowers people to trust. We show people respect in the workplace by “acknowledging that their efforts make an impact and meaningful difference to the success of the company.” For Browne, we engage people with respect by giving them two things: “our time and attention.”

Acknowledge People’s Emotions
Researchers Alisa Yu, Julian Zlatev, and Justin Berg arrived at much the same place. Writing in Harvard Business Review, they explain that the best way to build trust at work is to acknowledge other people’s emotions. Acknowledging another’s emotions communicates that you “care enough to invest in that relationship.” Interestingly, the authors found that “acknowledging negative emotions boosts trust more than acknowledging positive emotions.” Why? Because most people “see acknowledging negative emotions as being more costly in terms of time, attention, and effort.” Acknowledging emotions can backfire, however, if “your coworkers believe your actions are motivated by selfish reasons.”

Act with Transparency, Clarity, and Consistency
We trust others when we believe that they are worthy of that trust — when we believe that they are honest, good, reliable, faithful, compassionate, and fair. How do we inspire others to believe that we are trustworthy? By keeping our promises. By being transparent about our decisions, clear about our expectations, and consistent in our practices.

Believe in Your People
Trust can’t go just one way. Rifts in the workplace will form if trust isn’t reciprocal. That means that we also have to show employees that we trust them. This can be challenging because we’re often inclined, and not unreasonably, to perceive employees as costs, risks, and liabilities. And yes, they certainly can be, but they’re also any company’s greatest asset. If we treat employees only as a danger, we tell them loud and clear that we don’t trust them.

The alternative? Find strength in vulnerability. Acknowledge the rights of your employees and your responsibilities to them (the employee handbook is a convenient place to do this, but your overall attitude matters too). Invest in their growth and success. Celebrate their wins. Give them reasonable opportunities to mend mistakes and make up for failures. In sum, treat employees like you trust them to do good work. Will some betray that trust? Yes. But that’s on them. Believe in them, and you’ll inspire trust. Assume betrayal, and you’ll get something else.

Trust enables people to work together. Pour everything you can into that foundation. You’ll build stronger and more productive relationships with your employees, notice and mend cracks more quickly, enhance the capabilities of your team, and achieve greater success.

Our tools are designed to streamline your workday.

Schedule a Demo and see how AllMyHR works for you.

Schedule a Demo

Employment Law Updates: December 2021

Posted on by AllMyHR

Employment Law Updates: December 2021

Four Federal, one District of Columbia, and fourteen State Law Updates have been issued this month.  Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Download All Updates

Federal Labor Law Updates:

1

Federal Contractor Minimum Wage and Final Tip Rules: Compliance Reminder

Minimum Wage

Beginning January 30, 2022, the minimum wage for work performed on or in connection with covered federal contracts will increase to $15.00 per hour. The minimum base wage for covered tipped employees will be $10.50 per hour.

A helpful FAQ can be found here.

80/20 Tip Credit Rule Restored

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) tip rule has been in limbo for the last year, but as of December 28, 2021, a new rule will be in effect. In the rule, the DOL makes it clear that an employer may only take a tip credit when its tipped employees perform work that is part of the employee’s tipped occupation. Work that is part of the tipped occupation includes work that produces tips as well as work that directly supports tip-producing work, provided that the directly supporting work is not performed for a substantial amount of time.

The DOL gives some useful examples of work that would be considered part of the employee’s tipped occupation and work that would not be considered part of their tipped occupation.

  • A server providing table service, such as taking orders, making recommendations, and serving food and drink — YES. That server preparing food, including salads, and cleaning the kitchen or bathrooms — NO.
  • A bartender making and serving drinks, talking to customers at the bar and, if the bar includes food service, serving food to customers — YES. That bartender cleaning the dining room or bathroom — NO.
  • A nail technician performing manicures and pedicures and assisting the patron to select the type of service — YES. That nail tech ordering supplies for the salon — NO.
  • A busser assisting servers with their tip-producing work for customers, such as table service, including filling water glasses, clearing dishes from tables, fetching and delivering items to and from tables, and bussing tables, including changing linens and setting tables — YES. That busser cleaning the kitchen or bathrooms — NO.
  • A parking attendant parking and retrieving cars and moving cars to retrieve a car at the request of customer — YES. That parking attendant servicing vehicles — NO.
  • A hotel housekeeper cleaning hotel rooms — YES. That housekeeper cleaning non- residential parts of a hotel, such as the exercise room, restaurant, and meeting rooms — NO.
  • A hotel bellhop assisting customers with their luggage — YES. That bellhop retrieving room service trays from guest rooms — NO.

 

In addition to work that produces tips (like the YES examples above), employees often perform work that is directly supporting their tip-producing work. For example, a server’s directly supporting work includes dining room prep, such as refilling salt and pepper shakers and ketchup bottles, rolling silverware, folding napkins, sweeping or vacuuming under tables in the dining area, and setting and bussing tables. Employers can take a tip credit when employee are doing directly supporting work up to a limit — once an employee spends a substantial amount of time on directly supporting work, the DOL considers them to be no longer engaged in their tipped occupation.

A substantial amount of time is defined as more than either 20% of the employee’s hours worked in a workweek while the employer is taking a tip credit or 30 continuous minutes. Once an employee has done directly supporting work for a substantial amount of time, the employer must stop taking a tip credit until the employee resumes clearly tip-producing activities.

Work that does not directly support their tip-producing work (such as the “NO” examples above) must always be paid without a tip credit.

You can read the rule and a lengthy explanation of how the DOL arrived where it did here. To find examples of how to calculate the amount of time that can be spent on directly supporting work while still applying a tip credit, search the linked document (the rule) for “5 hours.”

Back To Top

2

Federal: EEOC Guidance on COVID-19, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Disability

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws guidance by adding Section N that addresses:

  • How the ADA defines disability and how the definition applies to COVID-19.
  • When COVID-19 is an actual disability under the ADA and that it isn’t always an actual disability.
  • Examples of way that an individual with COVID-19 might or might not be substantially limited in a major life activity.
  • Depending on the facts, a person who has or had COVID-19 can be an individual with a record of a disability.
  • A person can be regarded as an individual with a disability if they have COVID-19 or their employer mistakenly believes they have COVID-19.
  • Examples of an employer regarding a person with COVID-19 as an individual with a disability.
  • An employer has not automatically discriminated against a person by regarding them as having a disability, for example the employer took an adverse action against the person because they have COVID-19 that is not both transitory and minor, for purposes of the ADA. It’s possible that an employer may not have engaged in unlawful discrimination under the ADA even if it took an adverse action based on an impairment. For example, an individual still needs to be qualified for the job held or desired.
  • A condition caused or worsened by COVID-19 can be a disability under the ADA.
  • An individual must establish coverage under a particular definition of disability to be eligible for a reasonable accommodation.
  • Employers can request supporting medical documentation before granting an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation related to COVID-19.
  • Employers may voluntarily provide accommodations requested by an applicant or employee due to COVID-19, even if not required to do so under the ADA.
  • Employers that subjected an applicant or employee to an adverse action, and the applicant or employee is covered under any one of the three ADA definitions of disability, haven’t automatically violated the ADA because having a disability, alone, does not mean an individual was subjected to an unlawful employment action under the ADA.
  • ADA protections do apply to applicants or employees who do not meet an ADA definition of disability because the ADA’s requirements about disability-related inquiries and medical exams, medical confidentiality, retaliation, and interference apply to all applicants and employees, regardless of whether they have an ADA disability.


(Updated December 14, 2021)

Back To Top

3

Federal: Extension of Form I-9 Flexibility Into 2022

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) extended the Form I-9 compliance flexibility until April 30, 2022 due to necessary COVID-19 precautions. This extension continues to apply the guidance previously issued for employees hired on or after April 1, 2021, and work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions. Those employees are temporarily exempt from the physical inspection requirements for the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) until the earlier of:

Their working non-remotely on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis; or The extension ends.

On March 20, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security announced its deferral of the physical presence requirements for the Form I-9 to protect employees and employers from COVID-19. However, this policy only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. If there are employees physically present at a work location, no exceptions are being implemented at this time for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for the form.

(ICE announcement December 15, 2021)

Back To Top

4

Federal: OSHA Vaccine-or-Test Mandate is Back with New Deadlines

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted the stay on the OSHA vaccine-or-test mandate (the Emergency Temporary Standard, or ETS), which applies to employers with 100 or more employees. This decision is already being appealed, and the ETS could be put on hold once again. We’ll let you know if that happens.

Lifting of the stay means that the ETS is in immediate effect nationwide and employers should begin to comply. The first compliance deadline was December 6 (for policies, notices, masking, vaccination status, etc.), and employers were supposed to begin testing unvaccinated employees by January 4. However, OSHA recognizes that compliance in such a short time frame is not feasible for many employers, so has said the following about enforcement:

“To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements
before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. OSHA will work closely with the regulated community to provide compliance assistance.”

We encourage you to review the materials that have been released by OSHA to help you understand your compliance obligations. Keep in mind that they likely haven’t updated the deadlines in the materials yet.

28-Minute Webinar

Frequently Asked Questions

Fact Sheet

Three-page Summary of the ETS

The ETS with Commentary

Back To Top

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

Compliance can weigh down even the most experienced professionals. Our HR Advisors, one click compliance Handbook, Compliance Database, HR Tools and Employee Training are ready to help navigate HR all year long. Everything included with your AllMyHR Solutions. 

tryhris HR Solutions guarantee and signature

Previous Labor Laws & Information

Have your HR Questions professionally answered quickly.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Creating a Safe and Fulfilling Workplace for Another Challenging Year

Posted on by AllMyHR
safe and fulfilling workplace

As we enter the new year, the risks of COVID-19 may recede, but the trauma, pain, and disruptions of these past two years will still be with us, affecting our lives and our work. We’ve all struggled, sometimes in ways we can’t pinpoint.

In her book Bearing the Unbearable, Joanne Cacciatore describes grief as “a process of expansion and contraction.” Cacciatore explains that in a moment of contraction, we may feel unsteady and unsafe, and we “feel the call to self-protect.” In a moment of expansion, we “become more willing to venture out and explore” and “take risks.” This process isn’t exclusive to grief, of course. Whatever the cause, many of us right now are experiencing one or the other, or both.

A recent guest on the HR Social Hour Half Hour Podcast, Julie Turney, founder and CEO of HR@Heart Consulting, observed that people today recognize that they deserve better, and they are demanding better. They are less willing to settle, less comfortable with the way things are. People are fleeing jobs that are physically or psychologically unsafe. Others are chasing their dreams with a newfound passion.

For the foreseeable future, people will seek environments that are both flexible and strong enough to support a process of contraction and expansion. They will desire work that gives them a safe place to be and a fulfilling place to go. They will crave a future they can own and a course they can chart, and their jobs will either help or hinder them. Jobs that help them will be in high demand.

Fortunately, such sought-after work environments can be achieved with some basic practices. Let’s look at some.

Talk About the Future

Ask your managers to talk regularly with their direct reports about how they’re feeling today and what they’d like to be doing in the future. Due to the circumstances, you can expect the answers they hear to vary and to change. On a given day, an employee may feel optimistic and ambitious, eager to take on a new project or a new role. But a week later, that same employee may feel hesitant or anxious about taking on any new responsibilities.

Don’t assume an employee expressing conflicting feelings isn’t up for the task at hand. In normal times, it’s natural to second guess big decisions, and these are not normal times. Some employees may need a little extra encouragement. Others may truly be happier continuing to do what they’ve been doing.

Through these conversations, managers can help their people make informed decisions about their future that make sense for them and for the company.

Don’t Be Afraid to Set Deadlines

Giving employees time to decide what future makes the most sense for them can go a long way to building trust and gratitude. There will come a time, however, when a decision needs to be made. A manager who has been talking with a member of their team about a new career opportunity in another part of the company, for example, will need a definitive answer eventually, probably sooner rather than later. When a manager has a conversation with a team member about opportunities for growth that require significant change, they should, as soon as possible, make it clear to the employee when a final decision needs to be made. That way the employee has a set timeframe to work through their feelings, and a deadline isn’t unexpectedly thrust upon them.

Provide Grief Support

A lot of people are grieving, and grief takes work. People grieving need the time, space, and freedom to do that work. The option to take bereavement leave after a loss can be invaluable to them, but so too is the liberty to take days off down the road when they’re needed. The grieving process isn’t linear, and the unbearable pain of grief can resurface unexpectedly, months and years later. The life of grief is long. Whatever you can do to enable employees to safely take the time they need to process a loss and heal, do it.

Take Care of Yourself and Your HR Leaders

Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify, points out that, while the “market for HR roles has never been hotter,” the work of HR has taken a “sustained toll” on those doing that work. They’re “carrying the emotional burdens of their employees (and their own).” Burnout is common. Be sure to give yourself and anyone else caring for your people time to rest, recharge, grieve, or whatever else each of you needs to do to stay healthy. “Resilience is not an infinite resource,” executive coach Sarah Noll Wilson reminds us. Take time off. You need it, too.

Don’t Take Departures Personally or Draw the Wrong Conclusions

When an employee leaves an organization, it’s always a good idea to understand why and consider what changes you could have made to keep them. What you learn may not persuade that employee to reconsider their departure, but it may assist you in keeping others. That said, sometimes employees quit and there’s nothing you could have done to convince them to stay. The best possible workplace in the world will still see people go elsewhere simply because those people want a change or because of circumstances beyond their control.

When your employees tell you they’re leaving, do your due diligence to find out why, but don’t overthink their departures or take them personally. If everything was good and they still left, that just means everything was good and they still left. It doesn’t mean that you didn’t do enough or should have done something differently. Believe in the work you’re doing. Be kind to yourself. As Lars Schmidt says in his book Redefining HR, “we’re on the front lines of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows of all our employees.”

Inspire Hope

Whether we feel the strong urge to self-protect or we’re jumping out of our seat to pursue a risky venture, we could all use a little hope. The philosopher David Utsler writes, “Hope offers no guarantees. Hope does not promise that life or the world will get better. Hope only insists on the possibility.”

You can inspire hope by expanding the scope of what is possible for your employees. Talk with them about their dreams and ambitions so they can imagine what possibilities lie before them. Talk about where your company is going and what you’ll need from your employees. Help them envision a place where they can explore, take risks, and be supported.

Then work together to get there.

Our tools are designed to streamline your workday.

Schedule a Demo and see how AllMyHR works for you.

Schedule a Demo
AllMyHR

Schedule A Demo

The simplest, most cost-effective way to streamline HR, reduce compliance risks, and focus on growing your business.

Contact Us Today

©2025 AllMyHr Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions. Website By Commonwealth Creative