DOL Wage and Hour reviewing school closing with respect to the FFCRA:  Currently FAQ #70 covers school closings.  In FAQ 70, they answer the question, “My child’s school or place of care has moved to online instruction or to another model in which children are expected or required to complete assignments at home. Is it “closed”?  Answer:  Yes. If the physical location where your child received instruction or care is now closed, the school or place of care is “closed” for purposes of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. This is true even if some or all instruction is being provided online or whether, through another format such as “distance learning,” your child is still expected or required to complete assignments.  However, the DOL is reviewing how this would apply to the FFCRA in three situations:  virtual, hybrid, and parent-selected virtual.  This FAQ applied to the initial shutdown of schools but not to the reopening in the fall unless it is assumed classroom will be 100% virtual.  Where a choice is provided, it is unclear whether this FAQ will apply.  Join us for a webinar on this topic, August 31^st at 10:00 a.m. – Back-to-School Childcare and FFCRA Update.  To register, email Rosetta Stoops or login to the ASE website and search the course catalog.

When writing job postings, job seekers want to see salary ranges:  An iHire survey found 77.1% of hiring managers are struggling to find qualified talent in 2020, though passive hiring and passive job seeking has increased since 2019 from 9.8% to 13.9% and 11.1% to 17.4%, respectively. In terms of job ads, the top piece of information sought by candidates was salary range (48.9%), with remote work options at the bottom of the list at only 2.4%.  The next important information job seekers want are qualifications and requirements for the role (39.9%), specific job duties and responsibilities (32.5%), benefits/health insurance (27.1%), and details about what it’s like to work for that employer/company culture info (21.1%). According to iHire’s data, the majority of employers (77.1%) struggle to find qualified talent, with 39% of employers saying “receiving unqualified/irrelevant applicants” was their number one challenge when recruiting through an online job board, website, or community. Additionally, “finding qualified candidates in my area” was their main concern, cited by 38.1% of employers.  Source:  iHire 8/7/20

Masks will be the new norm in offices:  Masks will be part of the employee dress code at 60% of U.S companies as offices reopen, according to new data from Clutch. 91% of companies are actively creating guidelines and making changes to prepare their office space for their staff's return. The post-COVID-19 office will likely feature masks (60%), socially distant seating arrangements (71%), and sanitation stations installed throughout the space (60%).  But, do employees even want to return to the office? According to the survey, 19% of employees want to return to work tomorrow, but 15% never want to go back.  The U.S. workforce is still split on when they'd prefer to return to the office. Nearly 20% want to return as soon as possible, but 28% are hesitant to return immediately and hoping to wait until September 2020 or next year. 15% of employees don't want to return to an office at all.  Because each individual is facing unique circumstances, preferences vary. An employee's desire to return to the office depends largely on personal circumstances. Employers should listen to their teams, and create plans that address their specific needs.  Source:  CCH 8/14/20

Employers now focusing on helping with student debt:  More attention has been paid to helping employees deal with another pressing consumer financial problem: mounting student-loan debt. Student loans have moved up to second place, behind mortgages, among the main types of consumer debts out there. It's a problem that is especially acute for the young adults companies are trying to attract.   Many employers already offer tuition-reimbursement programs that subsidize workers for taking college courses, and other initiatives are taking root to help those employees who already have amassed thousands of dollars in debt.  There are three basic variations for assistance.  One allows employees to divert unused PTO or other benefits to pay down debts. Another, more popular choice involves employers making student-loan payments directly on behalf of workers.  A third version links student-debt reduction specifically to 401(k) or other retirement contributions. In other words, if workers are making regular student-loan payments but can't afford to invest in the 401(k) plan as well, the employer antes up retirement-plan contributions so that these employees don't fall behind with their investing.  Source: azcentral.com 8/9/20

Yale discriminating against whites and Asians?  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) demanded on Thursday that Yale University end its use of race as a factor in its undergraduate admissions process, saying the school's policies amount to a "long-standing and ongoing" violation of the civil rights of white and Asian applicants. Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said in a letter to the university that an investigation the department started in 2018 had found the school in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Dreiband, said Yale "must agree" not to use race as a factor in its next admissions cycle. He also said the school has to clear any future proposal to use race in admissions with the government.  "Asian American and white applicants have only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials," he wrote in the letter.  The assistant attorney general also said the university's "standardless" use of race in admissions dates back to at least the 1970s and argued that the school "does virtually nothing to cabin, limit or define" the impact of race on admissions decisions.  Source:  Law360 8/13/20

Are you considering a new childcare benefit? Without schools or caregivers to rely on, some employees, particularly women, are making the difficult choice to leave the workforce or cut back their hours, despite the long-term damage to their finances and careers. As it currently stands women are handling 70% of childcare during business hours. Opening the economy without schooling and childcare in place is a “recipe for a generational wipeout of mothers’ careers.” Black mothers are the most likely to be impacted. Black parents struggling to find childcare are twice as likely as white parents in the same situation to leave their jobs, change their jobs, or not take employment at all. In addition, working from home with young children is often not an option for many parents of color who are disproportionately represented in jobs that do not allow flexible or remote work arrangements (and typically increase their risk of exposure to the coronavirus). Single parents and caregivers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have even fewer options. Childcare support is the new essential benefit. An ongoing Mercer survey (with over 750 employers responding through August 12) found that the great majority are allowing parents to change their schedules or offering other forms of flexibility to help them cope during the pandemic. While that’s important progress, so far only 8% have added or expanded direct childcare assistance, such as onsite, nearsite, or back-up childcare.  Source: Mercer 8/13/20