CDC changing guidelines for when workers exposed to COVID-19: The CDC will be changing their 14-day guideline for COVID-19 exposure. The new guideline still has 14-day quarantine without a test, but with a negative test, the time period may be reduced to 7 to 10 days. Source: CNBC 11/25/20
Do you have a remote work policy yet? Given the pandemic, you would expect most would. A survey of 344 North American organizations by Willis Towers Watson in October found that over half (59%) of those companies’ employees were working from home. And the employers expect that number to remain high (52%) through next year’s first quarter. However, many companies have yet to build formal policies and principles around alternative work arrangements. Prior to 2020, only 37% of the surveyed companies had those in place. One-quarter of them (25%) created formal policies this year. Three-fifths (60%) said they were planning or considering adopting one this year or next. In 2021, 61% of employers surveyed said they will pay fully remote workers the same as in-office employees regardless of a worker’s actual location. However, more than a quarter of the employers (26%) reported that compensation will be based on the location of remote workers for all jobs. Nearly a fifth (18%) of organizations said they were setting pay levels by first determining the market value of skills and then applying a geographic differential based on where the employee is located. However, most organizations do not expect flexible/remote work policies to substantially affect pay and benefits budgets for 2021. Source: CFO 11/24/20
New H-1B rules under attack: Framed as a way to preserve American jobs during the coronavirus, the rules announced October 6 required U.S. employers to raise wages for highly skilled workers — ostensibly to deter U.S. companies from replacing American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, and other industry groups sued to block the rule from taking effect. In addition to raising wages, the rules require visa applicants to have a degree in their specific field or “specialty occupation.” They also scrutinize “shadow” hiring arrangements under which third-party employers recruit foreign workers en masse and outsource them out other businesses, usually as IT staff. It may be on the list for rollback by the Biden administration, but don’t count on it. H-1Bs were also the bane of the Obama Administration. Source: Courthouse News Service 11/23/20
Employers offering new benefits due to COVID-19: As the COVID-19 pandemic has battered the American economy, most firms have avoided cuts in workers’ base pay and benefits, according to a national survey of HR professionals conducted by MindEdge Learning and the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). The survey, HR in the Age of Workplace Uncertainty, found that an overwhelming majority of survey respondents said that their companies have kept workers’ pay and benefits intact during the crisis: 81% have not reduced base compensation, and 89% have not reduced or eliminated benefits. Results indicate that 75% of respondents experienced an increase in employee burnout due to stress related to COVID-19. Slightly more than half (53%) report that their companies have introduced new benefits to help employees deal with stress, or plan to do so. This includes 39% of companies who said their companies have already introduced workplace benefits to reduce stress. Just under half (47%) say their companies do not plan to introduce these benefits. Source: Mindedge Learning/HRCI
Managers need to do more micro-coaching: Studies show that people may forget up to 70% to 80% of what they learn in traditional training workshops. This already dismal retention figure has not helped with the move to self-directed and virtual learning, and now even more so with the increase in remote learning due to COVID-19 restrictions. A study of literature has found that of the 11 factors that have a measurable impact on learning transfer, the single-biggest impact on learning transfer to work performance was if a manager was involved in supporting and coaching the employee. However, research shows that manager coaching is at an all-time low, with Gallup reporting that 75% of employees say they do not receive meaningful coaching from their managers. Surveys across industries show that managers report three key reasons: not having the time to coach, not knowing how to coach, and not having learned the skills our staff are learning. It is recommended that training and incentivizing how to coach, and coaching feedback loops need to be integrated into the flow of the learning. It needs to be linked to specific application of the skills being taught. Source: ATD 10/16/20
Degree or experience? May times, people have the skills but not the degree. In 2015, Harvard Business School research revealed widespread "degree inflation" in job postings. One example: 67% of job postings for new production supervisors required a college degree -- even though only 16% of existing production supervisors actually had degrees. It gets worse. A study published in 2020 by the National Bureau of Economic Research evaluated the skill profiles of 71 million U.S. workers (approximately 60% of the active workforce) who "only" had high school degrees. Even though 16 million of them had the skills for "high-wage work," which the researchers defined as "earning more than twice the national median," over two-thirds were working low- or middle-wage jobs. For example, if you need a programmer, a candidate who spent the past four years using data science and A.I. to solve problems and perform tasks may have better skills -- and therefore better "qualifications" -- than a candidate who spent the past four years earning a degree in computer science. Review the job itself to see what the true requirements are that makes someone successful and meets the needs of the organization. Source: Inc.11/9/20
Lack of a biometric policy that includes a destruction of data allows lawsuit to continue: The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act regulates the collection, use, retention, disclosure, and dissemination of biometric identifiers (fingerprints, retina and iris scans, hand scans, and facial geometry). Fox's employer, Dakkota, required employees to clock in and out by scanning their hands on a biometric timekeeping device. Dakkota used third-party software to capture that data, which was stored in a third-party's database. Fox alleges that Dakkota did not obtain her informed written consent before collecting her biometric identifiers, unlawfully disclosed or disseminated her biometric data to third parties without her consent, failed to develop, publicly disclose, and implement a data-retention schedule and guidelines for the permanent destruction of its employees’ biometric identifiers, and failed to permanently destroy her biometric data when she left the company. Although dismissed in part at the trial court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stated that Fox’s section 15(a) claim does not allege a mere procedural failure to publicly disclose a data-retention policy but alleges a concrete and particularized invasion of her privacy interest in her biometric data stemming from Dakkota’s violation of its section 15(a) duties to develop, publicly disclose, and comply with data retention and destruction policies. Source: Fox v. Dakkota Integrated Systems, LLC, No. 20-2782 (7th Circuit Court of Appeals, 11/17/20)