As we wait for the OSHA guidance detailing how employers (over 100 in employment) can implement mandated vaccination for employees, employers need to keep in mind how they require vaccination and testing may impact proper pay for non-exempt employees.

A new Randstad USA survey found that workers have health and safety concerns around returning to work. The survey revealed three main findings:

As the pandemic continues to unfold, the ability of employers to have a positive impact on employee health and resiliency cannot be understated according to a recent Mercer Survey, Health on Demand.

From sexual harassment to discrimination to power abuse, harassment affects more than just a handful of employees. Harassment deteriorates culture and morale and can lead to psychological discomfort, leaving a job, or lawsuits. Why is this happening? And how can organizations work to prevent harassment before it begins, or hear about issues when they arise?

Last week, President Biden directed OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that their employees are either fully vaccinated or that the unvaccinated employees produce a negative test weekly before coming to work. The ETS will also require these employers to provide paid time off for their employees to get vaccinated or to recover if they are “under the weather post-vaccination.”

As ASE has written about previously, a vaccine mandate is allowed under law, except in jurisdictions which do not allow it, e.g. Montana. In addition, vaccine mandates in a union environment is still under question as to whether it has to be negotiated.  But employers are not flocking to this mandate.  In a recent ASE survey of 143 Michigan organizations, a majority of those surveyed (74.1%) continue to encourage vaccinations, but not mandate them.  Yet, the Delta variant...

The CDC's updated guidance suggesting facial coverings be worn in "public indoor settings" adds a new but hopefully surmountable barrier to returning the workforce to the office. The latest guidance has frustrated some employers who are attempting to develop sensible policies to return their workforce to offices.

As COVID-19 has resurged, safety protocols for workers have been updated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). In addition to guidance for unvaccinated persons on quarantining after close contact with someone with COVID, the updated protocol also includes guidance for people who are fully vaccinated and exposed.

As employees transition back to the office, they will experience a “re-entry” phase, during which both employees and employers will need to adjust and adapt. This “re-entry” phase is also known as reverse culture shock, a term originally used to describe the impact of returning home from a long period abroad.

More and more employers, including the federal government are considering either vaccine mandates or knowledge of an employee’s vaccination status.  Even President Biden will require vaccinations or knowledge of it for all government employees.  In the news recently, Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and Congressperson Marjorie Taylor Green both cited HIPAA as a reason to not disclose.  How should employers respond when employees yell out HIPAA?

Last Thursday the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published two directives addressing COVID-19 workplace safety. The formal regulatory standard called the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) covers health care workers. These apply to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, emergency responders, home health care workers, and employees that do ambulatory care. The ETS rules for these categories of covered jobs are workplace requirements.

Following the May 25^th Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) COVID-19 and vaccination guidance revisions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its technical guidance for employers regarding incentivization of vaccination programs.

On Monday, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Agency (MIOSHA) changed its COVID-19 emergency rule on workplace safety protocols following the Governor’s previous announcement of the same more than a week ago. Employers have waited for MIOSHA to catch-up to the Governor’s announcement last week, being caught between the Governor’s office change and MIOSHA’s existing rules published last October.

The three components of psychological safety that are perceived in the workplace are respect, inclusion, and trust.  It is a simple equation: (R + I) x T = PS (psychological safety).   A recent blog by Dr. Ken Woodside, partner at The Luminous Group, looked closely at how to create a psychologically safe workplace. 

Michigan reached the first stage of the Governor’s Vacc to Normal plan with over 55% of Michigan’s population now having at least one COVID-19 vaccination. As of May 24^th the work from home order will be rescinded. In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) revised its masking rules, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updated its Gathering and Face Mask Order to coincide with those new rules.