Quick Hits - August 5, 2020 - American Society of Employers - ASE Staff

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Quick Hits - August 5, 2020

Quick HitsHaving employees sign waivers not a popular move:  Although employers have expressed a keen interest in using waivers to try to limit their liability in the event a worker, customer, or visitor contracts COVID-19 on-site, very few are pulling the trigger, according to a new survey from Blank Rome LLP. After surveying roughly 150 employer clients on their pandemic tactics in July, the firm found that only 8% mandate waivers for employees, 6% require them from customers or clients, and even fewer get workplace visitors to sign them. While a liability shield appeals to businesses navigating uncharted waters amid the pandemic, Brooke Iley, co-chair of Blank Rome's labor and employment practice said employers are finding that the negatives outweigh the potential benefits.  For employees, they're largely unenforceable. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act's general duty clause, employers must provide a safe workplace that is free from serious recognized hazards, and someone can't contract away that right, Iley said.  Nearly all of the companies Blank Rome surveyed require on-site employees to wear masks while also enhancing cleaning protocols and mandating social distancing between workers. About three-quarters of respondents said they're putting up more signage displaying information about the virus and recommended safety precautions, and many said they're staggering work hours and workdays.  Source:  Law360 7/30/20

W-2 updates if providing FFCRA leave:  Employers that provide paid sick or family leave wages to employees on account of the Coronavirus will face new reporting requirements on the 2020 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, that they prepare for employees. A new IRS notice explains how Coronavirus paid leave must be reported [IRS Notice 2020-54, 2020-31 I.R.B. 226, 7/8/2020; IR120-144, 7/8/2020]. Some examples of changes: Qualified sick leave wages are reported like other wages in Box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation), Box 3 (Social security wages, up to the Social Security wage base), and Box 5 (Medicare wages and tips). In addition, the employer must report the following wages either in Box 14 (Other) of Form W-2 or on a separate statement:  The total amount of sick leave wages paid to obtain medical diagnosis or treatment for the virus or to quarantine or self-quarantine on account of the virus with the label “sick leave wages subject to the $511 per-day limit” or similar language.  The total amount of qualified sick leave wages paid for other reasons with the label “sick leave wages subject to the $200 per-day limit” or similar language.  See the notice for other changes.  Source:  IRS 7/8/20

CDC updates isolation guidance: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidance for determining when non-hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 may end home isolation — a change that should drive employers to revisit return-to-work policies.  Under the updated guidance, those with COVID-19 symptoms directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation if: (a) at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset; (b) at least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications; and (c) other symptoms have improved. Among the changes to previous guidance, CDC reduced the fever resolution component from 72 hours.  Some with severe illness may require isolation for 20 days after symptom onset, CDC said. Additionally, individuals infected with the virus SARS-CoV-2 but who never develop symptoms of the illness may discontinue isolation and other precautions 10 days after the date of their first positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, per the agency.  Source:  HR Dive 7/29/20

OSHA compliance for COVID-19 is important:  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has now issued its second set of Coronavirus-related citations, this time against an Ohio health-care company.  OSHA inspected three of the company’s nursing facilities from April to June after the company reported the Coronavirus-related hospitalization of seven employees.  On July 21, 2020, OSHA announced that it issued citations to each of the three locations with “serious” violations for failing to develop a comprehensive written respiratory protection program and failing to provide medical evaluations to determine employees’ ability to use a respirator in the workplace.  OSHA additionally issued a Hazard Alert Letter regarding the company’s practice of instructing employees to use the same N95 respirator for up to seven days and not conducting initial fit testing of respirators.  OSHA fined the company $13,494 for each violation, for a total of $40,482.  Source:  Proskauer 7/22/20

Contact tracing to become more prevalent in workplace:  More than half of U.S. companies surveyed by benefits company Mercer are starting COVID-19 contact tracing programs in their workplace with employees venturing back to offices even as new cases soar nationally. Of the more than 300 companies that took part in the survey, 54% are planning to implement a contact tracing program or had already started one, Mercer said. Among those who responded, the survey found that 42% of companies said they are using existing employees to do contact tracing and 9% are training employees now. In addition, about 4% said they will be hiring more staff and/or a vendor for their contact-tracing efforts, and about 3% plan to use a smart phone app or wearable device to track employee contacts.  “Time is really, really important here given how this virus spreads exponentially,” Mercer health practice co-leader David Zieg said.  In the pandemic era, employee privacy, to the extent it is, becomes less.  Source: Reuters 7/22/20

How should employers rethink benefits in the new “normal”? Since COVID-19 forced many workers out of their offices, employers have had to choose between delivering traditional perks to employees’ homes, abolishing the in-person parts of their benefits programs, or reconsidering their approach to employee benefits altogether. As the world of employee perks evolves to meet the needs of a rapidly changing workplace arrangement, many of these changes are expected to become yet another part of the “new normal.” In a recent study by talent mobility platform Topia the majority of respondents indicated that empowerment and trust were the most important factors that contribute to a “great employee experience,” followed by job training opportunities and technology. Only 16% of employees indicated that a “cool” office space, including perks such as free food and games, were a priority. In recent months employers and HR departments have also been turning their attention toward the perks that employees are more likely to need to get through this turbulent period, says Natalie Baumgartner, chief workforce scientist for employee engagement platform Achievers. Those perks, according to Baumgartner, include mental health resources, flexibility, and monetary incentives.  Source:  Fast Company 7/23/20

If work can be anywhere, workers could move to less expensive locations: Businesses are most highly concentrated in the top 15 most expensive places to live in the U.S. despite only housing 19% of the U.S. population. Remote work will shift the 49% of business spend that is now going to those workers and spread productivity to other talent pools, thus essentially fueling the creation of the largest labor market in the world, claims Upwork’s chief economist Adam Ozimek.  Despite having higher pay in these expensive areas, a high percentage of income goes to housing costs. Median house values in the top 15 were over $500,000, nearly three times that of the average place. Those living in the top 15 have a price-to-income ratio that is more than double the rest of the country: an average of 680% to as high as 1,260%, the study finds.  Therefore, if employees move back to lower cost locations, pay potentially can be reduced for geographic differences.  However, depending on the state, employers may have to navigate new legal issues.  Source:  The Path Forward 7/23/20

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