Remote and hybrid work here to stay new survey says: According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) Executive Views on Business in 2022 Pulse Survey, 43% of business leaders plan to keep hybrid work options for employees, and 30% plan on making remote work a permanent option. In addition, 77% of executives see hiring and retaining employees as the two most important factors to consider in 2022. The survey -- which included 678 C-suite executives -- also found that leaders plan to keep several initiatives to focus on this retainment and attracting talent. These include increasing career advancement and upskilling opportunities (36%), increasing compensation for employees (31%), and improving benefits for employees (30%).  Source:  ZDNet 1/28/22

Need a new talent pipeline, think K-12 teachers: Burned out teachers are leaving the classroom for jobs in the private sector, where talent-hungry companies are hiring them—and often boosting their pay—to work in sales, software, healthcare, and training, among other fields. Teachers started leaving classrooms in 2020 when the pandemic upended education and childcare. The number of resignations from the private-education sector hit nearly 550,000 between January and November, federal data show. More than 800,000 resignations were handed in during the same period by people in state and local education.  Quits in the educational services sector rose 148% in that time frame, while quits in states and local education rose 40%, according to federal data. By comparison, quits in retail trade rose 27% in the same time frame. According to LinkedIn, the share of teachers on the site who left for a new career increased by 62% last year. The exodus is worsening a nationwide teacher shortage and proving a boon to hiring managers in industries such as IT services and consulting, hospitals, and software development. Teachers’ ability to absorb and transmit information quickly, manage stress, and multitask are high-demand skills, recruiters and careers coaches say.  Source:  The Wall Street Journal 1/31/22

H-1B season will be starting soon: It’s that time of the year again: the H-1B cap season is around the corner! On January 28, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the registration period for Fiscal Year 2023 will open at noon on March 1, 2022, and will close at noon on March 18, 2022, both Eastern Time. During this 18-day period, employers, directly or through their representatives, can submit registrations for prospective employees, using the USCIS online H-1B registration system. Congress has set aside 65,000 visas for beneficiaries with a bachelor’s degree and an additional 20,000 for those who earned U.S. master’s degrees. During the last couple of years, USCIS has received an average of approximately 300,000 registrations, thereby requiring a lottery for selections to meet the established cap. The H-1B registration system requires employers to first create an account on the myUSCIS portal. At the end of the registration period on March 18, if USCIS has received enough registrations to meet the cap, it will randomly make selections and send notifications to the corresponding myUSCIS account holders by March 31. Selected registrations will then have a 90-day period to file their H-1B petitions with USCIS for a visa start date of October 1.  Source:  Littler 1/31/22

Should employees be penalized for not being vaccinated? Workers appear increasingly receptive to penalties for their unvaccinated peers: 47% of respondents in an Eagle Hill Consulting survey conducted in early January said unvaccinated employees should pay higher insurance rates.  The number is up from 41% in August 2020.  Gen Z workers were the least supportive of higher insurance rates (33% of respondents agreed), while Baby Boomers were significantly more supportive (53% of respondents agreed).  Of 1,309 employees surveyed by Qualtrics in November 2021, 55% of employees said they would consider reporting a co-worker for violating a vaccine mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or a similar authority.   The question for HR is how to bridge this division to productivity moving. Source:  HR Dive 1/27/22

Remember Michigan has cause of action for weight discrimination: Melanie Lynskey, a star of the new Showtime series "Yellowjackets," recently recounted an incident in which a co-worker allegedly criticized her body on set. According to Lynskey, a production team member asked her what she planned to do about her weight and suggested that the show's producers would be willing to hire a personal trainer to help get her in shape. Unfortunately, negative comments and unwanted attention like Lynskey received on set are all too common in American society, and such attitudes frequently spill over into the workplace. One study from Yale University found that employees who are overweight are 12 times more likely to experience discrimination based on their weight than their thinner co-workers. Another study from Vanderbilt University found that overweight women make less money than women who are average weight, and make less than all men, even men who are overweight. For now, only the state of Michigan and a few municipalities prohibit weight discrimination in employment.  Source: Ford & Harrison LLP 1/27/22

Illinois pay reporting starting soon for a select few:  On January 25, 2022, Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) sent out additional communications regarding the upcoming Illinois Equal Pay Registration Certificate obligations.  Some 625 employers received notice they were selected to be in the group with the first deadline: May 25, 2022.  Employers that did not receive a second communication will have additional time to submit their registration application.  The Illinois Equal Pay Registration Certificate will require that covered employers provide employee-level compensation data as well as certify compliance with equal pay principles and certain federal and state equal pay laws. Unless it has already done so, a covered business should provide contact information to IDOL via the following link: https://forms.office.com/g/VQweNsryxx.  IDOL is requesting three email contacts to ensure that future communications will reach someone within the business. Source:  Seyfarth Shaw 1/31/22