EverythingPeople This Week!

Developing a strategy for reskilling allows organizations to retrain current employees to take on new roles. This can keep your company viable during times of change – without the additional time and expense of hiring brand-new employees.

Only approximately half of the U.S. working age, vaccine-eligible population has now been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracking data. New CDC guidelines allow the fully vaccinated to unmask, except were applicable law or private businesses and workplaces say otherwise.  And the new Michigan rules now allow everyone to unmask, with the exception of healthcare workers.

June 22, MIOSHA published new emergency rules superseding its May 24th emergency rule revisions. ASE has received many calls asking if the rescission of masking and social distancing rules by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MHDDS) also meant the workplace rules were rescinded. Up until yesterday, ASE had explained that MIOSHA had not issued any updated direction, and therefore, MIOSHA’s May 24th workplace COVID-19 rules were still in effect for Michigan employers....

Consumer experiences define and shape our economy. Consumers are more likely to make additional purchases, refer friends, and remain loyal to a brand when they have an exceptional experience — while a negative experience can wreak havoc on a brand. 

Women have borne the brunt of the adverse impact of the pandemic.  It has been estimated that more than three million women have left the workforce.  According to a survey by TopResume, 69% of working mothers plan to remain out of work to care for their children.  Of the mothers who left the workforce during COVID, 70% said they voluntarily left to accommodate their children, and 30% said they were laid off. “The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on people's careers, but...

Starting July 1, Michigan background checks may take longer: The state of Michigan has issued a rulemaking that requires redaction of date of birth (DOB) from public records effective July 1, 2021.  There appears to be a misunderstanding of the rule language.  

The impact of the pandemic, and its resulting recession, created many challenges for employers.  While compliance and safety may have taken center stage, employee rewards and wages were also affected by COVID-19.  Data from the most recent ASE compensation survey shows that overall wage growth in Michigan, based on a matched sample of companies (referred to as a constant sample), was just 2.1%.

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.

As we begin to pass by the pandemic and bring back workers to the physical workplace, a host of issues has to be reviewed by HR with the new workplace.  In some cases, employers are having a hybrid approach to working.  In other cases, employers are allowing for 100% remote work.  Finally, other employers are requiring 100% return to the office.  And in today’s world, if the job can be remote, recruitment could be expanded outside the normal recruiting area, possibly...

Are you eternally tired – feeling exhausted all the time?  Fatigue and mental exhaustion are one of the main causes of a lack of ambition and productivity.  It’s important to learn how to relax both your body and your mind in order to be the best you can be both at home and work.

Congress may step in with incentives for hiring:  With millions of Americans still out of work and job openings at a record high, policy makers are dealing with an unexpected problem: How to coax people back into the labor force.  

We’ve all lived like astronauts for the past year and a half – we’ve been physically isolated from family and friends, our home was also our workplace, and we were surrounded by an unsafe environment (COVID-19). Astronauts train for this, we have not.

The Biden administration has released their proposed budget, and there is a big boost of spending for the Department of Labor’s worker protection agencies.  Although the labor market will be tight, and HR focus on talent may overtake any other initiatives, compliance cannot be an afterthought for HR.  Further, recent appointments to the worker protection agencies, including National Labor Relations Board, reinforce the need for HR to ensure proper attention and resources are...

A successful return to work plan is based on trust, mutual understanding, and of course, providing an environment that appeals to your workforce. How do you create excitement around returning to work when a majority of your staff may want to remain remote?

Even though 56% of Michigan voters approved the recreational use of marijuana on November 6, 2018, and it became legal on December 6, 2018, it seems that it is only recently that more and more employers are rethinking their drug screening policies. This is in large part due to the problem of finding employees, and especially in finding employees who will not test positive for the substance.