EverythingPeople This Week!

There is always something to be grateful for.  Whether this time of year has you pondering gratitude or pumpkin pie, there is only one that is beneficial to your overall health and organization year-round.  Sorry, it is not the pie.

Earlier in the year ASE shared information on the pending law that would redact dates of birth from court records. The law, that was to take effect July 1, 2021, was postponed until January 1, 2022. This change would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to conduct criminal record checks in the State of Michigan.

The General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, continues her strict interpretation on protecting employees from employers who may be violating their rights.  For example, although the NLRB does not have the authority to impose fines, penalties, or punitive damages on an employer, it does have significant remedial authority to provide "whole relief" to the charging party.  Abruzzo wants to extend the definition of “whole relief” to...

This September, 4.4 million workers quit their jobs. The highest month of quits on record. You would have to be in a cave not to have heard about the general labor shortage employers have been dealing with.  I have not heard any ASE members state that they are not looking for workers in recent months, if not longer.

While robots are often seen negatively as they replace human jobs, some people are turning to robots to support their career development after the COVID-19 pandemic left them feeling lonely and disconnected from their own lives, according to a new study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm.

When explaining benefits, keep it simple:  No acronyms.  Like most industries, benefits lean on its own kind of language and lingo — one that’s packed with acronyms that can leave the average employer or employee scratching their heads.   

If the majority were to get their way, the answer would be yes.  Some states, such as California, have a form of paid family leave, but funding on a country-wide legislative mandate is still up in the air.  A number of issues arise from the length of family leave to the vehicle to provide payments to the breadth of family leave – all daunting issues.

As briefly covered in last week’s EPTW, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on November 6, 2021, in response to OHSA’s Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) outlining the vaccine mandate for employers with 100+ employees. This was a temporary stay pending review by the Court of legal briefs submitted by OSHA and the states challenging the federal vaccine mandate. On Friday, November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order to continue its...

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary.  This most recent report sheds some light on the great resignation and reveals what many have assumed.  Employee quit rates are at an all time high.  Specifically, the federal agency reported that 4.4 million people left their jobs in September, and the annual quit rate stands at 3% for the month, a series high.

More than half of the U.S. workforce is burnt out, with younger workers feeling the most strain, at 62%. As the workforce shortage continues and quit rates reach historic levels, more than one-third of the workforce plans to leave their job in the next 12 months. More than half of workers polled (51%) say the pandemic has triggered a re-evaluation of their personal priorities.  Is this what has led to the great resignation?

Minimum wage increases for 2022: 22 States (including Michigan) are expected to increase their minimum wage in 2022.  For a list of these states and their new rates, click here.  ASE members receive a 15% discount at govdocs.com for posters.  The discount will appear automatically at check out.

Amazon recently announced the launch of Amazon FamilyFlex, a program that provides new and current employees flexibility and expansive benefits for themselves and their families. Amazon FamilyFlex gives employees the resources to create the right balance between home life and work life, including pregnancy and parental leave, adoption assistance, and in select roles, the ability to swap shifts and create custom schedules. The program is a result of feedback from employees on the most...

Have you ever had a manager that promotes your work, tells you all the right things, and generally is positive to your face, but then you find out the manager badmouths you to others, takes credit for your ideas, and essentially freezes you out from key meetings and conversations?  That is a gaslighting manager.  Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person will say and do things and later deny they ever happened. They will undermine you, manipulate you, and later...

Last Thursday OSHA released notice it was publishing its Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for employer mandated vaccinations. The ETS covers organizations over 100 in employment size. The effective date of the ETS will be December 5^th, and the date for vaccinations will start 60 days from last Friday or January 4, 2022. Following the ETS vaccination deadline the White House modified its deadline for federal contractors to the same date – 1/4/2022.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, remote work has been the biggest trend impacting the way businesses operate. There is one growing group of workers: digital nomads. These are people who embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle. Unlike regular remote workers, who tend to stay in one place or shuttle back and forth between their home and a vacation retreat, digital nomads travel and explore the world while working.