Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
CLOSED FOR BUSINESS, SORT OF
City of Los Angeles Extends Its “Safer at Home” Posting Requirements to May 15 On May 4, Mayor Eric Garcetti extended Los Angeles’s strict pandemic-driven health directive to May 15, signaling a gradual easing of restrictions from there if and as conditions warrant. It has been a remarkable evolution. The city’s March 19, 2020 initial […]
ARE WE DONE YET?
Workplace Return Planning There is no shortage of federal guidelines for preventing a new pandemic wave as more businesses welcome workers back to resume full production. Reflecting many of our recent articles, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Guidance Summary: Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 advises: Developing a preparedness and response plan (also see our article: Thinking the […]
OUR NEW NORMAL WEEK FIVE
“Safer at Home” Updated, Statewide Coronavirus Response We are in our fifth week following Governor Newson’s March 18 order requiring all California residents until further notice to stay at home or place of residence except for those in businesses and functions deemed essential to 16 federally-designated “critical infrastructure” sectors. The state last updated yesterday its […]
COVID-19 SAFETY NETS
Overview of CARES Act Small Business Loans On March 27, 2020, President Trump approved The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act), a $2 trillion relief package intended to protect small business from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Some media have overstated CARES Act business loans as “free money” or “fully forgivable.” Enterprise owners […]
IT’S A WASH
COVID-19 Paid Leave and Tax Credits As reported in Federal Coronavirus Workplace Relief (March 23) and COVID-19 Gets Noticed (April 2) the March 18 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires most employers with fewer than 500 on payroll to provide paid sick and family leave wages for certain COVID 19-related absences. The FFCRA includes […]
WHEN THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Key Protection Protocols for an Essential Industry Employee’s COVID-19 Diagnosis/Symptoms As of April 7, all but five states (the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Arkansas) have some form of COVID-19 “safer at home” orders in place. For those businesses permitted or directed to stay open as part of the 16 federally-designated “critical infrastructure” sectors, management faces […]
“SAFER AT HOME”
California’s Coronavirus Response Statewide and Local April 3, 2020 Current Status Welcome to our new pandemic-driven world, evolving daily. On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newson issued Executive Order N-33-20 requiring all California residents until further notice to stay at home or place of residence except for those in businesses and functions deemed essential to […]
COVID-19 GETS NOTICED
As reported in “Federal Coronavirus Workplace Relief,” the March 18 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) contains two nationwide employee leave laws, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (PSL Act) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA). In essence and applicable to businesses with fewer than 500 employees: The PSL Act requires […]
UNEMPLOYMENT GOES VIRAL
Furlough Versus Layoff: A Distinction Without a Difference? The Coronavirus crisis has forced many employers to reduce or eliminate their work force for the foreseeable future. Some employers are characterizing such action as a temporary “furlough.” Others are framing such action as a “lay off” for the time being, until the calamity passes. Yet, for […]
HOLDING FIRM
As a close observer of the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak from my West African work, the most precious commodity in the current pandemic is knowledge. Please consider this eight-minute COVID-19 video for a concrete understanding of the actual challenge we all face and the simple actions necessary to place this ordeal firmly in the rear view […]