Welcome to the new and improved Newsletter.

If you were a VIP member, you likely received a notice from Paypal alerting you that your subscription had been "cancelled." It's more accurate to say that your automatic renewals were cancelled. I have always hated the automatic recurring charges thing, but it was required to establish and manage the membership program, so I tolerated it.

That said, COVID-19 has severely impacted workers in our industry. In light of this, I feel it is no longer right to hide valuable content behind a paywall. If you'd like to donate to the site, you're welcome to use the link in the header to do so, but there will no longer be exclusive benefits for patrons (other than my sincere appreciation).

We are keeping all five of our children home to keep them from spreading COVID in our community. However, I am still available via email if any of you need me. Please have patience if it takes a few days for me to respond. (These kids...they're here, like...ALL of the time. It's a lot.)

I hope all of you are keeping safe (and sane) during this stressful time. Know that I appreciate and value you, and that we're going to get through this.

Disclaimer: My Google alerts and feeds are a hot mess, thanks to the deluge of city/county specific guidelines for businesses. This means I have had to sift through thousands of articles about thousands of small, local areas.

I highly recommend you keep updated on your local requirements. What applies in your state may not apply in your locality, and what applies in your locality may not actually be enforced, depending on your mayor's or local sheriff's personal opinions about virology. (I don't think you need me to tell you what's going on out there. Things are weird.)

Moving forward, I'm going to do my absolute best to provide you guys with the issues that affect all of us, rather than trying to address every issue that affects only those in certain states and cities. It has become literally impossible to keep up with all the changes this year.

DOL Will No Longer Pursue Pre-Litigation Liquidated Damages

THIS IS IMPORTANT.

In a Field Assistance Bulletin released on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division announced that it would no longer pursue pre-litigation liquidated damages in enforcement actions against employers for minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The announcement marks an end to the Department’s policy of seeking both back wages owed to an employee plus an equal amount as liquidated damages in any pre-litigation negotiated settlement with an employer.

EEOC Resumes Sending Right-To-Sue Letters

Trump Signs EO Overhauling Federal Hiring Process

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION!

On June 26th, Trump signed an Executive Order, dropping the degree requirements for certain federal positions in favor of a skills-based hiring model.

I consider this a bright spot in this dark time for a number of reasons. First, it sets an example to employers. Some companies' hiring standards have become unreasonable, given the economy and the expense of a college education. (Moving forward, it may not even be practical to demand every applicant have a bachelor's degree and five years of experience for entry-level corporate jobs, but I still like the message this EO sends.) Secondly, it acknowledges that there's a difference between an educated employee and a qualified one—a distinction those of us in skills-based trades know alllllllll too damn much about. Finally, this will likely result in a stronger federal workforce, with regards to employee competence. Employees who lack degrees but are otherwise exceptionally qualified won't be barred from employment arbitrarily, giving the federal government a broader pool of talent to draw from and allowing them to hire the person who is best for the job.

That said, this may also be the first sign of the push for massive professional regulation overhauls I warned about earlier this year. Any time we experience a financial crisis, the immediate focus turns to re-employment: "How do we get people back to work as fast as possible?" Generally, legislators look to removing barriers to entry first, and they come for skilled trades without hesitation. So, keep your ear to the ground in your state.

CA: New Emergency Ordinance Requires San Francisco Employers to Guarantee Reemployment

On June 23, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a Back to Work Emergency Ordinance guaranteeing reemployment to certain employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Ordinance creates a temporary right to reemployment when covered employers seek to hire workers for the same positions previously held by employees who were recently laid off for COVID-19 reasons.

CA: Law Protects Workers from Termination or Retaliation for Participating in Protests

In California, the law protects workers' rights to political expression outside of work. California Labor Code Section 1101 states that "No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy:

• Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics.
• Controlling or directing, or tending to control or direct, the political activities or affiliations of employees.

VA: First-in-the-Nation COVID-19 Safety Standard Passes

Virginia became the first state in the country to pass a workplace safety standard specific to COVID-19 on July 15.  It includes hazard assessment, communication and training requirements, depending on the types of tasks employees perform at work.

Pay attention to this. It could set an important standard other states may follow in some form or another.

Top 5 Employment Law Liabilities Facing Employers Post-Pandemic

Overcoming Workplace Bias

"None of us is unaffected by this," said Ellis, president and chief executive officer of Integrity Development Corporation in Cincinnati. He advised companies to have a plan for managers to de-escalate conflict and build common ground. "If we don't prepare our people to have this conversation, we're leaving ourselves open to micro-explosions."

Racial Injustice: Employees and Employers are Checking Each Other

As conversation surrounding racial justice grows nationwide, candid discussions regarding race are coming to a head in the workplace, where employers and employees are pushing one another to be on the right side of the conversation.

Our industry should make a concerted effort to do the same.

Racial Injustice: Employees and Employers are Checking Each Other

As conversation surrounding racial justice grows nationwide, candid discussions regarding race are coming to a head in the workplace, where employers and employees are pushing one another to be on the right side of the conversation.

Our industry should make a concerted effort to do the same.

How to Build a More Inclusive Workplace

Over the years, many organizations have been notoriously apolitical. But this is changing.

To Get Through Back-To-School, Parents Should Get Comfortable Being Imperfect

For the Parents
Chaos is a regular reality, for now. Let’s welcome it, and not feel guilty if things don’t quite run as planned.

Employers: Don't Miss These COVID-19 Emergency Warning Signs

Here are the current emergency warning signs of COVID-19 as of June 26, 2020, according to the CDC: 

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Bluish lips or face

Each of these warning signs is serious. That is why the CDC recommends that individuals who are experiencing them seek “emergency medical care immediately.”

First in the nation lawsuit: Healthcare workers allege gross negligence contributed to COVID spread

Keep your eyes on this one, as it could have consequences for employers who fail to enforce PPE requirements.

The complaint alleges that employees were forced to work without adequate PPE and that sick employees were forced to work despite being symptomatic and highly contagious.