Coronavirus Update 6–29–2020: Judge hands McDonald’s a whopper of a rebuke for its COVID-19 response

A month ago I reported on a novel lawsuit filed against McDonald's Corporation in which the plaintiffs sought to have the fast-food conglomerate's alleged failure to comply with health guidance and provide PPE to its employees declared a public nuisance.

Last week, the judge granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction, concluding that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims. In so ruling, he concluded that the company fell short in its obligation to keep safe its employees and its customers.

Coronavirus Update 6–26–2020: New music Friday—Norah (en français), and a brand new Old 97’s song @suburbspod #FridayNightHootenanny

Since early May, Norah has spent her Friday nights jamming on the Rockin' the Suburbs podcast's Friday Night Hootenanny. Each Friday at 8 pm, the podcast hosts a virtual jam session via Zoom (sign up here). People can join just to listen or to share a song or two. Each week Norah's been sharing songs from the songbook she's been crafting during quarantine. Last Friday, she played her latest, a song she wrote entirely in French. (Fun facts: Norah has been taking French since kindergarten, she won the "Best Overall French Student" award at her recent middle school graduation, and I can feel her teenage face cringing as I type this.) 

The song is called, "Pas de Pluie, Pas de Fleurs" (No Rain, No Flowers). It's completely beautiful and blew me away. The Rockin' the Suburbs hosts were kind enough to share the video with me, and I'm now sharing it with you.

Coronavirus Update 6–25–2020: Are employees taking paid leave under the FFCRA? — the results

The results are in from my survey on the prevalence of employee leave under the FFCRA. Of those employers that are covered by the FFCRA:

• 86 percent have an FFCRA policy
• 59 percent train employees on the FFCRA
• 74 percent have had an employee take leave under the FFRCA

Coronavirus Update 6–24–2020: Are employees taking paid leave under the FFCRA?

According to a recent poll conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families, less than one in five employees have either taken or plan to take paid sick or paid family leave under the FFCRA. Of the 19 percent who has actually taken, or intend to take, paid FFCRA leave:

• 9 percent say they are using new leave protections for their own illness or isolation. 
• 8 percent say they are using new leave protections due to a family member’s isolation/illness. 
• 7 percent say they are using new leave protections to care for a child due to child care or school closure. 
• 6 percent said they took leave, but not because of the new policy. 

Coronavirus Update 6–23–2020: Must you accommodate an employee with a high-risk family member?

A bit of personal news: I have requested the opportunity to work from home for the fall semester because of my daughter’s heart condition. I found out this afternoon that it was rejected because it is my child’s condition and not mine.

— Jason Helms (@helmstreet) June 17, 2020

One of the questions I have received most from clients during this pandemic comes in some variation of the following: "An employee [does not want to come into work / wants to work from home / wants a leave of absence] because s/he lives with someone who is at high risk for coronavirus complications. What do we do?"

In other words, must you accommodate an employee for the employee's close family member's disability?

Coronavirus Update 6–22–2020: Ohio ends unemployment benefits to employees who refuse to work (with some key exceptions)

The state of Ohio will begin denying unemployment benefits to employees who refuse to work because of coronavirus. 

Governor DeWine issued an Executive Order last week directing the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services to deny unemployment benefits to employees who refuse to return to work after recall to the same position held before the state's Stay at Home Order took effect.

Coronavirus Update 6–19–2020: How to communicate when an employee tests positive

Positive COVID-19 tests are sadly the reality of 2020, and likely at least part of 2021. Nationally, 2.23 million of us have tested positive for coronavirus. If your employees have been fortunate enough so far to avoid the virus, the odds are good that before this pandemic is over one or more of your employees will test positive.

Before we discuss the right way to communicate a potential workplace exposure to your employees, let's explore the wrong way, via one of my favorite punching bags, the WWE.