Coronavirus Update 11-17-2020: Retaliation under the FFCRA is as illegal as is retaliation under any other employment statute

MaryJo Delaney is suing her former employer after it demoted her from her management position following her return from a Covid-related layoff, for which she had volunteered so that she could stay at home with her 9-year-old son whose school was closed.

The 11th nominee for the “worst employer of 2020” is … the horrific human traffickers

Today's nominee for the Worst Employer of 2020 is beyond description. NBC Bay Area provides the details:

A Gilroy couple has been charged with human trafficking after forcing a man to work 15-hour shifts seven days a week for no pay at their liquor store and then locking him inside the store overnight, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Monday.

Coronavirus Update 11-13-2020: Closing restaurants and bars is NOT the solution to fixing the spread of COVID-19

During his most recent scolding of Ohio's citizens, Governor DeWine threatened to close restaurants and bars if the state's Covid numbers don't quickly improve. He figures if people can't behave responsibly he'll close the places they are mass-congregating to slow the spread. 

If the current trend continues and cases keep increasing, we will be forced to close restaurants, bars, and fitness centers. We will look at this one week from tomorrow.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) November 11, 2020

His approach is wrong and dangerous.

Coronavirus Update 11-12-2020: Breaking down the potential liabilities in Ohio’s new mask rules

During yesterday evening's statewide address, and amid dangerously rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalization, Governor Mike DeWine, announced the reissuing and restating of Ohio's mask mandate. The order now contains four specific rules for businesses to follow regarding mandatory masking.

1. Each business will be required to post a Face Covering Requirement sign (version 1 / version 2) at all public entrances of the store.


2. Each business will be responsible for ensuring that customers and employees are wearing masks.


3. A new Retail Compliance Unit, comprised of agents led by the Bureau of Workers' compensation, will inspect to ensure compliance.


4. First violations will receive a written warning, and a second will result in a 24-hour closure of the business.

Coronavirus Update 11-11-2020: Working in an office instead of working from home doubles the risk of contracting COVID-19

You are literally making Covid worse if you are refusing to permit employees to work from home.

According to a recently published CDC study, employees who work in an office setting are nearly twice as likely to contract COVID-19 than employees who work from home. 

Four Years

November third 2020
Sitting anxiously on my bedroom floor
I've got other things to worry about
Like how I did on my test today
But rather than worrying about my grades
I'm afraid my rights are gonna get taken away

That's the opening verse to Four Years, a song my 14-year-old daughter wrote on the afternoon of Election Day. She's really proud of it and I'm really proud of her; with her permission, I'm sharing it with you.

Elections profoundly impact people. They matter. This year's election hit harder and mattered more than any other in my lifetime. I've enjoyed watching that impact through the eyes of my two kids, who aren't yet old enough to vote or to have a meaningful voice in the process. I know one of mine is very much looking forward to four years from now when she can turn her voice into a vote for the first time.

Coronavirus Update 11-9-2020: COVID-19 and no-fault attendance policies

Can you "point" an employee under a no-fault attendance policy for a coronavirus-related absence? For example, an employee sick with COVID-19 or awaiting test results, quarantined because of an exposure, or at home because a child needs care?

For the uninitiated, no-fault attendance policies operate by having workers accumulate "points" for missing work, arriving late, or other attendance-related issues; after the accumulation of a pre-determined number of "points," employees face discipline or even termination.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these policies are not only unnecessarily cruel, but they also might be illegal.