Coronavirus Update 3-1-2021: If “doing the right thing” doesn’t motivate you to take COVID-19 safety seriously, then consider the impact on your business if you don’t

The sign on the door of Platform Beer's Columbus, Ohio, taproom reads: "The entire Platform Columbus crew has quit. The taproom is closed until further notice. Thank you!"

The employees and their former(?) employer are battling it out on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/PA2WzqVafQ

— Malibu StⒶsi 🏴 (@MalibuStasi) February 27, 2021

Coronavirus Update 2-26-2021: Adaptability

Adaptability to change is itself a hallmark of successful education.

– Peter Hilton

2020 – 2021 has been a different school year for everyone. My kids are fortunate in that their school, Lake Ridge Academy, has been open for full-time, in-person instruction for the entire school year. There have, however, been key changes in the name of safety. For example, the school made the decision not to participate in interscholastic sports this year. My son was able to participate on the Middle School robotics team, with the competition submitted remotely. My daughter had the benefit of participating in the Upper School's fall play, which was staged outside in the warm autumn weather. 

The Upper School musical, usually presented on stage in late February, presented a different set of challenges. An outdoor performance is simply not an option in the harsh winter climate of Northeast Ohio. An indoor live performance is also not an option because it simply cannot be executed safely within COVID-19's limitations. 

So what did the school do? It adapted. Instead of performing a live, in-person musical, it spent the past several months filming its first-ever movie musical, which it will stream March 5, 6, and 7. And my daughter, Norah, has the lead role. 

The 4th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2021” is … the socially distant mass discharger

Repeat after me. Thou shalt only fire people in person, and never by phone call, email, or text message. If, because of COVID-19, you absolutely must fire someone by Zoom, at least have the decency to turn on your camera and mic.

Apparently, the Washington Football Team did not receive this memo. It just mass fired its entire staff of cheerleaders via Zoom, with the camera and mic turned off.

Coronavirus Update 2-24-2021: How much does it cost an employer for not following COVID-19 safety rules?

OSHA has cited a Missouri auto parts manufacturer for failing to implement and enforce coronavirus protections, which ultimately lead to an employee's death. The details, from OSHA's news release.

Two machine operators … who jointly operated a press tested positive for the coronavirus just two days apart, in late August 2020. The two workers typically labored for hours at a time less than two feet apart; neither wore a protective facial mask consistently. Ten days later, two more workers operating similar presses together tested positive. On Sept. 19, 2020, one of the press operators fell victim to the virus and died.

The total penalty? $15,604. For someone who died during a global pandemic because of his employer's irresponsibility

Coronavirus Update 2-23-2021: John Oliver tackles Covid and other safety issues in the meat packing industry

Last year I nominated Tyson Foods for 2020's Worst Employer because some of its managers started a cash buy-in betting pool on which of its employees would fall ill with COVID-19.

This past weekend, John Oliver did a scathing indictment of Tyson Foods and others for their health and safety record during the pandemic and otherwise.

If doing the right thing by your employees isn't enough for you to take health and safety seriously during the ongoing pandemic and beyond, and if staying off my Worst Employer list also isn't enough, then maybe staying off of John Oliver's show will push you in that direction.

Coronavirus Update 2-22-2021: Get ready for the glut of Covid whistleblower tag-along claims

The headline reads, "Ex-Manager Sues Ample Hills in Lawsuit Alleging Harassment and Unsafe COVID-19 Protocols" (emphasis mine).

Here's the lede:

Bryce Mottram, a former general manager at one of quirky ice cream purveyor Ample Hills' scoop shops, has filed a lawsuit in New York Eastern District Court alleging that he was fired from the company in retaliation for speaking up about instances of sexual harassment and unsafe COVID-19 workplace protocols at the company.

I firmly believe that for the next year-plus, just about every employment-related lawsuit will contain a COVID-19 whistleblower tag-along claim. 

The number one reason not to have a labor union

You would think that an employee who purposely defecates on the workplace floor in an act of revenge against his boss and then brags about it is worthy of termination. And you'd be correct 100 percent of the time … unless that employee is a member of a labor union. An arbitration board cited the employee's lengthy, faithful service record to the company and other mitigating circumstances in reinstating him.