Coronavirus Update 4-22-2021: The SBA has one pandemic job, and it failed @nivassoc #saveourstages

On April 8, the Small Business Association opened its Covid relief program for concert halls and other performing arts venues. Or at least it was supposed to.

This $16 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program—part of the $900 billion rescue package Congress approved nearly four months ago—is supposed to offer grants equal to 45% of a venue's gross earned revenue up to $10 million per business. The SBA had to immediately close its SVOG portal when crashed from the volume of applications. As of last Friday, the SBA said that it was still working to test the portal's functionality and that it was hoping to reopen it by the end of this week.

This failure is completely and utterly unacceptable. 

Coronavirus Update 4-21-2021, part 2: Does President Biden read my blog?

I've previously urged employers to pay employees for time off related to getting the Covid vaccine and for any time related to adverse reactions to the vaccine thereafter (here and here).

Today, President Biden made the exact same argument in urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

CNN quotes President Biden's remarks from earlier today:

As we move into the vaccination campaign focused on working-age adults, one concern I've heard from so many Americans is that they can't afford to take the time off to get vaccinated or lose a day's work because they are feeling slightly under the weather after their shot. I'm calling on every employer, large and small, in every state to give employees the time off they need -- with pay -- to get vaccinated, and any time they need -- with pay -- to recover if they're feeling under the weather after the shot. No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated.

I'm not so arrogant as to think that President Biden reads my blog, but a guy can dream, right?

Coronavirus Update 4-21-2021: Most Americans that haven’t yet gotten the Covid vaccine don’t plan to … and that’s a huge problem

According to a recent Axios-Ipsos poll, vaccination efforts may have plateaued, and most people who've not yet been vaccinated don't plan to get vaccinated.

• 44 percent report not yet receiving any dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
• 66 percent of those unvaccinated say that they are either "not likely at all" or "not very likely" to get vaccinated.
• Only 14 percent of those unvaccinated say they are likely to get the vaccine.

These numbers present a huge problem.

We learn more from our failures than our successes

A couple of months ago I was approached by the That One Case podcast to record an episode. This show asks lawyers to share the story of one case that has stood out over their careers. As they pitched it, that case could be a big win that defined my career, a turning point that took my work down an unexpected path, or simply the case of which I am most proud.

How to identify and handle an employee at risk for workplace violence

It's been four days since Brandon Hole returned to the Indianapolis FedEx facility at which previously worked and killed eight people. 

I've previously written about how to spot an employee at risk for workplace violence. And while I'm not sure FedEx could have done anything to prevent what happened here, this tragedy nevertheless is a great reminder of what employers need to do when they suspect an employee presents a risk of violence.

Click here for my thoughts.

* Image by Max Kleinen on Unsplash

Coronavirus Update 4-15-2021: OSHA finally gets real about Covid safety

Consider the following Covid safety and health violations OSHA recently uncovered at a Massachusetts tax preparation business.

• Employees and customers were prohibited from wearing face coverings in the workplace despite a statewide mask order that mandated the business to require employees and customers to wear masks.
• Employees were required to work within 6 feet of each other and of customers for multiple hours while not wearing face coverings.
• Adequate means of ventilation in the workplace were not provided.
• Controls such as physical barriers, pre-shift screening of employees, enhanced cleaning, and other methods to reduce the potential for person-to-person transmission of the virus were not implemented.

What did these violations cost this employer in OSHA penalties? $5,000? $10,000? $25,000? 

DOL reopens the floodgate to liquidated damages in wage and hour investigations

The Department of Labor's breakup with liquidated damages in wage and hour investigations lasted only four years. Late last week, the agency announced that it would again seek liquidated damages (an amount equal to the unpaid wages themselves) in investigations, undoing a  policy change made by the Trump administration.

According to the DOL, it will "return to pursuing liquidated damages from employers … in its pre-litigation investigations provided that the Regional Solicitor of Labor or their designee concurs with the liquidated damages request.… Liquidated damages shall not be assessed by WHD where the employer has set forth credible evidence of a good faith defense or the where the RSOL deems the matter inappropriate for litigation."