HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources

Imagine this: your employees have been working with a wage cut for the last few months. But there is good news! Your business has recovered enough for you to restore their pay. Not only that, but you also want to make them whole, so you pay everyone a bonus on top of restoring their pay. Did you know that you may have just committed at least three wage and hour violations? Wage and hour laws have always been complex, and the pandemic has added new layers of complexity. Fortunately, we are lucky to have Maggie Spell, Partner at the New Orleans location of Jones Walker (https://www.joneswalker.com/offices/new-orleans.html) with us. In this episode, she helps us unpack some of the most common pandemic-induced wage and hour violations. Maggie focuses her practice on cases brought under federal, state, and local employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. She regularly offers wage and hour compliance advice and has represented employers in numerous Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions and state-law wage and hour class actions.

Last week we began to explore employer liability when it comes to COVID-19-related issues. Today we are going to dive in a little deeper, and answer some very important questions like can you force employees to take a COVID-19 test? What about antibody tests? Can you measure their temperatures? Can you make them wear a mask? What happens if they don’t comply; can you fire them? Here to talk about these and other legal issues is employment lawyer and member of Clark Hill (https://www.clarkhill.com) in Collin County Texas, Kim Moore. Kim Moore has been pragmatically solving employer’s problems for almost twenty-five years. A board-certified employment lawyer with an MBA and extensive experience in and out of the courtroom. Kim is passionate about achieving the client’s goals in non-compete, theft of trade secrets, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour matters. Kim genuinely enjoys her work, particularly understanding each client’s business and its people. Kim serves as the Member in Charge of the firm’s Collin County office. Kim is also a AAA trained mediator. She uses her knowledge to help parties resolve all types of conflicts.

While the pandemic has influenced every worker in the united states, it has not done so evenly. Already there are serious differences between essential workers who stay on the front lines and those who were lucky enough to work from home. In short, the country is in total chaos. Some states are closing down for the first time, some are opening back up, others are ignoring their very serious coronavirus issues. Perhaps most disturbingly, many organizations and political figures have been moving towards an “economy matters more than lives” attitude that will put serious burdens on the most vulnerable. According to experts I’ve spoken with and research I’ve read, among the most vulnerable are women of color, particularly single mothers of color. On top of all of the coronavirus-related concerns have also been the rising racial tensions in this country that add another whole layer of uncertainty and unrest to this already unsustainable situation. Here to help us understand the situation, and how HR can help, is Asha Tarry. She’s is an author, award-winning community mental health advocate, psychotherapist, and certified life coach. She is also the founder of Behavioral Health Consulting Services LMSW, PLLC (https://www.bhcsct.org) which provides consulting, counseling, and coaching to creatives and small business owners in the wellness and entertainment industries and educational sector. As a mindfulness practitioner, she has consulted with initiatives on maternal health, global workplace retention, and been a writer and speaker for several outlets focused on mental health.

As the landscape of work changes, so will the landscape of employment law. Across our nation, some states are closing down while others are opening up. That creates a lot of variability in how employers approach keeping everyone safe and the return to work. What are the liabilities? How can they keep up when best practices change constantly? Will due diligence help when, retroactively, employers realize they got something wrong. Here to talk about these and other legal issues is employment lawyer and member of Clark Hill (https://www.clarkhill.com) in Collin County Texas, Kim Moore. Kim Moore has been pragmatically solving employer's problems for almost twenty-five years. A board-certified employment lawyer with an MBA and extensive experience in and out of the courtroom. Kim is passionate about achieving the client's goals in non-compete, theft of trade secrets, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour matters. Kim genuinely enjoys her work, particularly understanding each client's business and its people. Kim serves as the Member in Charge of the firm's Collin County office. Kim is also a AAA trained mediator. She uses her knowledge to help parties resolve all types of conflicts.

The major win for DACA recipients a few weeks ago made the news for how unexpected it was. However, the issue is far from solved. In this episode, we discuss what you need to know about supporting your DACA workers right now before things change. We are pleased to have back with us today, Jonathan Petts, Co-Founder of a non-profit organization called Immigrants Like Us (https://www.immigrantslikeus.org/). In this episode, he helps us understand where things stand right now with DACA and what resources HR needs to have to best serve this vulnerable, hardworking group of people. You can view their DACA renewal guide here: https://www.immigrantslikeus.org/immigration-resources/how-to-renew-your-daca-2020 Jonathan is the proud husband and son of American immigrants. Prior to co-founding Immigrants Like Us, Jonathan practiced at two international law firms and graduated from both law school and college at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as an advisor on international law to both the IMF and the World Bank. In 2017, Jonathan was recognized by FastCase as one of the 50 most innovative leaders in the legal profession.

In this special episode of HR Works Podcast, my colleague Justin Scace from the EHS On Tap Podcast (https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/podcasts/) joins me to interview an EHS and an HR professional from one of the largest private companies in the United States: Koch Industries, Incorporated (https://www.kochind.com/). Our collective goal is to better understand how EHS and HR work together, overcome challenges, and otherwise collaborate to make their workplace safe during a crisis. Our guests are Walt Malone, VP of HR for Koch, and Sheryl Corrigan, director of environmental, health, and safety for Koch. Walt Malone joined Koch in 1991 and is responsible for Koch Industries’ corporate human resources team and the global Market-Based Management capability which provides training and development services to Koch companies. He serves on the boards of Georgia-Pacific Equity Holdings LLC and Koch Business Solutions, LP, both subsidiaries of Koch Industries. Walt, welcome, and thank you for joining us for today’s show. And we are also joined by Sheryl Corrigan, director of EHS for Koch Industries, where she provides oversight of Koch companies’ compliance with regulations and internal policy and tracking and ensuring follow-up on emerging issues. Sheryl was previously commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, advising the governor and helping set the strategic direction for the state on environmental matters.

Between general travel restrictions, anti-immigrant travel restrictions, massive unemployment, closed businesses, and now the recently announced ban on certain foreign national visas, immigrant workers in the U.S. are undergoing particularly challenging times. They are not the only ones feeling the pain; employers of foreign national workers are also struggling. In this episode we are pleased to have with us Jonathan Petts, Co-Founder of a non-profit organization called Immigrants Like Us (https://www.immigrantslikeus.org/) to help us understand the immigrant perspective so that HR managers and employers alike can have a better context for when they interact with immigrant workers in general but especially during this challenging time. Jonathan is the proud husband and son of American immigrants. Prior to co-founding Immigrants Like Us, Jonathan practiced at two international law firms and graduated from both law school and college at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as an advisor on international law to both the IMF and the World Bank. In 2017, Jonathan was recognized by FastCase as one of the 50 most innovative leaders in the legal profession.

In this episode I speak with a highly respected authority on the psychology of change about the return to work. Many have adjusted to the new realities presented by the coronavirus, and yet states and workplaces alike are reopening their doors. What does that mean for those of us who stayed home? What if we don’t want to go back? What if we can’t? Can it even be done safely and does anyone else feel like this is being rushed. We are pleased to have with us today Michelle Rozen PhD (https://www.drmichellerozen.com/). She is an author, a Huffington Post contributor, and a frequent guest on NBC, ABC, FOX News, CNN, and other media outlets. Dr. Rozen holds a Masters and a PhD in Psychology. She consistently speaks for Fortune 500 companies and her clients include some of the most recognizable companies in the world including Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, and The U.S. Navy.

Now more than months into the pandemic, we are starting to see the first COVID-related employee lawsuits. Last week we began to discuss which employee policies need to be updated or created to handle new legal challenges surrounding the coronavirus. For example, we recently saw a wrongful death and survival action for the coronavirus related fatality of an employee who worked in a Pennsylvania meat processing plat for the world’s largest beef processing company. We are pleased have back with us for this episode attorney Andrew B. Zelman (https://www.bergersingerman.com/team/andrew-b-zelman), Partner at Berger Singerman, a business law firm out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In this episode, we will discuss what happens when an employee refuses to return to work as well as what Andrew is seeing in terms of new lawsuits surrounding COVID-19. Andrew Zelman is a member of the Dispute Resolution Team based in Berger Singerman’s Fort Lauderdale office. He represents businesses and individuals in a variety of complex commercial disputes, including intellectual property, class action, and general liability cases in both state and federal courts. Andrew also has an established practice devoted to counseling and defending employers in employment litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew spent years handling a wide range of cases at a full-service AmLaw 100 firm. Andrew currently serves as the Chair of the Grievance Committee of The Florida Bar and is a Member of the Federal Court Practice Committee, a standing committee of The Florida Bar.

COVID-19 has changed everything, but has your employee handbook been updated? In this episode of HR Works COVID-19 Update, my guest discusses the critical policy updates that your organization needs to make in order to avoid an upcoming wave of coronavirus-related litigation. Now three months into the pandemic, we are starting to see the first COVID-related employee lawsuits. For example, the world’s largest beef processing company is facing a wrongful death and survival action for the coronavirus related fatality of an employee who worked in one of their Pennsylvania factories. If history is any guide, this is likely the tip of the iceberg. Employers beware! We are pleased to with us today attorney Andrew B. Zelman (https://www.bergersingerman.com/team/andrew-b-zelman), Partner at Berger Singerman, a business law firm out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Andrew Zelman is a member of their Dispute Resolution Team . He represents businesses and individuals in a variety of complex commercial disputes, including intellectual property, class action, and general liability cases in both state and federal courts. Andrew also has an established practice devoted to counseling and defending employers in employment litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew spent years handling a wide range of cases at a full-service AmLaw 100 firm. Andrew currently serves as the Chair of the Grievance Committee of The Florida Bar and is a Member of the Federal Court Practice Committee, a standing committee of The Florida Bar.