There are many different priorities and factors to be weighed and considered by organizations as they attempt to grow and pursue their goals. Prominent among these factors are diversity and inclusion initiatives. As greater attention has been paid to these concepts in recent years, organizations have realized that these are not just trends. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are here to stay.

Many employers that cultivate an inclusive work environment have noticed a positive impact on employee morale, productivity and the company’s bottom line. For example, inclusion can be a valuable component of employee retention, as employees who feel included are generally more likely to stay at an organization. And increased employee retention means that organizations can avoid excessive offboarding time, hiring costs and training expenses.

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For more than 70 years, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May. Mental health—how you think, feel and act—can change over time due to factors like workload, stress and work-life balance.

Although the past year has been challenging, the mental burden of the pandemic has enabled more transparency and empathy around mental health. We’ve compiled some interesting statistics to highlight Americans’ mental health:

• 1 in 5 experience mental illness each year
• 1 in 20 experience serious mental illness
• 1.5 million live with schizophrenia
• 7 million live with bipolar disorder
• 19.4 million live with major depression
• 48 million live with anxiety disorders

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The portal for private-sector employers to submit equal employment opportunity (EEO-1) workforce data from 2019 and 2020 is now open, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced April 26, 2021. The deadline for submissions is July 19, 2021. This data collection was previously delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

EEO-1 Reporting Background – Mandated under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the EEO-1 Report is an annual survey that requires certain employers to submit information about their workforces by race or ethnicity, gender and job category by March 31st every year. The EEOC uses the collected data to enforce Title VII’s prohibitions against employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many recruiting budgets have been slashed, and employers are struggling to find talent. However, virtual recruitment can help employers address talent shortages. Virtual recruitment is the process of pursuing, vetting and hiring candidates electronically. Here are four strategies:

1. Host Virtual Career Fairs – Hosting a virtual career fair allows interested parties to learn more about a company—much like in-person career fairs. Topics typically include a discussion of career opportunities and help inform potential recruits about the workplace.

2. Strengthen Your Online Presence – Any organization looking to recruit virtually must have a strong online presence. This includes maintaining multiple social media profiles, posting content regularly and interacting with followers. Having an attractive social media presence will help encourage candidates to follow and like the content the company posts. In turn, this provides a steady stream of passive recruiting leads.

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Expressing oneself is a right afforded to every American, no matter where that expression takes place, right? When it comes to the workplace, the answer is: It depends.

Over the past month, Chicago software firm, Basecamp, has gone from banning political and societal discussions on the company’s workplace tools, to discovering that one-third of its employees left the company following buy-out offers. The company’s CEO, Jason Fried, sent a follow-up memo to employees on May 4, 2021 apologizing for some of the events that unfolded, but indicated that the ban is here to stay.

Employers have a responsibility to promote inclusiveness and encourage respect among employees. Unfortunately, political and societal expression can have the opposite effect. In certain instances, such as when an employee’s expression disrupts or harms productivity in the workplace, private sector employers may choose to limit such expression.

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The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted March 11, 2021, includes changes to emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The ARPA extended tax credits through Sept. 30, 2021, for employers that continue to provide FFCRA leave voluntarily (beyond the Dec. 31, 2020, expiration date) and made changes to tax credit eligibility for both types of FFCRA leave. It continues to apply only to employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Key Changes:

• The ARPA permits the FFCRA tax credit for a new bank of emergency paid sick leave (EPSL), beginning April 1, 2021. The amount of the new leave is 80 hours per employee. Even if an employee previously used the full 80 hours (e.g., in 2020), the employee could be eligible for a new set of 80 hours of sick leave starting April 1st.

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In our 2nd quarter issue of the HR Edge Newsletter, we review helpful tips on the following topics:

• The Hybrid Work Model – Hybrid workforce strategies will factor into workforce planning this year and beyond. The pandemic has resulted in thousands of employees working from their kitchen tables or living rooms rather than the office or other workplace. If that’s the case, organizations are likely in or will be in the process of deciding how much remote work will continue to play into the workplace. Furthermore, a hybrid model is becoming a growing standard for many organizations in some capacity – and might even be a common long-term option.

• Strategic Employee Communication – Employee communication refers to how organizations communicate with their employees—and conversely, how employees communicate with organizational leadership. While dialogue takes place in every workplace to some capacity, organizations that think and act strategically when communicating with employees may be able to realize benefits.

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On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposal to rescind the independent contractor final rule. The final rule was published on Jan. 7, 2021 and is scheduled to become effective on May 7, 2021. The DOL’s position is that adopting the rule would significantly weaken worker protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Although the final rule’s effective date has technically not yet been canceled,  this proposal signals the DOL’s intention to roll back the worker classification test established by the rule at the end of President Donald Trump’s administration.

As a result, employers should continue to monitor DOL communications on this topic for updates regarding worker classification obligations.

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On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule to amend employee tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule was scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2021; however, on February 26, 2021, the DOL delayed the rule’s effective date to April 30, 2021.

Portions Approved to Take Effect – After reviewing the rule for consistency with law and policy, the DOL announced that it will allow provisions that increase worker protections and earnings to take effect in April, including provisions that:

• Prohibit employers (including managers and supervisors) from keeping their employees’ tips, regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit; and
• Allow employers that do not take a tip credit to include non-tipped workers (including cooks and dishwashers) in nontraditional tip-sharing agreements.

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In this issue of the Remote Work Newsletter, we cover the following topics:

• 5 Ways to Beat Work-from-Home Burnout
• Building Strong and Meaningful Virtual Connections

To read the entire newsletter, click the following link: Remote Work Newsletter – March/April 2021.  This newsletter was written in an employee-facing format and can be used in your company’s communication plans.

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