Employment expert discusses ‘Illinois Restored’ and the uncertain future

Gov. J.B. Pritzker just unveiled his new reopening plan for the state of Illinois. The projected 5-phase “Illinois Restored” plan was created to help safely reopen businesses in the state without causing an influx of COVID-19 infections. But what does Illinois’s phases reopening mean for employers and their staff, and should we expect similar plans from other lawmakers across the country?

“Gov. Pritzker’s reopening plan is based heavily on whether the incoming numbers will support plans to open up the state a bit more,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA. “But, if we are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 infections, a sustained increase in hospital admission, or if Illinois’s hospitals start to become overtaxed, the phases will reset back to the start.”

Wilson says that just because the state is starting to talk about reopening, along with several other states, that we should not expect things to go back to normal right away.

“There is going to be a new normal established,” says Wilson. “For example, many areas (like St. Louis County) are saying they will be adopting a ‘no mask, no service’ protocol in which all employees and customers will be required to wear masks. Other companies say they will stagger the return of their employees, for example, bringing just a handful of employees at a time into the office, and rotating work days so that it does not become too crowded and people don’t congregate too closely to one another.”

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How to lead your team effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic          

In 2018, only 24 percent of U.S. workers worked from home on a consistent basis. But, as of last month, 67 percent of employers were taking steps to allow employees to work from home in order to cope with social distancing guidelines. And, as social distancing time frames have been lengthened across the country, employers need to reconsider their new management styles and how to motivate and engage employees who may feel ‘out of sight, out of mind.’

“Leading a team of remote employees will require a bit of a learning curve,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert. “This is a unique situation that is going to force managers and employers to be adaptive and creative.”

Wilson says that companies need to respond to the COVID-19 quarantine by first adapting their employee handbook and communicating new guidelines and expectations to employees.

“Meet with your department heads, supervisors and HR staff to come up with a work from home policy which can be emailed or mailed to your staff,” says Wilson. “List out expectations regarding timesheets and how work hours need to be recorded. Remind staff that they still need permission to work overtime or to shift their work schedules. For example, if you have employees who are parents that need to take into account their child’s e-learning time, be flexible about letting employees tack on an hour at the start or end of the day, if they need time off midday to manage childcare requirements.”

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BULLETIN
March 26, 2020 (UPDATE)

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a new required notice (poster) related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act).

Click the following link to access the poster.

The notice is required to be posted in a conspicuous place on the company premises. You may also email or mail this notice to your employees, or post it on an employee information internal or external website. Although we recommend you post or distribute the notice as quickly as possible, we have also included a link to the notice on www.employco.com in the event your employees visit our website.

The DOL also released additional guidance which can be accessed by clicking this link to read the Frequently Asked Questions. A few of the significant FAQs include:

Do I have to share this notice with recently laid-off individuals?

• No, the FFCRA requirements explained on this notice apply only to current employees.

I am a small business owner. Do I have to post this notice?

• Yes. All employers covered by the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA (i.e., certain public sector employers and private sector employers with fewer than 500 employees) are required to post this notice.

We have break rooms on each floor in our building. Do I have to post notices in each break room on each floor or can I just post them in the lunchroom?

• If all of your employees regularly visit the lunchroom, then you can post all required notices there. If not, then you can post the notices in the break rooms on each floor or in another location where they can easily be seen by employees on each floor.

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