The final installment of a 10-part series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
Did COVID-19 end sexual harassment?
Did a global pandemic that sent humanity indoors, forcing many of us to work remotely (if at all) and to be socially distant while avoiding handshakes and touching obviate the need for such an obvious rule? Well, not exactly. I have been advising clients on this rule and the ripe environment for harassment claims since the pandemic began, and in candor, my position has been met with varying degrees of skepticism (yes, you can still see ...
Part 8 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
If there has been one, singular guiding principle or mantra that has sustained us, challenged us, and in some cases, inspired us over these last few months, this is it: “Don’t Waste the Crisis.” It is also the mantra that will propel us forward.
Flashback to the eve of Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order in March, shutting down New York State and New York City as the nation and the world watched. In the countdown leading up to its effective date, there was a palpable feeling of existential ...
Part 7 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
What can jazz teach us about COVID-19? What lessons can we learn from the great masters like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington at this very moment?
As it turns out—a lot.
In a unique way, jazz, a truly American, musical art form, perhaps perfectly embodies this moment. Jazz is about democracy – about different people, from different backgrounds, experiences, ethnicities, coming together – inclusively – to make music and make things happen – to swing. Jazz is about ...
Part 6 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
Simple in theory. Challenging in practice.
While we all intuitively know that we should stay home when we are feeling unwell, a fall 2019 survey suggests just the opposite—that approximately 90% of workers generally “push through” and come to work anyway. The reality is that employees come to work when they are sick for a myriad of reasons: to stay atop long to-do lists, meet production goals, because they think the business would crumble without them, or that somehow taking a sick day and ...
Part 5 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
By now, those who have been following this series know the basics. You’ve formulated (or are in the process of formulating) a “return to work” plan, which includes, among other things, implementing policies and guidelines consistent with CDC recommendations (wear masks), as well as other best practices that most of us learned, or should have learned, by the time we were potty-trained (wash your hands), if not by the time we were in elementary school (no touching).
But once businesses ...
Part 4 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
We have said this before, but we will say it again: in the workplace, there should be no touching – ever. The COVID-19 pandemic just provides another reason to follow the advice we give in the anti-harassment context, that employees should maintain distance and not touch others.
No Touching, Ever – Not Even For Handshakes
In almost a long forgotten time, pre-COVID-19, it was a natural tendency for employees to use handshakes, handshakes-plus, and hugs as a way to build rapport and ...
Part 3 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
Whether physically in the office or not, regularly washing your hands should already be a routine practice. However, this innate rule is especially important, and recommended by the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”), to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to maintain safe, healthy and respectful workplaces.
Wash Your Hands…All the Time
Everyone should already be washing his or her hands – all the time. This is a cardinal hygiene rule that everyone learns in elementary school ...
Part 2 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
Who would have believed that months into this global pandemic, after the innumerable and unspeakable loss to human life, to global economies, and to our own sense of selves and normalcy – that the relatively straightforward issue of whether to wear a mask to curb the spread of this virus would remain such a hot button topic. And yet, here we are.
The overwhelming science – yes, science – reported and confirmed by scientists, physicians, and leading health experts across the globe – is ...
Part 1 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
As Labor Day approaches, with schools reopening (in some form or fashion), and as we approach the end of our collective bandwidth for Zoom meetings, much time and attention has been spent discussing how and when to finally “return to work.”
But in thinking about that seemingly innocuous phrase - “return to work” - employers would be remiss not to take a moment to pause and re-think what that phrase actually means in a post-COVID-world. Is work somewhere that you go? Or is work something ...
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden imbalance in the labor market. While many employers are implementing layoffs or furloughs, other “essential” businesses are searching for additional employees to meet demand. Attorneys Nathaniel Glasser and Ian Carleton Schaefer discuss how employers can use creative approaches to address this imbalance. Read more about the strategies for employers (subscription required).
Technology, media, and telecommunications organizations are at the forefront of tackling new challenges in handling employee information and managing employee populations. As legislatures (from the federal level down to states and cities) address how technology impacts today’s new workforce, employers must grapple with changes in managing data—from privacy concerns to the use of artificial intelligence in employment matters—and keeping workers happy, including dealing with wage increases, the rise in union activity, and contingent workers in the #MeToo era. A changing workplace landscape requires creative thinking and outside-the-box solutions.
There is a visceral and palpable dynamic emerging in global workplaces: tension.
Tension between what is potentially knowable—and what is actually known. Tension between the present and the future state of work. Tension between what was, is, and what might become (and when). Tension between the nature, function, and limits of data and technology.
The present-future of work is being shaped daily, dynamically, and profoundly by a host of factors—led by the exponential proliferation of data, new technologies, and artificial intelligence (“AI”)—whose impact cannot be understated. Modern employers have access to an unprecedented amount of data impacting their workforce, from data concerning the trends and patterns in employee behaviors and data concerning the people analytics used in hiring, compensation, and employee benefits, to data that analyzes the composition of the employee workforce itself. To be sure, AI will continue to disrupt how virtually every employer views its human capital model on an enterprise basis. On a micro level, employers are already analyzing which functions or groups of roles might be automated, augmented, or better aligned to meet their future business models.
And, yet, there is an equal, counterbalancing force at play—the increased demand for accountability, transparency, civility, and equity. We have already seen this force playing out in real time, most notably in the #MeToo, pay equity, and data privacy and security movements. We expect that these movements and trends will continue to gain traction and momentum in litigation, regulation, and international conversation into 2019 and beyond.
We have invited Epstein Becker Green attorneys from our Technology, Media & Telecommunications (“TMT”) service team to reflect and opine on the most significant developments of the year. In each, we endeavor to provide practical insights to enable employers to think strategically through these emergent tensions and business realities—to continue to deliver value to their organizations and safeguard their goodwill and reputation.
Employers across all industries are deep in the midst of exciting but unchartered and fluid times. Rapid and unforeseen technological advancements are largely responsible for this dynamic. And while there is a natural tendency to embrace their novelty and potential, the reality is that these advancements are often outpacing our regulatory environment, our bedrock legal constructs, and, in some cases, challenging the traditional notions of work itself.
For employers, this presents numerous challenges and opportunities—from the proper design of the portfolio of the modern ...
In recent years, the use of wearable devices, such as smartwatches and Fitbits, has gained popularity not only with the general public and consumers but also among employers as a way to encourage workers to maintain healthier habits and, in turn, help reduce health care costs. Increasingly, companies are distributing wearable devices to employees as part of workplace wellness programs. According to one estimate, nearly half of employers that have a workplace wellness program use fitness trackers.[1] This trend shows little sign of abating. The data collected from these ...
We recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Julianne Tveten of Motherboard, for her article “HR Comes Last at Startups, and Women Pay the Price.”
The article raises some important issues for startup founders and investors. In particular, as we discuss, a delay in establishing HR policies may inadvertently draw claims of harassment in the workplace.
Following is an excerpt of one of our passages:
“Usually, the wakeup call comes by way of litigation, investigation, or when the people strategy is not completely sound and investors or potential acquirers look at the ...
Employers in the technology, media and telecommunications industry are faced with many workplace management and legal compliance challenges. Among these are trends in the shared economy and rise of the contingent workforce, data privacy and security, and use of social media in connection with recruitment, employee monitoring and termination. At the recent Epstein Becker Green 34th Annual Workforce Management Briefing held at the New York Hilton, members of the firm’s TMT Group including the authors of this post, along with in-house counsel speakers Rebecca Clar of AOL and ...
When: Thursday, October 15, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.
In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...
When: Thursday, October 15, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.
In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...
When: Thursday, October 15, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.
In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...
When: Thursday, October 15, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.
In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...
In the lifecycle of a start-up company, there are many key issues, situations and milestones when it is important to seek legal consultation. Epstein Becker Green has developed an easy to follow guide to highlight common workforce management issues (including employment, benefits and immigration concerns) start-up employers must consider as they grow their business and application of important laws which are triggered by employee count.
The Workforce Guide outlines critical areas such as:
- Onboarding and compensation;
- Managing existing workforce;
- Separation; and
- Statutory ...
We were recently interviewed in Corporate Counsel, in “Employment Law Risks Abound for Startup Companies,” by Rebekah Mintzer. (Read the full version — subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
“We think they should be focused on it from day one,” Ian Carleton Schaefer, a member in Epstein Becker & Green’s labor and employment practice and co-leader of the firm’s technology, media and telecommunications strategic industry group, told CorpCounsel.com. “Oftentimes it takes a triggering event, whether it’s a lawsuit or a government audit to get ...
On January 21, 2015 at The Standard, Highline, New York, New York, members of Epstein Becker Green’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications Strategic Industry Group, Stout Risius Ross (SRR), Axial and the New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund led an informative roundtable discussion regarding “Moving to the Next Level: Valuation & Financing Considerations and Employment Strategies for Start-Ups and Emerging Technology Companies.” This two-part discussion addressed how to take a company to the next level from a financial and valuation perspective, and ...
By Michelle Capezza, Ian Carleton Schaefer, and Arthur O’Brien (upSKILL Project Manager, NJIT)
The New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) is a not-for-profit, trade association which focuses on connecting decision-makers and thought-leaders from technology and technology support companies through access to financing opportunities, networking, and business support. Through its programs, the NJTC provides timely business information to help its members grow and succeed and provides forums for member companies to work together to advance New Jersey’s, and the ...
The newest issue of Take 5 is online, featuring contributions from Michelle Capezza, Nancy Gunzenhauser, Marshall Jackson Jr., Brandon Ge, Gregg Settembrino, and myself, colleagues in our firm’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) Strategic Industry Group.
In this issue, we cover employment issues in “The Cloud”:
- Solving Rainy Day Problems While It's Only Partly Cloudy: Wage and Hour Concerns
- PHI in the Cloud: HIPAA, Data Privacy, and Data Security
- The Cloud, the Evolving Role of the CIO, and the Increasing Importance of Attracting ...
By Nancy L. Gunzenhauser and Ian Carleton Schaefer
How can an employee of a national employer not “work” where her employer works? How can such an employee not be subject to suit in the corporation’s backyard?
According to a recent New Jersey state court decision, a technology consultant for a New Jersey corporation who worked in Illinois and provided no services to New Jersey based clients could not be subject to suit in New Jersey. This decision is instructive for technology companies with a significant national workforce (particularly if they leverage remote/agile workers ...
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Recent Updates
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