HR Best Practices to avoid Covid-19 related lawsuit cases and claims

At the beginning of 2020, many did not anticipate a global pandemic coming. Most organizations had set business procedures and goals for the 2020 year. However, around March 2020 all of that changed. As more people became infected by Covid-19, and the world started realizing how deadly the virus was, businesses operations stopped or were modified to continue business operations. Many companies had to find creative ways to continue their business operations while following government regulations and ensuring the health and safety of their employees. During the current pandemic, companies that continue to operate must be careful to avoid breaking any of the existing government regulations regarding wage and hour oversight, layoff notice discrepancies, discrimination, and gross negligence to avoid lawsuits.

Many of the companies that continue to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic had to make quick changes that have affected their business and employees. Many employees have been working remotely from home instead of going in person to their place of employment. Companies that have required employees to work from home instead of the office, must make sure that their employees continue to work the agreed hours and permitted to take at least a 30 minute uninterrupted lunch break before the 5^th hour. Employees that work overtime must be compensated accordingly for the overtime hours worked. Companies should also consider reimbursing employees for business related expenses such as supplies, personal cell phone bills and Wi-Fi connections. Although more challenging, companies must ensure they follow government regulations to avoid wage and hour lawsuits and consider what expenses should be reimbursed.  Supervisors and employees can discuss how and when employees plan to take breaks so that the employee is not interrupted during their break time. Employees should not be expected to do any work past their normally agreed work hours. If an employee agrees to work past normal work hours, they must be compensated for all hours paid plus overtime hours.

Covid-19 has greatly impacted the global economy and businesses alike. This has resulted in businesses laying off or furloughing employees. Big corporations that intent to lay off employees must let the employees know as soon as possible by providing the employee the required WARN Act notice. Before a big corporation can issue the Warn Act notice, they must first show that their business had at least 50 full time employees lost their jobs and the business closed, 500 full time employees lost their job, or that the loss of full time employees exceeded 1/3 of all employees in the facility after at least 50 full time employees lost their jobs. By organizations meeting one of the requirements first, then they can quickly give laid off employees the Warn Act and avoid potential lawsuits.

Discriminations claims may increase during the current pandemic for different reasons. Companies must be careful to not discriminate against Asians, pregnant women, or seniors by not hiring them due to fears they might have Covid-19 or contract it in the workplace. During job interviews, it’s ok for businesses to ask job candidates if they are experiencing COVID symptoms but should stay away from asking potential candidates questions about their health history, underlying health conditions or questions about family members to avoid bias, claims of immunity discrimination or violating the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination ACT. Immunity discrimination occurs when an employer prefers to employ, promote or give certain assignments to a person that has recovered from COVID-19 over other candidates because the employer believes the COVID-19 survivor is more immune to contacting COVID-19 again. Business decisions should not be based on the person’s health. Employers can also have higher discrimination cases by laying off senior workers or for not accommodating employees that qualify for the American with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Act. Some employees might open a retaliation claim under the Occupational Safety and Health Act if they feel they were required to return to an unsafe work environment. To avoid lawsuits, companies must make sure they are not asking illegal questions to potential candidates or current employees to make business decisions. Employers should strive their best to accommodate employees that require special accommodations even if its related to COVID-19. Employers must also respect HIPAA privacy of any employee that has contacted COVID-19 by not sharing that information with others.

Employers may face higher worker compensation or negligence claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may occur if employees claim their work conditions caused them to contact the virus. Families that claim their family member died due to COVID-19 contacted in their workplace, might open a wrongful death claim. To avoid these types of claims, employers should try their best to follow the CDC’s COVID-19 recommendations to ensure a safe workplace environment for all employees. Employers should strive to be more flexible with employee’s sick time and FMLA so employees have the time needed to recover from their health before returning to work or have the time needed to help take care of their family.

No one really knows how long the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to exist. During these challenging times, it is important for employers to continue to follow government regulations and laws and be mindful of their employees needs to ensure a healthy workplace environment and prevent lawsuits and claims.

REFERENCE

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/coronavirus-wide-range-of-lawsuits.aspx

https://hrexecutive.com/why-hr-needs-to-watch-out-for-immunity-discrimination/

https://www.laboremploymentlawblog.com/2020/04/articles/coronavirus/eeoc-webinar-guidance/

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/helping-human-resources-managers-prepare-coronavirus-pandemic