Trending Topics

COVID-19 and Coronavirus

• Accommodating Workers at Higher Risk for Severe Illness
  
• Addressing Fears About Returning to the Workplace
  
• Allowing Telework
  
• Antibody Testing (or Not)
  
• Benefit Plan Deadline Extensions
  
• CARES Act: Business & Nonprofit Relief
  
• CARES Act: Direct Payments to Individuals (Stimulus Checks)
  
• CARES Act: Employee Benefit Plan Provisions
  
• CARES Act: Employee Retention Tax Credit
  
• CARES Act: Overviews of Provisions
  
• CARES Act: Paycheck Protection Program (Loan Forgiveness)
  
• CARES Act: Potential Relief for Government Contractors
  
• COBRA Deadlines Temporarily Extended
  
• Combatting Zoom Fatigue
  
• Communicating with Employees (articles and samples)
  
• Completing Form I-9 for Remote Workers
  
• Contact-Tracing in the Workplace
  
• COVID-19 Myth Busters
  
• Death of an Employee
  
• Documenting an Expired Driver's License on I-9 and E-Verify
  
• DOL on Tracking Teleworkers' Hours
  
• EEOC Updates Coronavirus-Related Guidance
  
• Employee Travel Amid the Pandemic
  
• Employees Refusing to Return to Work
  
• Employer Resource Centers (U.S. and Global)
  
• Encouraging Employees to Take Time Off
  
• Engaging Remote Workers
  
• Essential Business Designation
  
• Essential Workers: Identifying
  
• Executive Order Restricts Employment-Based Immigration
  
• FFCRA & CARES Act: Determining "Qualified Health Plan Expenses" for Tax Credits
  
• FFCRA: Decision Flow Charts
  
• FFCRA: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (4/1/20)
  
• FFCRA: IRS FAQs on Tax Credits & Required Documentation
  
• FFCRA: School Reopening (or Not) Plans
  
• Form I-9 Flexibility Due to EAD Production Delays
  
• Geographic Pay Differentials
  
• Health Carrier COVID-19 Premium Credits
  
• Heat Illness Prevention Amid COVID-19
  
• How to Support a Grieving Employee
  
• Index of COVID-19/Coronavirus Express Requests
  
• IRS Permits Midyear Changes to Health Plans and FSAs
  
• IRS Relaxes HDHP Rules
  
• Layoff Alternatives
  
• Leave Donation Programs
  
• Liability Waiver Considerations
  
• Lost Wages Assistance (Unemployment Benefits)
  
• Making Tax-Favored Disaster Relief Payments to Employees
  
• Mandating COVID-19 Vaccine
  
• Masks/Face Coverings in the Workplace
  
• Monitoring Remote Workers
  
• OSHA Revises Guidance for Recording COVID-19 Cases
  
• Pay Reductions
  
• Pre-employment Background Checks During COVID-19
  
• Preparedness Plan
  
• Preparing Pets for Your Return to the Office
  
• Preventing COVID-19 Related Workplace Violence
  
• Recalling/Rehiring Employees
  
• Reducing Employer's Retirement Plan Contribution/Match
  
• Remote Work & State Tax Issues
  
• Remote Workers' Expense Reimbursement
  
• Reopening Your Workplace
  
• Responding to Employee's COVID-19 Diagnosis
  
• Shadow Pandemic: Rise in Domestic Violence
  
• Shared-Work/Work Share Programs
  
• Survey Reports: Pay Adjustments Amid COVID-19
  
• Taking Employee Temperatures
  
• Testing Employees for COVID-19
  
• Tips for Wearing a Mask in Summer
  
• U.S. Wage and Hour Issues
  
• Updating an Employee Handbook for COVID-19
  
• USERRA and COVID-19
  
• Vacation Policy Changes Amid Pandemic
  
• Virtual Benefit Fairs
  
• Virtual Onboarding
  
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
  
• Workers' Payroll Tax Deferral
  

Behavioral Competencies

• Business Buzzwords and How to Avoid Them
  
• Cultivating Empathy in the Workplace
  
• Leading with Gratitude
  
• Strategies for Leading Effective Meetings
  

Benefits

• 2020 Benefit Plan Reporting & Disclosure Calendars
  
• 2020 IRS Retirement Plan Limits
  
• 2021 Health Savings Account (HSA) Limits
  
• Benefits for a Multigenerational Workforce
  
• COBRA: New Model Notices
  
• FMLA: Common Mistakes to Avoid
  
• FMLA: Curbing Abuse
  
• FMLA: New Forms Are Electronically Fillable
  
• Model Notices: Health Plan
  
• Open Enrollment Planning
  
• Retirement Plan Electronic Disclosure Final Rule (7/27/20)
  
• SECURE Act (multiple effective dates)
  
• State Laws: Time Off to Vote (Primaries and Nov 3)
  
• Virtual Benefit Fairs
  

Compensation

• FLSA: Fluctuating Workweek Final Rule (8/7/20)
  
• FLSA: Joint-Employer Rule Partially Vacated
  
• Leap Year (2020) Payroll Wrinkle
  
• On-Demand Pay
  
• Salary Increase Projections 2021 (and 2020)
  
• Severance Plans
  

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Ageism at Work
  
• Being a Better Workplace Ally
  
• Creating a Disability-Friendly Workplace
  
• EEOC Funds Study on Employee Pay Data
  
• How to Talk About Race with Your Employees
  
• National "Strike for Black Lives" (7/20/20)
  
• Reducing Implicit Bias in Recruiting
  
• Tips to Improve Diversity Recruiting
  
• Using an Individual's Preferred Pronouns
  

Employee Relations

• ADA: Association Provision
  
• ADA: Reasonable Accommodation/Interactive Process
  
• Discipline for Off-Duty Conduct
  
• EEOC: Accommodation of Opioid Use and Addiction
  
• Employment Law Posters: FAQs and More
  
• Gaslighting in the Workplace
  
• Handbooks
  
• Legal Marijuana and the Workplace
  
• Political Discussions at Work
  
• Responding to an EEOC Charge
  
• Service Animals and the Workplace
  
• Suicide Prevention Awareness
  

Global HR

• Australia Finalizes New Annualized Salary Arrangements (1 March 2020)
  
• UK: Brexit is Here
  
• UK: New Tax Rules on Off-Payroll Working (delayed to April 2021)
  

Government Contractors

• CARES Act: Potential Relief for Government Contractors
  
• E-Verify: Resources & Education
  
• General Resources & Education for Government Contractors
  
• Minimum Wage Increase (1/1/21)
  
• New Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form (implement by 8/4/20)
  
• OFCCP: Counting Non-Binary Workers in AAPs
  
• Veterans Hiring Benchmark
  
• VETS-4212 Filing Cycle (Aug 1-Sep 30)
  

Organizational & Employee Development

• Free Help Lines for Employers
  
• Minimizing Workplace Distractions
  
• Performance Improvement Plans (PIP)
  
• Returnships (Workforce Re-Entry Programs)
  

Risk Management

• Active Shooter Preparedness and Response
  
• CBD Oil: What Employers Need to Know
  
• Domestic Violence Awareness (Oct)
  
• Failed Drug Test Rates Remain High
  
• Flu Season: Mandatory Flu Shots
  
• Workplace Violence Prevention
  

Talent Acquisition

• ADA: Accessible Career Sites
  
• Adjusting to Bans on Pay-History Inquiries
  
• Disability Employment Awareness (Oct)
  
• EEO-1: No Data Collection in 2020
  
• E-Verify: Resources & Education
  
• Executive Order Restricts Employment-Based Immigration
  
• Hiring Military Veterans
  
• Improving the Candidate Experience
  
• Job Descriptions: Developing & Using
  
• Job Descriptions: Essential Functions
  
• Keeping in Touch with Rejected Candidates
  
• Nicotine-Free Hiring
  
• Reducing Implicit Bias in Recruiting
  
• Responding to Social Security "No-Match" Letters
  
• Tips to Improve Diversity Recruiting
  
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
  

Technology

• ADA: Accessible Career Sites
  
• Digital Transformation and the Workplace
  

Wellness

• Bike-Friendly Workplace
  
• Healthy Food at Work
  
• Motivating Physical Activity
  
• Standing Desks
  
• Supporting Sleep Health
  
• Workplace Mindfulness