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The Legality of Mandated Vaccination

• When it comes to the question of whether or not employers can mandate vaccination policies, the answer is yes.
• Both federal and state employment laws allow private companies to mandate a vaccination policy.
• This has been the case for many years, but may have not been as relevant until now, depending on the industry.
• When it comes to the COVID vaccine, the question many employers had was not whether they could mandate it in general, it was whether they could mandate it under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
• In May, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released guidance saying that employers could still mandate vaccination for workers physically entering the workplace.
• The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination has since been fully approved by the FDA.

An Obligation To Protect Workers

• As an employer, having a policy that clearly states your position on vaccination, one that sets the expectations for employees, is helpful to all.
• The decision to implement a corporate vaccination policy is one that is complicated and many factors may play a role in it, including:
• Current vaccination rate
• The reasons why some employees choose to vaccinate and others do not
• To better understand these reasons, you may wish to engage your team to explore their thoughts on vaccination
• Potential repurcussions
• If a mandatory vaccination policy were to be put into place, what fallout might your company experience, talent-wise, and could your company withstand it?

Vaccination Policy ≠ Mandatory Vaccination

• Vaccination policies are intended to provide clarity to the workforce in a complicated time.
• With the amount of guidance and information coming out of the CDC and FDA, a vaccination policy at an individual's place of employment helps to simplify the overwhelming amount of information into a digestible and actionable plan to help people feel safe and productive at work.
• The vaccination process will also continue to evolve with possible booster shots on the horizon and having a vaccination policy in place now will help employees know what to expect moving forward as the world continues to overcome COVID-19 and all of the emerging variants. 
• Creating a comfort level for your employees when it comes to protecting them from COVID-19 or any other disease that may arise in the future will go a long way in ensuring their ability to be happy and productive at work.
• The presence of a vaccination policy does not automatically mean that mandatory vaccination is in place.  
• Companies may offer alternatives such as regular COVID tests or a move to a full-time remote position if you choose not to receive the vaccine, allowing for flexibility for both the company and the employee.

Building A Comprehensive Vaccination Policy

• When it comes to building a corporate vaccination policy, many people should be involved in its creation. 
• This policy will touch the organization as a while, so having input from all different departments and job descriptions can be helpful to creating the most universal and inclusive policy possible.
• The legal team should co-lead this drafting process along with HR, Communications, and other leaders from different areas within the organization.
• If your organization has an employee health department, they would likely be the ones to administer, monitor, and track vaccinations, so undeniably they would also be essential assets to the vaccination policy effort.
• The structure of the vaccination policy should include the following components:
• What the policy entails
• Will vaccination be mantatory? Will testing be required? Will a  remote work option be offered, and if so, for what positions?
• Who it applies to, and how it will be applied
• Employees
• Full-time?
• Part-time?
• Remote?
• Contractors?
• Vendors?
• Salespeople?
• Visitors?
• Customers?
• Volunteers?
• When it goes into effect
• There may be different dates for different types of people (new hires vs. existing employees, etc.)
• The exact timeframe that the policy applies to each group should be explained clearly.
• What qualifies as an exemption and the exemption application process
• Under the law, people can be exempt for medical and religious reasons.There can also be deferrals for expectant mothers or for mothers with newborns.
• Employees should be aware of if they are exempt and how to apply for that exemption if they wish to be.
• The consequences of policy non-compliance
• This is a very important aspect of the policy.
• Who is going to be incharge of enforcement?
• What kind of outcomes could there be for the employee who does not comply?
• Vaccination guidance 
• How can employees schedule an appointment?
• Can they take work hours to receive their vaccination?
• Will you as an employer, pay for their time to get vaccinated?
• Will you grant PTO or administrative/sick leave if they experience side effects from the vaccine?
• Corporate vaccination policies are a hot topic with unions right now. Offering PTO, extra vacation days, and other incentives for employees to be vaccinated are good ways to keep union members, and the unions themselves, happy.
• It’s suggested that a single vaccination policy apply to the company as a whole, rather than crafting different policies for different workgroups. 
• In the short term, it makes sense to keep your COVID-19 vaccination policy separate from any other vaccination/medical policies already in place, due to the fact that the COVID-19 vaccination policy is likely to evolve over time.
• This fluidity is due to the nature of the virus, so someone on your team should be responsible for staying on top of the CDC or FDA updates.

Remote Workers

• Different companies have chosen to handle the topic of remote workers in different ways.
• In the case that an employee works remotely and would under no circumstance be expected to show up to the office, companies may be willing to grant an exemption or a deferral.
• If there is any situation that could arise in which the remote employee might need to physically be at the office, they will likely be mandated to comply with the corporate vaccination policy.

Communication Of Your Vaccination Policy

• Internal communication of your policy is critical!
• When first announcing your policy, you should have as much information as possible to present to employees.
• There is a lot of anxiety surrounding COVID-19 and vaccinations, so the more employee questions you can answer, the better they will feel about their concerns.
• A robust FAQ document and maybe even a town hall-like meeting would be extremely helpful in communicating your plan.
• There are circumstances where external communication of your policy may be advised as well: 
• If there is a brick and mortar element of your business and you are expecting customers and visitors to follow your policy, then it must be communicated externally before they enter.
• If you are a healthcare provider or any other type of business that values your customers feeling at ease when coming into your place of work, external communication is also a great idea.

IRI’s Vaccine Policy Guide & More

• Ms. Mitchell and IRI have been working with organizations as they develop their corporate vaccination policies and she has been able to see all different kinds of strategies deployed in regard to communication and enforcement of these policies.
• IRI also recently released a

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What Labor Trends Should We Be Paying Attention To?

• There are numerous current trends in labor relations that can and will affect businesses.
• Labor issues are having a greater impact on organizations and their workforce than ever before.
• Labor strife can impact consumer buying behavior along with employee recruitment and retention.
• With the new presidential administration, along with the hopeful end of the COVID-19 Pandemic, employers are wrestling with how to look ahead.
• Today, employees have much more choice in where they want to work than ever before.
• The U.S. Department of Labor reported that nearly four million American quit their jobs in April 2021. 
• Workplaces are also being redesigned in the aftermath of the pandemic and the rise of remote work. 
• Recent social issues and awareness are impacting the workplace as well.
• Overall, it has become more complicated than ever before to lead employees.

My Company Doesn’t Have Labor Concerns - Why Should We Be Concerned?

• It is not uncommon to see organizations quickly go from no labor issues to full-blown organizing campaigns.
• Labor unions have a significant “first mover” advantage and can gain a lot of support when employers aren’t being proactive, resolving issues, or educating employees.
• With remote and hybrid work models taking off, it can be even harder for employers to spot early warning signs.
• Meanwhile, labor unions have become increasingly savvy at using digital tools to target and connect with employees.
• Social media and other online communication platforms are a major factor in this threat, and unions tend to be very nimble when developing new strategies to leverage those tools.

Update: The Protecting The Right To Organize (PRO) Act 

• Right now the PRO Act is at somewhat of a standstill in Congress, but it's not dead yet.
• It passed throught he House of Represntatives earlier in the year, but has yet to gain the 60 votes needed in the Senate.
• Unless the Senate abandons the filibuster rule, it is not likely to pass as a standalone bill in the near future.
• However, Congressional Democrats have been actively inserting elements from the PRO Act into numerous other legislative passages.
• Organized labor is putting a lot of pressure on legislators to pass the PRO Act in any way possible.
• There are numerous changes to existing law in the PRO Act - at least 50. If passed in the current form, it would become the most sweeping change to labor law in the U.S. since 1935 and the passage of the National Labor Relations Act.

NLRB Changes

• We are currently in a transitional period at the National Labor Relations Board. 
• On inauguration day, President Biden summarily fired the general council of the NLRB and appointed an acting general counsel.
• The acting general counsel's office rescinded 10 memos from the previous general counsel and has issued a new memo in March, putting the employer community on notice that it will expand its view of what is considered to be a protected activity by employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
• This could possibly include social activism activities.
• Every employer should expect vigorous enforcement activity from the NLRB, particularly out of the general counsel's office.
• Employers should also expect to see more pro-employee and pro-union decisions coming out of the NLRB moving forward, including rules that will make it easier for unions to organize.

The Proactive Era Of Labor Relations

• This new era is mostly due to the speed at which information and knowledge is transferred today. 
• Mr. Munday believes that the most effective employers are those that commit resources to training leaders on how to actively engage their employees on a regular basis.
• A great leader shouldn't need to wait for survey results to tell them what issues their employees are having.
• These skills are not innate, the employer community needs to devote resources to developing leaders in this way.
• The other side of being proactive is creating a comprehensive labor relations strategy upfront.This will allow organizations to stay ahead of union organizing efforts, instead of reacting to them.

Understanding Vulnerabilities To A Union Organizing Drive

• First and foremost, leaders need to ensure that peers understand why this is a strategic imperative within the organization.
• Leaders must work to understand the issues employees are facing.
• This process should involve more than just analyzing employee opinions, surveys, etc.

Tools To Gather Data

• A good labor relations assessment tool that identifies areas in which you are already excelling and areas with opportunities is an invaluable tool in creating a roadmap for a labor relations strategy.
• Mr. Munday suggests to begin, organizations should look at existing employee data and build some form of a “dashboard”.
• For example, combine employee opinion survey data with data regarding turnover.
• From there, companies can start looking for patterns or areas of vulnerability.
• To complement internal data, companies should also build an external data dashboard that includes information like union organizing by geographic area, union density, etc.
• At the same time, Mr. Munday suggests not to over-focus on solely data points.
• This is a human issue, so humans should be consulted and understood in order to achieve the full perspective of the issue. 

“Put Out The Fire First, Then Build A Firewall”

• Waiting for a labor issue to occur before addressing the topic will cause destruction and financial loss.
• Ideally, the labor issue should be avoided altogether - and that can be done by proactively putting the right strategies in place.
• The “firewall” strategy should also not solely be focused on prevention of labor issues.
• An effective labor relations strategy brings expertise from numerous different areas such as communications, organizational development, legal, etc.
• Buy-in and support from a variety of different areas throughout the organization is vital.

Are Dedicated Labor Relations Personnel Essential?

• This may depend on the size of the organization, industry, and how much labor activity the organization is facing.
• Having some dedicated expertise is beneficial, but smaller employers may prefer to use outside resources, while others may choose to build an internal team.

Balancing Unionized and Union-Free Workforces

• Determining how to maintain a connection with both types of employees is a strategic decision for a company.
• Organizations that want union representation to not look quite as attractive as being able to directly work with your leader may offer slightly better wages, benefits terms, and conditions of employment than what the union has negotiated for their employees.
• Another aspect is really making sure that leaders understand the difference between managing a unionized workforce vs. managing a non-represented workforce where they can work directly with their employees to advocate for their issues.

The Pandemic’s Effect

• The pandemic has obviously created a very large amount of stress in the workplace, regardless of industry.
• In particular, healthcare, retail, and other sectors where workers became “essential workers,” the pandemic has taken a massive psychological toll on those employees.
• Some employers and employees have even shown signs of PTSD as a result of the pandemic..
• Another hot topic is the permanence of remote work, which was previously discussed on ProjectHR.
• With the success of remote work models throughout the pandemic, it remains to be seen if certain organizations even need a physical workspace to operate successfully.
• Labor unions also took advantage of the pandemic and were using it to organize very actively.
• Topics like employee safety, PPE, employer protections, etc. were all used to start organizing drives.
• This is expected to continue well past the pandemic.

Available Tools

• Once there is a clear gap analysis and a picture of what is needed to prioritize, other tools can come into play to help facilitate a healthy workplace.
• One specific tool is vulnerability assessment.
• Projections offers an online vulnerability assessment that can help companies to understand where they may need work and where they have a good plan already in place to prevent union organizing. 
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The Future of Work

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Jay Kuhns Backstory

• BA in History from Ithaca College
• Master of Social Work from Marywood University
• Mr. Kuhns is a longtime Human Resources Executive serving hospital systems, previously working for HCA Healthcare & All Children’s Hospital
• In 2010, he launched his own leadership blog, NoExcuseHR, which discusses contemporary leadership issues, primarily in the healthcare and human resources space.
• Mr. Kuhns currently serves as Vice President of Business Development at IRI Consultants.

The Future of Work

• Mr. Kuhns has seen numerous changes in the workplace over the years and uses those experiences to help understand what the future may look like. 
• Oftentimes, individuals and companies who make “bold moves” in times of crisis come out far stronger than those who choose to wait and see what happens.
• Working to embrace the future of work as opposed to worrying about it will be a vital mindset to coming out of the pandemic better and stronger.

COVID-19’s Impact

• The impact of COVID-19 and remote work will be a huge stepping stone to the future climate of work.
• Waiting to “get through” COVID-19 and using a wait-and-see approach to the future of work could turn out to be perilous, so being active and approaching the future during the pandemic is essential. 
• At IRI, there has been a huge amount of effort put into being proactive throughout the pandemic. 
• Some organizations have become 100% remote while others have held onto older midsets of employee production only occurring in a set workplace with a supervisor looking over their shoulder. 
• In today’s climate, this mindset no longer makes much sense. 
• Employees having the power to avoid traffic, avoid traversing a corporate campus, and all of the other things associated with the traditional workplace is a key to a more efficient and comfortable workplace. 
• The pandemic has worked to push this workplace ideology into the present day when it may have not even been imaginable without COVID-19.
• The ability to trust employees is a worry for many leaders, but with the emergence of remote work, that worry becomes something that seems like a “rookie mistake” now that it has been proven that companies can perform remotely during such a catastrophic time. 
• It would be unrealistic to think the workforce will “go back to how things were” prior to the pandemic. These workplace changes are here to stay.
• These changes allow employees to take some stress out of their day when they no longer have to deal with traffic and a commute along with strict time constraints while also being a little more environmentally friendly. 
• We have been forced to think and operate differently and that is exciting!

Are the Future Workplace Trends Dependent on Industry or Company?

• Each organization can and will adapt differently to save money and operate at a higher level moving forward. 
• We have all matured very rapidly since the pandemic began.
• Open-mindedness is key to moving into the future of work. 
• Creative problem-solving will be a trend that continues into the future as the workplace continues to change and evolve. 

The Skills Gap

• The entire concept of employers telling their story is the most significant strategic play they can make. 
• Innovation and high quality service are important as well.
• With many companies, there is an assumption of quality. 
• When you injure yourself, you don’t say “take me to the highest rated hospital,” you say “take me to the hospital." This is because there is an assumption of quality for hospitals in general.
• The same situation can be said when a tech company like Apple releases their newest product. The assumption of quality is there more often than not.
• The “X-Factor” is having the people to execute on that innovation and quality. 
• Differentiating your business from others by telling your story is a great strategic play that takes true time and effort. 
• For HR leaders, they must keep their people on board while also attracting new talent. 
• The best way to tell your company’s story is through the eyes and mouths of your employees. 
• There are very few companies who have adopted the mantra of telling their story.
• Telling your story will put your business ahead of the curve.

The Generational Shift

• Shifting through generations overall has not changed the landscape of the workforce at its core.
• People in the workforce want: a job that has meaning that they can contribute to and provide self-worth. 
• Mr. Kuhns believes that there has not been a drop off in effort, it mostly has to do with finding that correct work-life balance.
• These generational shifts have brought more focus on the concept of corporate social responsibility. 
• Companies are now looked to be making an impact in the community in a positive way. 
• People coming into the workplace today have had access to the internet at their fingertips for their entire lives. These people having the knowledge and connectivity at all times will have an impact on how businesses innovate around their new employees. 

The Gig Economy

• Mr. Kuhns believes the gig economy is here to stay.
• Businesses are now looking for ways to be more efficient and productive without having to lay off the workforce.
• Layoffs are truly devastating to employers. 
• Freelance contract work is a method that has become increasingly popular and efficient as opposed to hiring new people.
• Do all departments need a full department? 
• HR, IT, etc. are departments in which some companies may be able to not have a full department and instead could have smaller groups of people whose responsibilities could possibly overlap.

Corporate Responsibility

• Corporate responsibility has become so important today that there is really no going back.
• Corporate responsibility can help organization attract new talent.
• The company that promotes diversity and inclusion will almost always attract the better talent pool than the company that is afraid to talk about such sensitive topics. 

The Search for Meaningful Work

• The search for meaningful work for employees is incredibly important.
• There is a responsibility for employers to provide this to their employees but how it is defined is usually determined by the employer.
• If there is a problem with creating meaningful work, companies should aggressively address it.
• Employees should feel supported and important to the overall goal of the company.
• Creating meaningful work along with other sensitive topics can often be deemed “soft skills.”
• Soft skills are difficult to address yet important to address and companies that do address them effectively will be better off in the long run.

People Analytics

• People analytics are massively important.
• The numbers within people analytics are just as important as financial reports or any other reports essential to a successful business. 
• More needs to be involved than just turnover and/or the other cliche metrics.
• A deep analysis of people’s happiness and sense of fulfillment within their role will help companies and HR departments provide the support all of their employees need. 
• There must be a level of discipline just like the people who create financial reports in order to gain that trust and credibility in people analytics reports. 

How to Prepare for the Future of Work

• Create a commitment to telling your story as a company and executing on that story/identity.  
• Small groups of senior leaders ended to have some important conversations of how to move forward effectively. 
• “Are we comfortable in the status quo or is there something more than can be done for our employees and company as a whole?”
• Brave leaders will be the pioneers of the future of work.

Contact

• Jay Kuhns’ email: [email protected]
• Jay Kuhns on LinkedIn
• Mr. Kuhns’ website
• IRI Consultants’ website