If you’re an employer who is still testing workers for COVID-19 periodically in compliance with your human resources services and employee relations processes, you need to make sure your company policies are still following the laws and regulations of the most recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updates.
The EEOC is changing constantly, so whether it’s the hiring process, your company culture, risk management, payroll administration, or all your HR tasks that have to do with COVID-19, you should make sure you’re using HR expertise to keep up and continue regulatory compliance.
Most recently, the EEOC has changed screening guidelines as far as they pertain to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Before the most recent update, the EEOC allowed for screening that protected not only employee well being but the company as a whole without regard to the ADA, since the pandemic took such priority in all federal, state, and local processes.
Recently, that has changed for employment law compliance. While you can continue to request and provide testing as part of your risk management protocol, you need to show that every testing procedure is necessary, related to your company culture, and necessary for performance management or employee health. Because of this, employers now need to count the costs for their employee handbook laws and regulations that have to do with pandemic protocol.
Why This Change?
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Updated pandemic information. Now that the pandemic has gone through its natural cycles and we’ve established a rhythm with COVID-19 similar to another disease’s process, we know that there are ebbs and flows of COVID-19 related danger. With this new update, employee access to testing won’t be affected, but employee requirements that have to do with testing will be lifted so that tests are only required when sickness potential seems necessary to measure and prevent.
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Employee freedom. For many employees, even if their company has chosen to outsource HR to a qualified HR outsourcing company, there’s a lot of unresolved frustration connected to pandemic processes. With this further stipulation on testing, employees can feel as if either an in house HR team or an HR outsourcing service has listened to them and actually cares about their complaints.
Why Outsource HR for This Change?
Mandatory COVID-19 Screening Needs a Professional Touch
Since the ADA defines a COVID-19 test as a medical examination, employers who require them for employees have to ensure that the tests are relevant and necessary for business to continue as normal. This, essentially, takes COVID-19 tests, which have been treated as an exception to most pre-COVID-19 laws and regulations, and turns them into something ordinary that must be managed just like any other medical procedure. As you can imagine, there will be many responses to this from both employers and employees. Changing regulations always require a dedicated HR professional to manage.
The EEOC listed these potential risk factors to consider for employee relations and business management:
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community transmission levels
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the transmissibility of current COVID-19 variants
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the accuracy and speed of processing different types of COVID-19 viral test
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employees’ vaccination status
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working conditions
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the potential impact of positive cases on operations
The EEOC also said to check CDC guidelines consistently for any and all updates, which, as we’ve all learned, can be in and of itself a full-time job.
With the administrative tasks and HR tasks required to manage this new update, it’s probably a good idea for you and your company to consider HR outsourcing as a viable option.
HR outsourcing services keep your human resources professional for small businesses without requiring that you pay for an entire HR department.
Most HR outsourcing services will handle more than administrative tasks; HR outsourcing to the right HR service providers can include payroll services, health insurance, HR software, and HR administration services.
If small businesses employ HR outsourcing, this new update won’t be overwhelming.
With Antibody Tests Rejected as a Reason to Stay Home, HR Outsourcing Can Take the Headache off Your Plate
HR tasks include following what’s permissible and what’s not when it comes to reasons to stay home. Antibody tests are still not accepted as a reason to determine wellness or infection status. This will likely be frustrating when it comes to employees’ access to both viral tests and antibody tests; while they might feel like an antibody test is best for the, a viral test is still what the EEOC says is necessary in order for them to return to the workforce. HR outsourcing can take that stress off you, as an HR outsourcing firm is prepared to answer those questions as HR professionals. HR outsourcing is beneficial for lots of reasons:
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It’s likely that most options for HR outsourcing reduce costs.
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Many HR outsourcing services specialize in helping small businesses.
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You can find the best HR outsourcing service and trust them to complete your administrative tasks.
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When employees are frustrated, the best HR outsourcing services know exactly what to say.
Screening For Symptoms is Still Allowed
Although it’s not easy to handle what HR outsourcing services could take off your plate when it comes to key HR services, you are still allowed as an employer to mandate COVID-19 screenings. This includes asking when employees physically enter a worksite:
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if they have symptoms
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if they’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19
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if they’ve tested positive for COVID-19
There’s an entirely different protocol that must be followed if your worker is returning to work after a COVID-19 related absence. Whether their health insurance covered protection during their absence or not, your HR administration (HR outsourcing company if you’ve chosen that route) needs to make sure that you keep everything organized for performance management purposes when your employee comes back to work. Here are some of the things that you CAN do when your employee is returning to work:
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Require ‘return-to-work’ documentation from doctor
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You don’t have to do this. But if you as an employer feel it’s necessary, work with your HR outsourcing company to make it happen.
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Your other choices include following isolation or quarantine protocol as dictated by federal, state, and local regulations.
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Screen job applicants for symptoms of infection
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This is a circumstance where HR outsourcing is probably the right move for small businesses. When small businesses outsource HR, they take the strain of tiptoeing through consistency and employee relations when it comes to hiring a new employee. For example, you can screen job applicants after a conditional offer or screen them when you ask them to come onsite for an interview, but either way, outsourcing HR services will help you keep things organized so you don’t infringe on an employee or applicant’s rights.
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Since COVID-19 is seen in some cases as a disability, HR outsourcing will make sure that you keep in consistent compliance with ADA, EEOC, and CDC guidelines. HR outsourcing puts the pressure of determining when somethings’ a disability and when it’s not on someone else’s shoulders, so HR outsourcing professionals can save your bacon when you’re not sure how to handle a situation without the help of an HR team from an HR outsourcing provider.
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Don’t Withdraw a Job Offer for COVID-19 Without Talking to Your HR Outsourcing Team
It might be the right move for you as a company to withdraw a job offer if you’ve just hired someone and they test positive for COVID-19. Especially for small businesses, filling the position you have open can take priority over giving that applicant the time they will need to recover. But, to protect small businesses and employees, you need to be very careful about how you handle letting someone go or withdrawing a job offer.
Some of the elements you (or the HR outsourcing team you’ve hired) will have to consider include reviewing CDC guidance, reviewing compliance, taking into account employee benefits, discussing employee benefits with your team, managing employee benefits as they pertain to newly hired individuals, and choosing what employee benefits you will need to change to comply with your choices as they pertain to COVID-19 regulations and performance management.
HR outsourcing won’t stop these uncomfortable situations from happening, and it’s likely that if you need to hire someone on a tight timeline and they contract COVID-19, you will need to navigate how to let them go with the help of your HR outsourcing team. But HR outsourcing gives you the tools and information you need to keep your business protected in the event of an angry applicant. An HR outsourcing service allows for freedom, honesty, and growth for small businesses. Whether an HR outsourcing provider directly handles the situation or an HR outsourcing individual tells you what to do, you will face these difficult situations with more confidence when you work with an HR outsourcing firm.
The EEOC currently allows you to withdraw a job offer under these circumstances:
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immediate start date
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circumstances under CDC guidelines suggest the individual is not in proximity to others
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job requires proximity
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alternatives, like telework or delaying the employee’s start date, are unavailable.
Make Sure Your HR Tasks Completed by Outsourcing HR Services are Compliant with Additional Employment Laws
Employee assistance programs and HR tasks that follow COVID-19 regulations need to follow other regulations beyond the ADA.
The EEOC provides a list of helpful anti-discrimination laws that your HR tasks should consider. While an HR outsourcing firm will be able to handle this documentation and regulatory processing for you, your responsibility without the help of HR professionals includes following what the EEOC says about federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Some of these regulations that are followed by HR professionals include:
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act
This applies to the federal government. It stops federal government discrimination against employees the federal government from discriminating against employees with disabilities.
This can include employees with COVID-19.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Federal financial assistance cannot be denied to someone based on their disabilities or status as a disabled individual.
This affects federal government processes such as payroll processing and payroll administration as it pertains to government funds and their distribution.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Discrimination in the workplace based on age, rage, sex, or gender is illegal. This is protected and a right that employers must be aware of.
Your HR team can protect you against CRA allegations.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
You cannot discriminate against employees because it benefits administration or for any other reason based on their age. Payroll processing and human resources can be called into play if an employee older than 40 feels as if they’re facing discrimination based on their age.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.4″]Thank you,
Your VertiSource HR Team
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