COVID-19 SPECIAL EDITION: Employment Legal Impacts of Federal Aid Legislation

Chad Hatmaker's on-point advice for employers – which PR teams must bear in mind as well as they think through employee-focused communications strategies – spans a diverse gamut, tied to passage of recent COVID-19 Aid legislation. Included in the discussion:How remote work / virtual team transitions are impacting workplaces in critical waysHow the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) (signed into law March 18 and taking effect April 1) is already impacting the workplace, in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with caregiver and emergency paid sick leave components. (FFCRA “provides for expanded FMLA and Emergency Paid Leave in certain limited circumstances related to the Coronavirus pandemic,” as noted on Chad’s blog – tnemploymentlawblog.com)The law of unintended consequences?... How the funding of these mandates expected by employers with fewer than 500 employees will impact companies in the short-term versus long-termAspects of consideration for those who are self-employed How much risk employers may be in for, relative to employee lawsuits down the pikeAnti-retaliation considerations and potential employee claims that employers must bear in mind to avoid legal riskA cursory overview of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) ActHow recent Pew Research statistics on teleworkers and the COVID-19 “new normal” on Work from Home #WFH arrangements may permanently change the workplace landscapeDiscussion of whether working from home may or may not be a part later of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), relative to a “reasonable accommodation”How the public relations profession is well-suited to telework platforms and how the new-normal of work-from-home arrangements may unleash an upending of traditional workplaces, both in the PR profession and in countless other knowledge-based fieldsThe Legal Side vs The PR Side: Chad’s take on how both disciplines need to work together, whether in response to COVID-19 or in any crisisAnd much more.  Links:Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtagFollow Chad Hatmaker of Woolf McClaneTwitter: @JChadHatmakerChad Hatmaker’s blog, “Tennessee Employment Law”LinkedInDiscover Fletcher Marketing PRFollow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR  Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest