The Labor Department Wage and Hour Division has provided fact sheets for employers and employees, as well as FAQ, for navigating the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which takes effect April 1. The division plans on publishing a mandatory workplace poster for most employers this week, along with additional information.
The current work from home order has added a new layer of struggle to the layoff process as employers now must use virtual platforms to inform employees that they are being cut. A travel company used Zoom to inform workers they were being laid off and the video call quickly turned into a scene of panic, tears and chaos, said one former employee who was on the call.
A federal judge has ruled against freelance journalists and photographers challenging a California labor law's threshold for freelancers to be exempt from reclassification as employees. The lawsuit claims that California's exemption threshold of 35 or fewer submissions is unfair and hinders freelancers' ability to find work.
The huge increase in telecommuting over the past couple of weeks creates a perfect storm of cybersecurity risks, writes Patrick Hopkins, noting that most corporations aren't using zero-trust approaches or well-implemented policies on data access. On the employee side, even those who have been trained in security practices are likely to be frazzled while working long hours in a home environment with multiple distractions, and the VPN servers they're depending on could be vulnerable to hacking.
The coronavirus pandemic is creating a surge of employees utilizing mental health benefits, particularly with telehealth and mental health apps. Mindfulness and meditation app Headspace said users are completing calming meditations 13 times more often than in the previous month.
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