WIRTW #589 (the “Coronavirus” edition)

Does the Coronavirus freak you out? Do you think it’s the beginning of the end for the human race, way over-hyped by the media, or somewhere in between? I’m in the “somewhere in between camp,” but it doesn’t mean that your business shouldn’t be preparing for the inevitable when this virus starts clustering in the US.

Thus, I’ve gathered the best thoughts on how to prepare from some of the best bloggers around the internet.

• Coronavirus Pandemic Preparedness: What Are Questions Employers Should Be Thinking About? — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Will Insurance Cover the Coronavirus for Clients and Lawyers Traveling? — via Law.com
• Lead Your Business Through the Coronavirus Crisis — via Harvard Business Review
• COVID-19. What can employers do now? — via Michigan Employment Law
• CDC Offers Employers Help For Coronavirus Planning — via Minnesota Employment Law Report
• 3 Immediate #Coronavirus Rules for Every Workplace! — via The Tim Sackett Project
• Coronavirus: How to Properly Pay Employees in the Event of a Pandemic — via Wage & Hour Insights
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): What Employers Need to Know — via BeLabor The Point
• As U.S. Preps For Coronavirus, Health Workers Question Safety Measures — via NPR’s All Things Considered

My bottom line is that it’s better for your business to spend some time and resources preparing now, instead of being caught unprepared if the Coronavirus impacts your business.

Here’s what else I read this week:

Discrimination

• Bloomberg is right about NDAs — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• Why Employment Settlement Agreements Contain Confidentiality Clauses — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Despite #MeToo, opinions on sexual harassment have barely budged — via The Economist
• The Cost of Ignoring the Americans With Disabilities Act: $2 Million — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• When can you ask an employee with a disability for more medical information? — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• CHERYL and Employer Liability for Cybernetic Harassment — via EntertainHR
• US women’s soccer players seek summary judgment, could be due $66M, economist says — via HR Dive

HR & Employee Relations

• Enjoy The Extra Day Off! More Bosses Give 4-Day Workweek A Try — via NPR’s Morning Edition
• Here’s how much money workers would give up for better work-life balance — via CNBC
• Working Parents, Give Yourself Permission to Recharge — via Harvard Business Review

Technology

• How Should I Answer a Nontech Exec Who Asks, ‘How Secure Are We?’ — via Dark Reading
• Facial recognition startup Clearview AI says its full client list was stolen — via Engadget HD

Wage & Hour

• The IRS Issues Proposed Regulations That Clarifies When Your Steak And Wine Is Tax Deductible While Your Hunting Retreat Is Not — via Above the Law
• 17 states have sued to stop the joint-employer rule. No, not yesterday’s joint-employer rule; the other one. — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Who’s on First? New Regulations on Joint Employment under the FLSA – Part 1. — via Michigan Employment Law
• But It’s Like They’re My Children …What FMLA Doesn’t Cover — via The Emplawyerologist

Labor

• Why Are Workers Struggling? Because Labor Law Is Broken — via The New York Times Magazine
• Mike Bloomberg praises labor strikes as ‘highly effective’ — via New York Post
• Employers Cheer New Rules for Union Elections — via HR Hero Line
• Union Corruption — via Labor Relations Institute

OSHA & Safety

• Construction Site Safety, Opioids and Suicides on Agenda for March 5 OSHA Teleconference — via Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
• Workers No. 1 pet peeve? When colleagues come to work sick, survey shows — via HR Dive 
• Vaping in the workplace is a bigger problem than most employers think — via Employee Benefits News 
• It’s Time to Consider Adopting No-Vaping Policy at Work — via EntertainHR

* Photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash