There probably isn’t a person anywhere who can say the coronavirus pandemic has not in some way affected them. I think we are all a little - or, more realistically, a lot - tired of it. While we might wish we could bury our heads under our pillows and not come out until it’s over, employers and HR professionals alike know that this is not a realistic response. We must continue to keep up with all the latest news and required enforcements and to make decisions that will keep our employees, their families, our customers, and businesses as safe as possible. To help, we've compiled the following updates. Hopefully, some of the resources below will help make everyone's work life a little easier as we get through this together.

On November 6, 2020, Oregon OSHA issued final temporary rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus in workplaces by requiring employers to implement a comprehensive set of risk-reducing measures. The rules will take effect November 16th, with some tasks phased in, and are expected to remain in effect until May 4, 2021. These new rules affect all employers and include additional requirements for high-risk jobs.

The following is a summary taken from the final temporary rules requirements for all workplaces:

Okay, not really. It's inconceivable that any company can create a comprehensive solution to its workplace health and safety concerns in just two minutes. However, two minutes is plenty of time to watch a reliable overview about specific aspects of workplace health and safety as well as obtain some basic direction about how to proceed towards creating a safe, compliant environment. We actually call this video library 2-Minute HR, and it's just one of the resources that can be found in the HR Support Center section of People Savvy HCM Essentials. Here's how it works.

If there has ever been a year that employees and customers feel insecure and unsafe, 2020 is definitely right up there. It seems as though around every corner there is a new challenge. Businesses are trying to support the feelings of uncertainty all the while trying to keep the doors open and make financially responsible decisions. Daily questions continue to include: when is it safe to bring employees physically back to work; is it legal to reopen my business; am I doing everything possible to protect everyone.

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are asking questions like how and when is it safe to re-open their organizations. Meanwhile, local governments are working through very confusing phases of re-opening regulations. And as if that's not enough to think about, OSHA updated the rules for employer obligations of reporting COVID-19 as a workplace illness. Lions, and tigers, and bears, OH MY! Could this be anymore overwhelming? In this post, we will attempt to help make sense of some of the latest updates, and we're also offering a free webinar on COVID-19 workplace safety as well as a policy template so that you have two valuable resources to assist your progress in these safety-related tasks.

Many counties are working through the required phases to get people back to work, and that leaves employers trying to figure out how to safely return to the new normal. Employee safety is generally a number one priority for employers. As businesses face post-COVID-19 reopening, following are some key factors to consider: