News & Events

For more than a year the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to break all the old rules from government and public responses to medical treatment and vaccinations.

Now that vaccination rates are rising -- 56 percent of the U.S. with at least one dose and 48 percent fully vaccinated -- American’s are returning to public spaces, but it seems some have forgotten the “Golden Rule”.

The thing about inventing the wheel or discovering fire, is that you are in uncharted territory when it comes to your first flat tire or when a spark starts a wildfire.

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an entirely new remote workplace culture, and it appears that it is not going away, even as the vaccine rate increases around the world, as many companies are embracing a hybrid model going forward that will feature some WFH (work from home) component.

Diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace are becoming increasingly less about a box that HR can check off, and more about how it can help drive business success.

“A diverse and inclusive workforce is necessary to drive innovation, foster creativity, and guide business strategies,” concluded a Forbes Insights survey of 332 senior executives. “Multiple voices lead to new ideas, new services, and new products, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking.

Employers know that when a new administration moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that HR changes soon follow so they are keeping a close eye on President Biden’s workplace policies and programs.

With the Democrats in control of the White House for just two months, some major legislation has already taken place with the signing March 11, 2021 of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, but other changes are still on the drawing board.

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is certainly a shot in the arm in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but for most employers the development raises more questions than answers.

COVID-19 has fundamentally altered traditional events in 2020 from cancelled Memorial Day picnics to postponed Fourth of July parades to Halloween touchless trick-or-treating.

With new cases in the United States breaking the 100,000-per day mark and infection rates on the rise across all corners of the country, it appears that the pandemic is ready to play Ebenezer Scrooge next month and say “bah humbug!” to the annual workplace holiday gathering.

The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every phase of the way we do business in 2020 and that includes issues such as your company’s PTO policy.

PTO (“Paid Time Off” or “Planned Time Off” or “Personal Time Off”) is a key benefit companies offer to employees to help with recruitment and retention.

As the coronavirus pandemic enters its sixth month, more companies are embracing remote work as a necessary reality in the post COVID-19 economic landscape.

Outdoor company REI even announced Aug. 12 that it was going to sell its newly constructed 8-acre corporate campus before the first employees ever reported to work at the Bellevue, Wash. location.

President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act which restructures how employers can use loans issued through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

Businesses started reopening this month in Texas, but with a vaccine for COVID-19 still on the horizon, it will not be “business as usual” for the foreseeable future.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in announcing another phase of business reopening’s on May 18 said: “Our focus is to keep you safe, while also restoring your ability to get back to work, to open your businesses, to pay your bills, to put food on your tables.”