March 2020

here’s what an unemployment benefits worker wants you to know

Here’s some advice from someone who works in an unemployment office: Saw  your post from earlier this week encouraging people to file for unemployment benefits if their hours are cut due to the national emergency. I work at the unemployment office in my state, and just wanted to say thanks for your advice – it […]

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my employee overdoes everything and it’s costing us money

A reader writes: I run a small business that supplies a product to major companies that you’ve heard of. To keep the details anonymous, let’s say that we supply garments to a few mid-tier clothing retailers like Banana Republic or J. Crew. The problem is that one of my grand-employees (reports to someone who reports […]

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what can you do if your employer is violating shelter-in-place orders?

A reader writes: I haven’t been able to figure out the answer to this question. What are employees supposed to do if their employer is violating state shelter-in-place rules? Our state is under a shelter-in place advisory as of noon today, and all non-essential businesses have been ordered to close their facilities. However, a younger […]

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we have a new paid (paid!) sick and family leave law

Note: This law expires on December 31, 2020 and has not been renewed. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which became law last week, offers some American workers expanded family and medical leave — and it’s paid. That’s a key difference from the leave already provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which […]

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how the hell are we supposed to work now?

As you might imagine, coronavirus has overtaken my inbox. I’m hearing from people whose entire companies have gone fully remote overnight and people whose companies are acting as if nothing has changed and still expect everyone to show up as normal every day. I’m hearing from people whose virus-related questions are pretty light (“what’s up with my […]

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