I’ve put a bunch of info on work and COVID-19 in one place

by Alison Green on April 6, 2020

There’s now a “Work and COVID-19” link right at the top of the righthand sidebar, and in the top menu too. It’ll take you to a compilation of useful info you might be looking for, including info on the new unemployment law, the new paid sick leave law, where to report employers violating essential-business-only orders, and more. I’ll update it as things change.

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  4. xosteplc*

    I’d love to see a post or links to stories about employers who are getting it right — doing right by their customers & their employees. These companies deserve a very special shout out & will be remembered by future customers & employees.

  6. D*

    Can I get some help on arguing that my employer has no standing requiring me to record all incoming/outgoing phone calls on my personal phone while working from home to prove that I’m working?

    1. Jedi Squirrel*

      To quote/misquote/paraphrase Alison, “Your employer is an ass.”

      I would log them, and then invoice them for the portion of your bill that covers those work calls. They are being utterly ridiculous.

      The real question is, how can they verify that you are getting your work done? Try to find a better way to prove to them that you are, in fact, working. (Because you are, in fact, working for a complete ass.)

      Ugh. I’m so sorry they are being shitty to you.

    2. Llellayena*

      HIPPA? Your personal phone may be used to make or receive calls from your doctors, which your employer should not need to hear (and your doc would be violating HIPPA if you didn’t give permission).

    3. Jessica*

      Depending on your state, it may or may not be legal to record calls without informing the other party to the call. If you’re in a both-parties-must-consent state, they might want to think about the impact on business, depending on what kind of calls you make for work and who you talk to.

      For all the crappy employers who are ramping up surveillance on employees right now, who in their organization do they think has time to even monitor and analyze the fruits of all this spying? Surely management should be busy enough dealing with actual problems.

      1. Boom, Tetris for Jeff!*

        Do you mean to record as in keep a list of the calls made or record the actual conversation audio?

  8. anonymous slug*

    Do you have any suggestions on how to keep updated with employees who may have the virus? My instinct is that I’d treat it as any other illness but since things can take such a turn so fast (and I know this employees spouse is likely afflicted too), I want to be able to know what is going on. How can I respectfully stay in touch or even ask for additional family contact information if need-be? We are totally fine with covering this person’s work – it’s more that I am concerned on a personal level. :(

    1. Experienced Hiring Manager/Mentor*

      I have tried to develop a way to learn enough about my employees’ health status to be able to plan intelligently for the expected absences, and then act on those plans when conditions call for it.

      My approach was based on regard for my customers, who get the best services possible from our company, compared to what would be available if we did not exist.

      It was also based on respect for our entire workforce, because if unexpected, long absences become the norm, the employees left to take up the slack deserve to have a thoughtful response ready to deploy.

      Unfortunately, I have not been able to come up with anything useful. Because there’s no appropriate way to get the information about my employees’ health I would need to take care of their jobs, it’s more likely that the company will be one of the many that don’t make it through this.

      The healthy employees will lose their jobs, the sick ones will lose their insurance, and our customers will have to settle for the inferior alternatives that might be left once we’re gone.

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