¶ Intro / Opening
Severe weather disasters and other emergencies can impact almost any employer and their employees. To help employers prepare for and respond to such events this podcast will answer common employer questions about disasters and emergencies. Welcome to HRpreneur. I'm Jim Duffy. From Main Street to your street. The HRpreneur Podcast is centered around helping small businesses like yours gain the knowledge you need from HR, payroll, and hiring to time taxes, benefits, and insurance.
Today we will talk with our guest Meryl Gutterman about emergencies. Meryl is Senior Counsel with ADP's HCM Group. Hello, Meryl. As always, it's great to have you back on our show.
Hi, Jim. It's great to be here with you today.
So for starters, could you please start off by identifying
¶ Preparation
some steps that employers can take to help ensure that operations will continue during an emergency?
Of course, I'd say start by developing a contingency plan where you can identify your essential business functions, equipment and staff. Your plan may include having a generator to keep company equipment and computer servers. It may include backing up data in a separate and secure location, and also maintaining equipment that permits employees to work remotely.
And also make sure that you're training your employees and your supervisors on your contingency plan so that they're aware of company expectations and the procedures that you need to follow during an emergency.
All right, so we know one of the major challenges during an emergency could be communication.
¶ Communication
Do you have any tips for ensuring an employer is able to communicate with employees?
Yeah, sure. Communication can definitely be a problem, especially if there's a widespread power outage, so it's really important to make sure you have multiple ways to contact your employees during an emergency. You'll wanna get their cell phone number and if they still have a landline number. Also, a personal email is good to have, as well as collect.
Emergency contact information and you should get this information early upon hire and then remind your employees that they should let you know if there are any changes to their contact information as soon as they happen. And then also regularly ask employees to verify that their contact information is up to date.
Then you may wanna consider having a central location for employees to access information about business closures and other related issues such as your company, website or a dedicated phone line. And during an emergency, when it's possible, communicate with your employees. And let them know how and when to expect updates.
Meryl, it's very helpful. Um, what factors, if I may, should an employer consider when deciding
¶ Deciding whether to close
whether to close the office during severe weather or some other emergency?
So the decision, it's really not always easy to figure out when to close, but I think your first priority, of course, is to keep your employees safe. Um, to help you make the decision, you can establish guidelines in advance. So, for example, if there's a state of emergency and highways are closed or restricted, then oftentimes employers will choose to close in the absence of a business closure or an official declaration.
You may wanna advise employees to use their best judgment and determine if it's safe to travel on roadways. Keeping in mind that employees may be impacted differently depending on where they live. Also, keep in mind that state or local law may require employers to give new hires or existing employees information that relates to emergency proclamations. So you'll wanna check your state or local law for details on that as well.
So Meryl, speaking of employee safety, are employers required to protect
¶ Safety responsibilities for employers
employees' safety and health in the workplace during a natural disaster?
Yes, they are. So the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is also known as OSHA, and also many state laws, mandate that employers protect employees from workplace hazards. And that includes those that arise during a natural disaster. And also, employers may be subject to requirements to protect employees from specific hazards that are caused by natural disasters, such as wildfire smoke exposure. So you'll wanna check your applicable laws and regulations for details on that as well.
Meryl, thank you for that useful information. Uh, let's move on to pay. What are the rules for when an employer is closed for an entire
¶ Pay issues
day because of an emergency? Do they have to pay non-exempt employees for that day?
So just to clarify, under federal law, non-exempt employees are those employees who are typically paid on an hourly basis and are entitled to at least the minimum wage for each hour worked and overtime when they work over 40 hours in a work week. And some states require overtime under additional circumstances. Non-exempt employees are paid only for hours worked.
So if a non-exempt employee misses an entire day's work because the employer is closed and didn't require them to report to work, the employer is typically under no obligation to pay them unless the employer has promised otherwise. But there are situations when employers choose to pay non-exempt employees if there's an emergency.
That's really good information to know. Uh, Meryl, what about employees who are exempt from overtime? Do employers have to pay them when they close because of an emergency?
Exempt employees must generally receive their full salary in any work week where they perform work regardless of the number of hours worked. So if your company closes for less than a full work week because of inclement weather or an emergency, you typically have to pay an exempt employee their full salary as long as the employee is working any part of that work week.
So Meryl, my next question is about partial day closures. Let's say an employer was forced to close six hours early. Do they have to pay non-exempt employees for the time the employees missed?
Well under federal law, if the employer closes early, that law doesn't require the employer to pay non-exempt employees for the missed time unless the employer has promised otherwise. But the employer has to pay these employees for any time they actually worked. But then there are some state laws that require employers to pay employees for a minimum number of hours when they report to work, but are sent home before the end of a scheduled shift.
So for example, under California law, employers may have an obligation to compensate non-exempt employees under reporting pay laws if the employees report to work and then are sent home early.
There are a few exceptions to California's requirement for reporting time pay, and that includes when operations can't continue because there's a threat to the employee or to property, or if there's a failure in public utilities or if there's an interruption that's caused by an act of God or something that's not within the employer's control, like an earthquake, for example.
So again, you're gonna wanna check the law that applies to your business for the rules that relate to paying employees when they're required to report to work, but are sent home early.
Meryl, what about the pay rules for when non-exempt employees report to work and are asked to wait while the employer made a decision about whether to close, if the employer ultimately decided to close and the employee performed no work while waiting? Does the employer have to pay them for that time?
Yes, yes, they do. So if the employees were required to stay at work while your company made a decision to close, then the employees are entitled to pay for that time. So, for example, if there are wildfires or flooding nearby and you're trying to decide whether it's safe to stay open or if you should close, but you ultimately decide to close, your employees should be paid for that waiting time while they were at work.
But again, check your state law for additional requirements for paying employees when they're required to report to work, but are sent home early.
Meryl, I just have one more question about pay. Let's say the employer remained open during inclement weather, but some employees decided to stay home and others left early. Does the employer have to pay them for the missed time?
The employer isn't required to pay non-exempt employees for the time. They miss when the non-exempt employees choose to stay home or leave early. But for exempt employees, it depends on whether the employee is absent for the full day or for a partial day.
If the employer remained opened and an exempt employee chose to stay home because of the weather and doesn't work at all, then the employer may generally reduce the employee's salary accordingly, and this would be considered one of the very few permitted deductions. If this were an absence for a personal reason other than sickness or disability. But if the exempt employee works any part of the day, the employer has to pay the employee their full salary.
And also, if the employer chooses to close, the employer must pay exempt employees their full salary, regardless of whether it's a partial or full day closure.
Thank you for clarifying that. So if we can, let's move on to, uh, questions about time off from work, during and after a disaster.
¶ Time off from work
For example, what if an employee requests leave in the aftermath of a hurricane? Is the employer required to grant it?
While employees may be entitled to leave during or after an emergency under some laws, so for example, employees who participate in relief efforts, if they were volunteering and were emergency responders, or perhaps if they were in the National Guard, then they could be entitled to leave under state or federal law. And then employees who have injuries or illnesses that result from the event. Or who have a family member who has suffered may also be entitled to leave.
Uh, for example, under California law, again, employees may use accrued sick leave for absences that relate to a wild file disaster, such as caring for a family member. So you'll want to make sure, again, you're checking all the laws that apply to your business, but absent a specific requirement, try to be flexible and understand employees impacted by a storm or an emergency.
May have a greater need to use leave to take care of personal responsibilities, whether it's filing an insurance claim or securing new housing, or taking care of impacted family members. So employers may wanna consider relaxing leave policies after an emergency, or even allowing employees to donate paid leave to other employees who have suffered a greater impact from that emergency.
That's excellent advice. Uh, thank you for sharing that. Can employers require employees to use their paid vacation time during an emergency or a disaster?
Well, Jim, some states have taken the position that employers can't force the use of vacation time, or could only do so if the employer has provided a specific notice to employees in advance. However, employees can voluntarily use such time, and again, you're gonna wanna check your state law and also consult legal counsel if you're not sure to determine the rules that apply to your business.
Thank you for that. Meryl, Uh, this brings me to my final question for today's episode. Is there any assistance available for employers and employees in
¶ Assistance
the aftermath of an emergency?
Well, if you have an employee assistance program, then that's a great resource. You should remind employees that they can use it after an emergency, and then also, depending on the state, employees may be entitled to unemployment compensation or for other aid for missed work due to an emergency or a disaster. Assistance from the federal, state or local government may also be available. And in the aftermath of certain disasters, the IRS may provide tax relief to employers and employees.
They may extend deadlines for filing returns, for paying taxes, or for completing certain other time sensitive information. And you'll wanna check with the IRS website if that's the case.
This is excellent and very useful information. Meryl, thank you for sharing it with us. Uh, this brings us to the end of this episode. Again, thank you as always. We appreciate having you on the show. Uh, I took down some notes, uh, while you were chatting, so, uh, let me recap. But please correct me if I'm off in any way.
First point, to help ensure a business continues to run smoothly during an emergency, employers should develop a contingency plan and identify essential business functions, equipment and staff, and train employees on the plans. Another point you called out was that employers should have multiple ways to contact employees during an emergency, including cell phones and landline numbers and personal email addresses, as well as emergency contact information.
You also mentioned to help make decisions about whether to close employers should establish guidelines in advance. Uh, you mentioned the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, and many state laws mandate that employers protect employees from workplace hazards, including those arising during natural disasters.
You mentioned that the answers to pay questions during an emergency can depend on whether the employees classified as non-exempt or exempt from overtime and in which state the employee works. And lastly, you mentioned employees may be entitled to leave during and or after an emergency, under some laws. Depending upon the state, employers may be prohibited from requiring employees to use paid vacation during and or after an emergency. Were those pretty accurate recaps?
You captured that all really well. Thank you, Jim.
Thank you Meryl. Presented by ADP, HRpreneur focuses on the entrepreneurs and business drivers who are shaping the growth of their companies and positively impacting the lives of their employees. With each episode, we bring the experts to you. We answer your questions and help you think beyond today so you can discover more success tomorrow. Thanks to our listeners for joining us for today's episode. Be well, and we hope you'll join us again soon.