WORKFORCE ISSUES
FPLG COVID-19 RESPONSE
WORKFORCE ISSUES
[UPDATE: May 26, 2020]
The questions, confusion, and challenges facing nonprofit organizations with workforces continues as the laws and rules change. For the first two months or so of the pandemic, there was no clear answer when or if we can return to “normal.”
For the organizations with workers who have been deemed “essential” from the outset of the crisis, it’s been a matter of learning about, and implementing, all of the new guidelines and rules to maximize safety. A complicating factor has been the plethora of vague, ambiguous, and shifting recommendations and requirements from federal, state, and local authorities, and the challenges in reconciling them.
Now, with all 50 states moving to one degree or another, into stages of “reopenings,” many more organizations will face decisions about restarting operations that were put on hold or terminated entirely. They will encounter the same issues and complexities as the organizations which kept operating, in whole or in part, since March.
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[April 6, 2020]
Among the many critical issues facing nonprofits in this pandemic crisis, few are as immediate as the matter of how to deal with the workforce challenges: retaining and paying staff under dire financial constraints and maintaining the health and safety of everyone connected with the organization.
The new reality of COVID-19 triggers existing regulations and requirements that apply in the case of infectious diseases generally. It has also created new layers of rules and mandates because of the unprecedented scope and severity of this pandemic.
And, of course, the many existing laws governing the employer-employee relationship remain in force and effect.
There are many questions – but few easy answers.
With uncertain cash flow, you may not be able to restart every program at the level it was. Also, due to health vulnerabilities, some staff members may need to remain in isolation. And as mentioned before, the programs you offer may have to change. New programs and procedures may require retraining staff. Start thinking now about how you will meet the criteria needed to reopen, whether you need a phased restart and what you will need for the programs and people involved.
— Howard Levy, Nonprofit Pro Blog (5/18/20)
With each day that COVID-19 remains a growing threat to communities across the country, employers face unprecedented challenges and concerns.
— Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (3/20)
The COVID-19 pandemic has created fault lines between workers and their employers over a host of increasingly sensitive issues: Namely, can employees be forced to report to work if they’re afraid of contracting coronavirus? And can they be fired if they refuse?
The answer is complicated, labor-law experts say, and depends in large part on how risky the workplace is.
— Dale Haslar, The Sacramento Bee (3/19/20)
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
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Nonprofit Strategy Guide for When the Economy Reopens (May 18, 2020) Howard Levy, Nonprofit Pro Blog
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Going Forward: Best Practices and Considerations for Nonprofit Re-engagement (May 4, 2020) Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits
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Coronavirus: Employment Law Considerations and Practical Guidance for Employers (March 10, 2020) Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LL
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California employees fear they’ll catch coronavirus in the office. What are their options? (March 19, 2020) Dale Haslar, The Sacramento Bee
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COVID-19 Employer Toolkit: Designed Exclusively for Nonprofits (March 2020) Unemployment and Workforce Solutions
Remote-Work Costs: Must Nonprofit Reimburse?
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Filing Deadlines Extended for Nonprofit Organizations
[April 24, 2020] By the third week of March 2020, governments at all levels had begun to respond to the many questions and issues raised by the COVID-19 emergency, including - most notably - the curtailment or suspension of operations and activities by individuals and entities on account of new stay-at-home orders and recommendations. The necessary federal emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act was made in mid-March. The [...]
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Ten days ago, we posted Funders Must Step Up - Right Now! (March 16, 2020). That same morning, influential blogger Vu Le had posted Funders, this is the rainy day you have been saving up for. Mr. Le has long been a vocal critic of many foundations’ viewing the five percent payout figure in the tax code as a ceiling instead of what it is: a floor. During that week, as most of us were [...]
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The Charitable Sector: COVID-19 Relief and Economic Stimulus Package
America's charities request $60 billion infusion of support to help the most vulnerable March 18, 2020 The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic facing the country is having a profound impact on the economy and has greatly expanded the need for charitable organizations to provide additional services in an unprecedented manner. At the same time, the economic downturn will undoubtedly result in a contraction in contributions and other sources of revenue which are the lifeblood of many charitable [...]
Coronavirus and Nonprofits: Challenges & Resources
What a difference a week makes. Last week, the news media focused on the minutiae of the primary-election horse race. This week, Americans have been forced to confront the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For the nonprofit sector, the emergency becomes a double-barreled crisis: we are both victims and saviors. This is not an unfamiliar conundrum; there are frequent natural disasters that devastate one area or another. This nation’s charitable organizations - and, in particular, the social [...]
Funders Must Step Up – Right Now!
“Funders,” writes nonprofit blogger Vu Le, “this is the rainy day you have been saving up for.” Recently, we wrote about Mr. Le’s earlier plea for America’s foundations to step up their payouts beyond the “five percent rule” in the federal tax code. In an article last summer, he characterized it as a moral imperative: The ethical argument for foundations to increase their annual payout rate beyond 5% (August 4, 2019). This morning, it’s a [...]
Small Business Association Disaster Loan Guidance and Resources
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has an existing program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, that extends disaster relief loans to small businesses, including nonprofits, to help alleviate economic injury caused by disasters. On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the SBA announced that the program will be available to claims arising from COVID-19. The SBA will work with state officials to offer loans of up to $2 million. “These loans may be used to pay [...]