Springfield Business Journal_2020-08-03

14 · SBJ.NET AUG. 3-9, 2020 INSURANCE & BENEFITS Manufacturers Impacting our Economy in the Ozarks Call Rich or Lowell “Attention to details is the reason we keep coming back to Rich Kramer.” Craig Burrell, Plant Manager ABEC, Inc (417) 881-6623 nixonins.com YOUR STRATEGY FOR THE BEST BENEFITS End Jeff Kennedy Sophorn Yim Tricia Guinn Joe Nixon HeatherDeHart Chad Munsey Sick : Some employers expand leave policies beyond federal coronavirus act Continued from page 9 employee caring for a child whose school or day care is closed due to COVID-19. Employers are eligible for reimbursement of those costs through payroll tax credits. Businesses who employ more than 50 people are re- quired to provide leave through the Family Medical Leave Act, but that federal law does not require the time to be paid. Weather- ford said employ- ers who have more than 500 employees are not required to provide paid leave specific to COVID-19 illnesses, but many al- ready provided “robust” paid time off. Springfield’s largest employers, Cox- Health and Mercy Hospital Springfield, an- nounced they would provide two weeks of paid emergency sick leave in March on top of regular PTO to employees who became sick with or are exposed to COVID-19, ac- cording to hospital spokespersons. Mercy has since ended that benefit. Jimm Swafford, owner of Jimm’s Steak- house & Pub, has had four employees take PTO through the federal act due to COVID-19 exposures. No employees tested positive. “The program is really good because the act instantly gives you that money back as a tax credit,” he said. Swafford said pre-COVID, managers were eligible for paid sick days as needed, as well as paid vacation. Servers received paid vacation days only. But that will change post-COVID, he said, because it’s the right thing to do for his “family” of em- ployees. Weatherford said paid sick and vacation leave, which has been combined via mod- ern human resources policies, has long been viewed as an attraction and reten- tion tool for businesses. She said in light of the coronavirus pandemic, she anticipates more employers will be- gin offering paid sick leave, expanded sick leave or make re- mote work more ac- cessible. But as it’s not required by state or federal governments, and many employers are closely watching their spending, it may take time. According to the 2019 National Compen- sation Survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of the lowest-paid workers na- tionwide have access to paid sick leave, while nearly all of the highest-paid workers have access. But those numbers are gradually in- creasing. The same survey finds overall 73% of private-industry workers had access to paid sick leave in 2018, up from 63% in 2012. “I do feel like this will change the mindset of employers because they want to retain their workers,” she said. “But as an em- ployer, it’s [left to] them to fund it right now. They have to make that difficult decision.” Changing culture At Paragon Architecture LLC, Business Manager Beth Keeling said itspolicy did not change due to COVID-19 because the firm already offered unlimited paid time off. “That policy allows people to make that decision based off how they feel versus that desperate feeling of utilizing a sick day and only having a certain number left,” she said. “We don’t push people to come in when they don’t feel well be- cause we’re in a com- munal environment. And we have tech- nology to support us.” She said no employ- ees have been exposed to COVID-19, but people have opted to work from home if they are experiencing any symptoms. “No one has thought twice about saying, ‘I’m feeling a little off today. I’m working from home,’” she said. While taking time off has always been encouraged when needed, the pandemic has created a shift in how people view sick time at the architecture firm. “It used to be that a person has called in sick three times this week and it really had a stigma attached,” she said. “Now, we are grateful that you aren’t possibly bringing something in that could have huge ramifications.” At his trucking company, Chris- tenson said pro- ductivity has not suffered as em- ployees work from home. Currently, the team is even- ly split between working in the of- fice at home, and every two weeks they switch. For his drivers, he said they’re probably in one of the safest profes- sions as they spend most of their time alone in the truck. Rest stops are cleaning bath- rooms every 10 minutes and showers after each use, he said, and his drivers are wear- ing gloves to gas up and cleaning their cabs multiple times a day. “A lot of it is overkill, but we’re trying to protect our workforce,” he said. Weatherford said as some organizations increase paid sick leave, it would increase their benefit costs. But they see it as trading one cost for another. “(They) don’t mind paying for someone staying home until they are feeling better,” she said. “We can’t afford for someone to come in and infect others.” Beth Keeling: COVID-19 is removing the stigma of sick leave. 73% Private-industry workers who had access to paid sick leave in 2018 Jimm Swafford is considering offering paid sick leave to servers.