Springfield Business Journal_2020-08-03

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 9 AUG. 3-9, 2020 MITIGATING RISK Mark Acre says more businesses are adding cyber liability insurance for remote workforces. PAGE 10 INSURANCE & BENEFITS Sick? Stay Home Employers embrace paid sick leave amid health pandemic by Christine Temple · ctemple@sbj.net As the enduring impacts of the coronavirus pandemic take shape, one change that is gain- ing traction is extending sick leave. At the height of stay- at-home orders in April, a Gallup poll found 62% of U.S. workers re- ported working from home during the crisis. Now, as many employ- ees have returned to the office, employers are looking for ways to keep them safe from COVID-19, which has infected more than 4.3 million Americans, ac- cording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Fami- lies First Coronavirus Response Act, adopted in April, requires most employers with under 500 employees to provide paid sick leave for COV- ID-19 related reasons. But some business own- ers are thinking beyond the pandemic. “It’s always been the badge of honor. I don’t really feel good, but I’m going to tough it out and go to work,” said Don Christenson, president and CEO of Strafford-based Christenson Transpor- tation Inc. “We started messaging that it was no longer a badge of honor, and in fact, it was more of an infringement on other people’s rights.” Christenson said employees who can work from home now have five paid work-from- home days through its new infectious disease policy. That’s in addition to an existing 14 paid days off available to all of its 300 employees. He said the new policy, which likely will be ex- panded, helps employees who are sick but able to work to avoid using what could be a vacation day. And the policy goes beyond COVID-19. “You should not bring a cold, you should not bring the common flu or any other contagious type of disease to the workplace,” Christenson said. “Each person has a social responsibility to monitor your own health.” The trucking business is in good company. A report from Illinois-based business consult- ing firm Alight Solutions LLC found that nearly half of employers surveyed have implemented or plan to adjust their sick leave or paid time off policies in response to COVID-19, and another 11% are considering such changes. Lynette Weatherford, president of HR Advan- tage LLC, said she’s fielded many calls on expand- ed sick leave, and infectious disease and remote work policies. Christenson was among them. “This is a movement where a lot of employ- ers are revising their handbooks to include in- fectious disease,” she said of COVID-19. “It has changed the way we all view workplace [prac- tices] and policy.” Growing trend Weatherford said while several states require employers to offer paid sick leave, that’s not the case in Missouri. COVID-19 has changed that temporarily. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which is in effect through December, re- quires employers with fewer than 500 employ- ees to offer two weeks of paid sick leave at an employee’s regular pay to those who are unable to work when quaran- tined or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The act also re- quires two weeks of paid leave at two-thirds pay if an employee is caring for someone who is sick or is in quarantine, and up to 12 weeks for an See SICK on page 14 Don Christenson: Trucking company is offering staff five work- from-home days a year. 47% Employers that have, or plan to, adjust sick leave in response to COVID-19 Lynette Weatherford: Employers are adopting infectious disease policies. AMANDA MILLER