The U.S. Department of Labor announced new action regarding how American workers and employers will benefit from the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to this new law. It took effective April 1.
NY State of Health, together with the state Department of Financial Services (DFS), have extended enrollment period available to New Yorkers during which eligible individuals will be able to enroll in insurance coverage through NY State of Health.
The step was taken in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency to further protect the public health of New Yorkers, so that individuals do not avoid seeking testing or medical care for fear of cost. The open enrollment period for coverage in 2020 had previously ended on Feb. 7.
NY State of Health has opened a special enrollment period for uninsured individuals who need to enroll in a Qualified Health Plan. The period runs through April 15.
By Amy Roman, CPA, CGMA, CM&AA
The daily challenges of running and growing a business take the full focus of business owners. The hardest thing you’ve had to face most recently has centered around finding qualified help rather than how to manage employees remotely or put them on furlough.
I hear you. The forced changes to, and even temporary closure of, your business could well be the worst pill you’ve ever had to swallow as an entrepreneur. But the best way to minimize damage is to face the hard realities head on. You need to reduce your exposure quickly.
While this may be challenging to consider today, this crisis could actually push you toward healthy business decisions you should have been planning for all along. If you had a contingency plan in place prior to the coronavirus, high marks for you. You’re among the business owners best positioned to come through this intact.
Cudney’s Launderers and Dry Cleaners is all keeping a close eye on the novel coronavirus and will remain open unless directed to close by federal or local government agencies, said Joyce Ure, owner/president.
In a news release, she said the company’s professional dry cleaning and laundry services already include standard operating procedures that not only clean but sanitize garments and household items.
By Rose Miller
Business and the workplace have had to make dramatic shifts during the current crisis. It is being named the Adaptation Era.
During times of adversity, situations require adaptation, major pivots and an increased need for creative solutions. All of this equals Change.
Change in the workplace has always been inevitable and most employees are uncomfortable with change. Change brings uncertainty. Change involves a loss of the familiar and it requires a considerable amount of effort to learn and adjust to innovative ways of doing things. Organizations that did not embrace a culture of change struggle to endure high times of adversity.
By Jim Marco
It was just a few weeks ago that employers were lamenting the fact that they could not find enough qualified employees to help run their businesses. Now, these same business owners are faced with questions of whether they are essential/non-essential, closing store fronts and offices, remote work, layoffs, furloughs and more.
While you might be trying to recover from “managerial whiplash” at the moment, it’s time to start planning for your business to emerge from the other side of this pandemic. That starts with making sure you have the people to help you successfully recover from this challenging time.
While it is true every day, communication with your employees is more important now that it ever has been. Frequent, honest, thorough communication with your staff, whether actively employed or on furlough or layoff, will help you gain the trust you need to retain these folks so they will be ready to come back to work and help you re-start your business.
By Bill Murray and Gretta Keene
Relationships lie at the heart of a business. As psychotherapists, we have observed that effective communication promotes healthy relationships. And healthy relationships will improve the outcome, whatever challenges your business is currently facing.
We teach our clients this important and often overlooked principle of effective communication: Everyone is in their own movie.
We all tend to assume that others are experiencing life in the same way we are. In fact, that’s why we’re often puzzled—or outraged—by other people’s words and actions. Their behaviors don’t make sense in our movie, so we label them wrong or bad or stupid or worse.
The Adirondack Trust Co. reported it has once again secured a 5-Star rating from BauerFinancial, the nation’s premier bank rating firm.
A five-star rating indicates that the bank excels in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, asset quality and much more. Earning and maintaining this top rating for 55 consecutive quarters puts Adirondack Trust in the most prestigious bracket as an Exceptional Performance Bank.
By Jill Nagy
William Farmer, chief operating officer of Creatacor Inc., is hoping to help with the coronavirus pandemic with a plan he has to build hospital beds and other things to help out in the crisis.
The company, located in Halfmoon, usually builds displays for retail stores, trade shows and other events. It is well positioned to create temporary structures for use in the crisis, building things like beds, waiting rooms and treatment areas, Farmer said.
Normally, Creatacor would be preparing exhibits for events like South by Southwest and companies like AngioDynamics, General Electric, Lego and Ikea.
The Holiday Inn in downtown Saratoga Springs is now serving as a temporary location for the city’s homeless.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shelters of Saratoga (SOS) Executive Director Karen Gregory said isolating people experiencing homelessness in individual hotel rooms with access to private bathrooms is the best possible solution to facilitate safe distancing and the ability to practice good hygiene thus preventing a community-wide spread of COVID-19.
Food service, basic necessities and case management is being provided to those staying in the hotel. The shelters on Walworth Street remain open and SOS is serving over 100 people through the outreach program which provides people with food and hygiene products, she said.