Lake Effect HR & Law, LLC, is pleased to announce that Holly C. Pomraning, J.D. has joined our team, furthering our mission to maximize each client’s workplace potential with a commitment to kindness, true partnership and exceptional service.

Holly has over 13 years of experience in the public sector, private practice, and as in-house counsel and has represented clients on a wide range of employment matters, including employee handbooks and policies, human resources training, and wage and hour compliance. Holly began her career practicing employment law at Foley & Lardner (Madison) and served as associate general counsel at Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation.

Prior to joining Lake Effect, Holly served the Wisconsin Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General where she represented the state in antitrust, fraud, employment, and benefits-related matters. Holly was appointed the Department’s Special Assistant Attorney General for Mortgage Foreclosure Mitigation, representing Wisconsin in the $25 billion multistate National Mortgage Settlement.

Holly is a trained and experienced mediator who serves on the Board of Wisconsin State Bar’s Dispute Resolution Section. Additionally, she is currently serving as President of the Board of Directors for Economic Justice Institute, Inc., which supports the EJI clinics at the University of Wisconsin Law School and houses the project LIFT Wisconsin.

“I am very excited to be joining the established team at Lake Effect,” Pomraning said. “Especially during the pandemic, the firm has distinguished itself as thought leaders in all facets of HR and employment law. I look forward to applying my background to help Lake Effect’s clients in the care of their employees.”

Sheila Conroy, Lake Effect Partner, remarked on how fortunate the firm was to recruit Holly, “We were immediately impressed by Holly’s intellect, problem-solving skills, and compassion—all essential to serving our clients well. With her blend of in-house and external advisory experience, she fits perfectly with members of the Lake Effect team. Already, we can see she is a terrific culture fit, supporting our core values of lifelong learning, balance, collaboration, and fun!”

For more information about Lake Effect HR & Law, LLC, or for Holly’s complete bio, visit www.le-hrlaw.com.

Most federal employees will observe the holiday on Friday, June 18 this year, and many local and state governments have followed suit. While private employers are not required to recognize federal holidays, the passage of the Juneteenth law is an opportunity to review your employee handbook leave policies generally and your holiday schedule specifically. Employers have several options for designing a holiday schedule that aligns with their strategic goals, workplace culture, DEI initiatives, and customer or client needs.

Lake Effect is here to answer your questions about your workplace culture, leave policies, and employee handbooks. We continue to monitor important legal and HR developments, as well as COVID-related updates from federal, state, and local authorities. Please keep watching our blogs and emails for these important updates, as well as discussions of how compliance meets culture. To dive into these issues, contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

We wanted to take a moment to say “Thank You” to our family, friends, and clients for your support during this unusual year. While not diminishing the struggles we all have had and may continue to have, we have found some unexpected silver linings and hope through this difficult time. We wanted to share our gratitude, along with some recipes that have brought us comfort and joy over the years.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lake Effect Team

Over the past few months, the Lake Effect team has been sharing with you the latest government updates and guidance. Today, we would like to take a few moments to recognize the true meaning of Memorial Day and honor those who have lost their lives in active military service, a true act of bravery.

Next, we want to help you officially kick off the Summer of 2020 with some old school good vibrations! In March, when the reality of living in a world with COVID-19 became clear, our team came up with three phrases signifying how we wanted to face the uncertain times ahead:

• Be Kind
• Stay Well
• Grant Grace

Be Kind: COVID-19 has impacted everyone in different ways. We will have good days and bad, but any act of kindness we can provide each other, even a stranger, goes a long way toward getting through these days together. This weekend, how can you make someone smile by sharing your kindness?

Stay Well: Not only should we monitor our temperatures, practice social distancing, and wash our hands frequently, but we should be mindful of our mental health as well. It is important that we stay aware of our current mental state, and care for ourselves and each other. There have been times when some of us had to take a personal” timeout,” and other times when we just needed to be there for each other (of course, via phone or Microsoft Teams). This weekend, soak up some sun, have an impromptu picnic with the family at one of our lovely parks, take advantage of the rain that is in the forecast and binge on Netflix all day, or make more bread – whatever fills your tank mentally and physically.

Grant Grace: The challenges we face today are many. For some, social distancing has led to feelings of isolation; for others, it has led to crowded homes with children home from school all day or college kids reluctantly returning home early; it has converted dining room tables or kitchen counters into unintended classrooms and home offices. We have cancelled weddings and graduations, and we have postponed memorials and funerals to say goodbye to loved ones. No matter how hard we try to stay strong, we are not perfect. This is a stressful time for all of us. Our quirks shine brighter than ever when we are stressed. Be gentle with yourself and with others. We’ll get through this together.

So, enjoy your holiday weekend in whatever form it takes. #bekind #staywell #grantgrace

Consider the following questions, and the answers provided by the EEOC’s recent guidance:

• One of your employees calls in sick, how much information can you request of the employee?
  • In order to protect the rest of your workforce, employers may ask employees if they are experiencing symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. Due to the sensitivity of this information, confidentiality is imperative.
• Can an employer take the body temperature of its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • Measuring an employee’s body temperature would typically be considered a prohibited medical examination. However, in an effort to contain further transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the EEOC has directed that employers may measure employees’ body temperatures. If you conduct this practice, make sure you do so consistently across your workforce.
• Can an employer require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the COVID-19 virus?
  • Yes, authorities have concluded that employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 should leave the workplace.
• When an employee returns to work, can the employer require a doctor’s note certifying the employee is fit for duty?
  • Yes, based on the severity of the COVID-19 virus, such inquiries are permitted because they are not related to a disability. However, employees may experience difficulties obtaining physical notes from doctors or other health care professionals, so new approaches should be considered, such as emails, forms or stamps of certification from local clinics, or virtual health visits.
• If an employer is hiring new employees, can they screen applicants for symptoms of COVID-19?
  • Yes, once an offer has been made, an employer may screen applicants for COVID-19 symptoms as long as the screening is performed consistently on all candidates who apply for the same job.
• Can an employer measure an applicant’s temperature as part of a post-offer, pre-employment medical exam?
  • Yes, medical exams are permitted after an offer of employment has been made. However, employers should be aware that COVID-19 symptoms vary widely from person to person.
• Can an employer delay the start date and/or withdraw a job offer of an applicant who has the COVID-19 virus or symptoms of the virus?
  • Yes, CDC guidance states that individuals who have tested positive or have symptoms of the COVID-19 virus should not be in the workplace. Therefore, the employer can delay or withdraw the job offer.

The legal and HR team at Lake Effect is closely monitoring the COVID-19 updates daily. Keep watching for blogs and emails from your Lake Effect team for important legal updates and HR best practices. If you have any questions regarding preparing for or responding to COVID-19 in your workplace, the attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to help. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (“FFCRA”). Two major provisions of the FFCRA address paid leaves designed to assist American workers and families facing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, the leave provisions cover employers with fewer than 500 employees. However, the Secretary of Labor is authorized to issue regulations exempting employers with fewer than 50 employees if the law’s requirements will jeopardize the ongoing viability of a business.

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act requires covered employers to provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave for full and part-time employees to deal with their own or a child’s COVID-19 illness or quarantine, or to care for a child whose school or daycare provider is closed due to COVID-19.

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of partially paid emergency family leave to an employee whose minor child’s school or daycare is closed or unavailable due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employers will receive quarterly payroll tax credits for amounts paid to their employees under these leave provisions, but those credits are capped per employee at specified levels.

A more comprehensive summary of the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” can be found here.

This appears to be the first step in a Congressional effort to ease the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress is currently working on a more comprehensive economic package to put money directly in the hands of Americans. We at Lake Effect will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves.

The legal and HR team at Lake Effect is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace. Keep watching for new blogs  or subscribe to our mailing list for important legal updates and HR best practices. If you have any questions regarding our quick tips, the attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to help. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

Non-exempt employees WFH must still be paid at least minimum wage and compensated appropriately for all hours worked, including overtime. All of the federal, state, and local laws still apply!

Employers need to provide their employees with a reliable system to accurately track and submit their actual hours worked. Your remote non-exempt employees must be “clocking in” and “clocking out” during the work day. Keep in mind that federal and state laws requiring meal and rest breaks still apply to employees WFH. In Wisconsin, any break less than 30 minutes must be paid. This is a great time to review your policies and share them with your employees as a reminder.

Make sure your non-exempt employees WFH have a clear understanding of their scheduled work hours or the number of hours they are expected to work during a day, and that they must not work outside those hours unless requested to do so or get approval to do so.

Remind non-exempt employees that checking, reading, and responding to work-related emails or texts is “work” and must be recorded as time on the clock! Better to err on the side of paying people even for de minimus time. Now is not the time to unnecessarily reduce employee’s time or pay.

Make sure your managers are aware of their team members’ regularly scheduled work hours or the number of hours they are expected to work, and reinforce the expectation that non-exempt team members are not working outside those hours. If employees do work outside of their normally scheduled hours, they must track those hours and communicate that to their manager. The key is that employees are generally available during core hours of operation.

Review your process for submitting, reviewing, and approving requests for overtime to make sure it will work effectively with a remote workforce.

Under federal and Wisconsin law, employers are only required to pay non-exempt workers for their actual time worked. Employers may reduce non-exempt employees’ regularly scheduled hours due to closures, decreased demand, etc. However, if you have employees outside of Wisconsin, be aware that some states and cities require employers to pay workers for a certain number of hours if they have started their day or their scheduled workweek.

Employees cannot “volunteer” their services to their employer, even if an employee asks to do so! Federal, state, and local laws require employers to compensate non-exempt employees for all time worked and any time an employer suffered or permit an employee to work, whether with or without your approval.

Generally, employers must pay for the expenses non-exempt employees incur to work remotely—such as buying a laptop or a different smart phone plan—if requiring the employee to pay for it would result in the employee’s wages falling below the required minimum wage. However, some states outside of Wisconsin require employers to pay for employees’ business related expenses incurred when working remotely. Best practice is to ask employees what they may need and provide any paper, ink, files, etc that they may need, or permit them to expense any incurred costs.

For HR tips, see our blog on sustaining your culture with a remote workforce.

The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to assist and advise if you have questions related to employee classifications, remote working options, or general Fair Labor Standards Act matters. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

Working from home sounds great, but it takes discipline and practice for the transition to be successful. Below are a few tips from the Lake Effect team on working remotely.

• Set Up A Workspace. If you don’t have a designated home office, create a separate place that is considered your “workplace” with minimal disruptions, even if it is temporary and used for other things later in the day. If the space is used for other things or even visible later in the day, try to pack up or tidy the area to transition back to home life. Jenn likes to be extra tidy and hides her phone charger in a secret hiding place, so her son doesn’t “mistakenly” think it’s his!To minimize distractions from family members, consider creating and communicating your schedule or times that you will be available to them. Leann and her husband tag team parenting and working from home. When one is WFH, the other is the main parent contact for the kids.If you don’t have the background noise and miss the noise of an office, try finding music that you can work to. Hannah finds it easier to focus to upbeat instrumental hip hop playlist when working from home.
• Create A Routine. Start your day as if you were commuting to work – pick up the house, prep healthy snacks for your workday, shower and eat breakfast away from your workspace. Make a realistic schedule for your day so when you are ready to begin the day you have a plan – those distractions will be minimized if you have a plan. Be compassionate with yourself if at first those distractions win and you don’t stick to your schedule. Sometimes, the list looks more manageable the night before or early in the morning than when the day actually rolls out.Remember to step away from work during the day to stretch, get some fresh air and to give your eyes a break from the computer screen. When Tricia works from home, she tends to create a list and tackles at least a certain number of tasks or works for a certain amount of time and then will move around the house to switch laundry, eat lunch or empty the dishwasher.Without a commute, you may have an additional hour in your day. How can you use this time to create a healthy habit? Can you convert the “drying rack” back to a treadmill and start walking 30 minutes every day, read business related books, or add a morning yoga/meditation routine? Jane and Sheila exercise with their kids and dogs to burn some energy and take a break from emails and virtual classes. This may also be a great way to end your day and flip the switch from work to home.
• Communicate Your Schedule/Availability to Your Coworkers. Working with and being available to your team is still essential when working remotely. If you are using tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack to collaborate, make sure you are logged in and available to your coworkers while you are working. When the Lake Effect team sees each other online in the morning, we send a quick ‘good morning’ message to each other just like if we were arriving in the office. Of course, as Peggy will tell you, our texts start much earlier. If you aren’t proficient in using these tools, believe us, it gets easier each time!If you have “left the office” for the day, honor your time away from work. When work is just a few steps away, it is easy to take a minute, which can turn into an hour, to respond to an email. Balancing time with yourself, your family and friends is essential during this time.
• Pick Up the Phone or Initiate a Video Chat with Your Coworkers. Texting and email are efficient ways to communicate a direct message but calling or initiating a video chat with your coworker may be a more effective approach to discuss and solve more complicated issues. It also provides an opportunity for a social interaction, all while practicing social distancing, and your coworker may even have a Netflix or book recommendation for you! At Lake Effect, we have an ongoing list of book, movie and TV show recommendations in Teams.
• Put Down the Cookies and Get Moving. You know this has happened already, especially if you are working close to the kitchen! By prepping your snacks and meals at the beginning of the week or day, just as you would if you went to the office, the cookies and chips will be less tempting – okay, probably not less tempting but you have set yourself up for successful, healthy habits! Also take time to work out and decompress each day. If the sun is shining, go soak it up!!!

We are all wired differently when it comes to our preferred work styles and what works for us when working remotely. Knowing how you work best can help in your success to work remotely or in the office. If you have taken your Everything DiSC Workplace, pull out your profile or log in to www.myeverythingdisc.com and review your Motivators/Stressors. For those of you who need a refresher or may not be familiar with DiSC (a personal assessment tool to improve work productivity, teamwork and communication), here is one motivator of each style: (D) multi-tasking, (i) teamwork, (S) steady pace, (C) clear guidelines. Using these motivators as an example, a person with a preferred style of i may want to consider scheduling time throughout the day to work with other team members. As we are all navigating our new WFH situation, make sure you are asking your coworkers and your supervisor for what you need to be successful in the workplace.

Stay well, be kind, and grant each other grace. If you see a coworker struggling with working from home, reach out and share your best practices.

The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to assist and advise if you have questions related to engaging your remote team or learning more about DiSC. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

Engaging Your Team.

• Set Clear Expectations. Communicate with your team members if you expect them to be available and on-line during specific hours, accessible on certain technology platforms, and meeting certain deadlines – just as if they were working in the office.
• Provide the Necessary Tools and Resources. Arrange for your team members to have access to the technology, files, and office supplies they need to perform their jobs. Offer flexibility for childcare, taking care of ill family members, taking care of themselves, or basic physical and mental wellness during this time of social distancing.
• Communicate Related Policies and Any Other Temporary Policy Changes. Remind employees that policies, such as attendance, request for time off and leaves of absence, still apply and some, like anti-harassment/discrimination and use of technology, also pertain to email, chat, text, video, social media, etc.
• Continue Coaching & Development Conversations. Continue regularly scheduled 1:1 meetings, encourage on-line learning, and be accessible to your team. If working remotely is new to your team members, ask them if they need help navigating the new work situation.

Sustaining Your Workplace Culture.

• Continue Regularly Scheduled Workplace Gatherings. If you normally have daily stand-up meetings, weekly staff meetings, etc., continue to hold them using technology.
• Consider a Daily Message From Leadership. During any time of change, regular communication is important. Consider a daily video call, email or chat post from a leadership team member to communicate most recent changes, status of company, etc.
• Consider Daily Department Meetings. If your team is used to being together each day, consider implementing a daily department conference call so the team can connect, communicate deadlines, and collaborate.
• Live Your Values. Continue to support your values by implementing new practices aligned with your mission, vision and values.
• Celebrate and Have Fun. We are all navigating our current situation together and learning as we do. It is stressful and uncertain. Have fun, laugh, connect and celebrate as often as you can. If you celebrate milestones (birthdays and anniversaries) in the office, continue the tradition virtually. Now may be a great time for your Engagement/Wellness Committee to create some fun virtual activities!
• Trust. You hired your team members because you believed they could perform their job. Allow them to do what they excel in, support them during this change and see how your team can become stronger yet during this time of uncertainty.
• Stay well, be kind, and grant each other grace. When we get to the other side of COVID-19, we may have more best practices to implement in our daily work lives.

Keep watching for blogs from your Lake Effect team for important legal updates and HR best practices. The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to assist and advise if you have questions related to engaging your remote team. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.