While the nation slowly inches towards normalcy and businesses reopen, employees and employers are filled with lingering uncertainty. Many employees worry about risks involved upon returning to work while employers are uncertain about legal obligations to employees and others during the continuing pandemic.
Amidst the uncertainty, there is reliable guidance for employers to make decisions about resuming operations, including making decisions about return of furloughed and laid off employees to work. The terms “furlough” and “layoff” have no definitive meanings across jurisdictions. We will use “furlough” to refer to a period of unpaid leave with or without benefits and “layoff” as termination of employment, with potential for recall. Some points for consideration are:
- Deciding Whom to Return to Work
- Preparing Return-to-Work Notices
- Determining if Additional Policies are needed
- Implementing Safety Protocols
- Reporting to State Unemployment Agencies
The decision to return only some in the workforce has legal implications that must be carefully considered, to avoid disparate treatment claims.
A TV Show Host In Pandemic Mode
The Daily Show is an American late-night news satire Comedy Central TV show on air since 1996, from Monday to Thursday, using recent news, political figures, and media organizations as subjects of comedy and satire. The show uses self-referential humor and expanded beyond the half-hour format and is now ranked no.1 in the late-night category for the 18-34-years old category. An interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci on 26 March 26 had over 43 million views. Since inception, it is helmed by hosts Jon Stewart and Craig Kilborn. South African comedian and TV host Trevor Noah took over the show in 2015 as its new host. While the COVID-19 global pandemic shattered the world economies, TV production and livelihood of crew members was disrupted. Some employees were unfortunately furloughed due to stay-at-home orders. Noah practices social distancing and works away from his crew, he does care for their welfare. The show’s producers, writers, and production staff, work remotely too. However, in-studio crew members like camera operators, video operators, stage management personnel and audio technicians, including studio production staff suspended amid stay-at-home orders due to social distancing. Noah’s remote show was originally showed through the Comedy Central website and their YouTube channel but eventually moved to TV on March 23. In April, Comedy Central announced that the show would be extended to 45 minutes per night.
Trevor Noah shows the Way
It appears that Noah is using his personal funds to pay salaries for 25 crew members who were furloughed due to the industry shutdown. He assured the crew members that until normal production resumes in the TV industry, he would continue paying the furloughed crew members from his own pocket. It is reported that these crew members have been with the show since the beginning. Noah has showed tremendous respect for the crew and confirms that it is right that they all ride the storm together. Just like other TV shows in the industry, studio production for this Daily Show was stopped in March. But Noah continues to provide much-needed laughter through the remote version of his show, which is filmed at his home, called “The Daily Social Distancing Show With Trevor Noah”, and is aired from March 18.