Three chances to hang out with me and talk COVID-19 and other HR stuff. Plus, new COBRA Notices!!!

Michael Allen Smith from Seattle, USA / CC BY-SA

Perhaps, the wrong COBRA. We’ll sort that out in a bit.

But first I’ve got to tell you all about some free HR-compliance stuff. Kinda like this blog.

(I really must re-think my business plan.)

(sigh).

Today at 2 PM EDT/ 1 PM CDT

I’ll be on a free webinar with one of HR’s best, Ben Eubanks of Lighthouse Research & Advisory where we’re going to answer 10 Burning Questions about Return to Work Post-COVID. They’ll range from immediate legal issues and accommodations to more nuanced culture questions about how to communicate with and support employees during the transition, handling essential vs. nonessential workers, and more. Also, attendees can ask questions during the session to get further insights. We plan to respond to as many of these questions as we can fit into the conversation.

You can sign up for that webinar here.

Friday, May 8, 2020, at 11:30 AM EDT / 10:30 CDT

It’s another Facebook Live at The Employer Handbook Facebook Fan Page. This week, my special guest is the uber-talented Kate Bischoff. Kate is an energetic and enthusiastic speaker, human resources professional, employment/labor law attorney, and technology aficionado. We’ll bring you up to speed on all the latest COVID-19 compliance news, probably get into a little return to work too, and answer some of your hypothetical questions for a friend that don’t involve providing any sort of legal advice or creating an attorney-client relationship.

You can send us your questions here. And you can catch us on Friday here.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at 1 PM EDT / 12:00 PM CDT

Join us for a free, one-hour roundtable discussion with a top-notch panel of legal experts for a “check-in” of notable developments at the three major labor and employment federal agencies—the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board.

Our discussion will highlight:

Areas of agency focus including how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted each
Enforcement strategies and practices
Practical guidance on compliance issues that have emerged with the Covid-19 crisis
Employer best practices and common pitfalls

And now for those new COBRA notices.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Frequently Asked Questions (all three of them!) and revised COBRA model notices. Plan administrators can use these model notices to notify plan participants and beneficiaries of their rights under COBRA and qualified beneficiaries of their rights to elect COBRA.

Pretty sweet, huh?

Yeah?

Oh…

Well then, we’ve set the bar, err, appropriately. I’ll see you today at 2 PM to see if we can eclipse it.