As the national epidemic of shuttered businesses, unemployment, and cabin fever reaches unimagined proportions, there is an understandable desire to “return to normalcy,” to save a job, rescue a business, grab a burger, even in the face of an implacable, expanding virus.

The Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The recent killings of George Floyd and others have resulted in the movement expanding beyond the issues of law enforcement and race—they’ve resulted in a national reckoning on racial disparities in several regards, including income, education, and healthcare. Statues are coming down, names of forts, buildings, and highways are changing, and employers in all sectors have pledged financial support to confront the inequalities. Yet, the greatest responsibility for addressing the disparities will be for employers to assess their policies and practices. Illegal discrimination is hard to prove. But, the absence of proven bias doesn’t necessarily mean the presence of equal opportunity.

Employers may search employees’ personal property, including their vehicles, when on company premises, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled. The NLRB also affirmed employers may monitor employee activity on company-issued communication devices, computer systems, and networks. The significant decision continues to show how difficult it is for unions to win work rule cases under the Board’s recently adopted Boeing standard.

Q We have workers who must travel as an essential part of their jobs. Some are refusing to travel. We want a policy on what to do with such refusal to avoid any risk to the company. Is it safe to terminate employees if they won’t travel, we have no other work for them, and there’s no Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issue?

Many state and local orders continue to require certain employees to work remotely or telecommute during the COVID-19 outbreak. And even when employees begin to return to the workplace, you may face an uptick in requests from those who want to work remotely on an extended basis. Consequently, you should consider whether to implement a remote work policy and/or enter into individual agreements with employees working from home during the pandemic and, perhaps, beyond.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, companies have changed their core business operations and instituted new practices and procedures in the blink of an eye. The changes, perhaps unknowingly, have created risks that could jeopardize the protection of valuable trade secrets. A trade secret, as defined by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), is information that derives independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by others and that is the subject of reasonable efforts under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. Here are five ways the pandemic and its effects could threaten trade secret protection.

Any time someone walks in for a job interview, both sides have expectations about how the discussion will go. From skill set to personality fit, every HR manager is looking for the perfect solution to the organization’s hiring needs. Problems occur, however, when we can’t clearly and consistently articulate what success will looks like. One clear issue arises with subjective, undisclosed interviewing standards, which can create liability for your company. A recent Iowa Court of Appeals case underscores the need to use objective measures to support HR decisions whenever possible.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, employers have struggled to understand the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) position on cloth face coverings and surgical masks, specifically whether the agency requires or recommends their use and whether they constitute personal protective equipment (PPE). Although the issues may seem trivial, employers want to know what their compliance obligations are. On June 10, the agency issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) and responses about the equipment. Some, but not all, questions were answered.

Large employers plan to expand virtual care offered to employees next year as well as double down on mental health and emotional well-being as they continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an annual survey by Business Group on Health (BGH).