Resources
Axios HR is proud to offer a library of resources to help HR professionals and small business owners navigate difficult problems. We hope you find these resources valuable in building a successful HR program and a flourishing business.
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COVID-19 Industry Updates
The Most recent COVID-19 compliance updates by industry
Laws and regulations surrounding COVID-19 and compliance have been changing almost daily. Our team of experts has been dedicated to tracking down exactly what you need to know to keep your organization compliant and your employees healthy while at work.
Click on one of the options below to see the most recent COVID-19 compliance updates for your respective industry.
At Axios HR we remain committed to putting people first. During this time we understand how important it is to protect your employees and your organization. Because we are operating in unprecedented times we are providing a Preparedness and Response Plan template (separate document) to serve as a resource guide for planning for, responding to and recovering from a pandemic impacting your organization and employees. The plan takes into account the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the State of Michigan (SOM).
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA released a worker exposure risk hierarchy based on occupational risk, assessing the workers need to come within 6 feet of individuals who are confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19. Determine your organizations risk category and access how to increase hygiene practices, social distancing, teleconferences, and work from home options for the development of your organizations Preparedness and Response Plan. Exposure risk categories and workers who may fall within them are:
Very high: Jobs with a high potential for exposure to known or suspected sources of COVID-19 during specific medical, postmortem, or laboratory procedures.
Workers Include: Healthcare and morgue workers performing aerosol-generating procedures on or collecting/handling specimens from potentially infectious patients or bodies of people known to have, or suspected of having, COVID-19 at the time of death.
High: Jobs with a high potential for exposure to known or suspected sources of COVID-19. Workers Include: Healthcare delivery, healthcare support, medical transport, and mortuary workers exposed to known or suspected COVID-19 patients or bodies of people known to have, or suspected of having, COVID19 at the time of death.
Medium: Jobs that require frequent/close contact with people, but who are not known or suspected patients. Workers Include: Those who may have contact with the general public (e.g., schools, high-population density work environments, some high-volume retail settings), including individuals returning from locations with widespread COVID-19 transmission
Low: Jobs that do not require contact with people known to be or suspected of being infected. Workers in this category have minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers, (e.g.) remote workers, office workers, manufacturing and industrial facility workers who do not have frequent close contact with coworkers, customers, or the public).
The guidelines in Section 2 are required on an industry specific basis per the State of Michigan. It will be up to your organization to determine if the language matches the steps that appropriately address the response to COVID-19 or if more stringent steps need to be implemented.
Legal Disclaimer:
The information contained in the documents does not constitute legal advice and should not be applied arbitrarily to other businesses or workplaces. Axios HR bears no responsibility with respect to third party reliance on the recommendations set out herein. All employers should consult with local legal counsel, medical as well as health & safety advisors specific to their jurisdiction and industry in developing strategies applicable to their unique workplaces.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has emerged as a humanitarian issue of global significance, with hundreds of thousands of people and their communities affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) regards the outbreak as a global pandemic and the situation continues to evolve rapidly, as businesses and governments accelerate their responses to the crisis. COVID-19 is having a major impact around the world and in our communities. All of us are required to maintain safety recommendations at home and at work to protect each other and the people around us.
Source: Michigan Executive Order 2020-91, 2020-92
Businesses, operations, and government agencies that remain open for in-person work must, at a minimum:
- All businesses or operations that are permitted to require their employees to leave the homes or residences for work under Executive Order 2020-92, and any order that follows it, must, at a minimum:
- (a) Develop a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, consistent with recommendations in Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, developed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and available here. By June 1, 2020, or within two weeks of resuming inperson activities, whichever is later, a business’s or operation’s plan must be made readily available to employees, labor unions, and customers, whether via website, internal network, or by hard copy.
- (b) Designate one or more worksite supervisors to implement, monitor, and report on the COVID19 control strategies developed under subsection (a). The supervisor must remain on-site at all times when employees are present on site. An on-site employee may be designated to perform the supervisory role.
- (c) Provide COVID-19 training to employees that covers, at a minimum:
- (1) Workplace infection-control practices.
- (2) The proper use of personal protective equipment.
- (3) Steps the employee must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
- (4) How to report unsafe working conditions.
- (d) Conduct a daily entry self-screening protocol for all employees or contractors entering the workplace, including, at a minimum, a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID19.
- (e) Keep everyone on the worksite premises at least six feet from one another to the maximum extent possible, including through the use of ground markings, signs, and physical barriers, as appropriate to the worksite.
- (f) Provide non-medical grade face coverings to their employees, with supplies of N95 masks and surgical masks reserved, for now, for health care professionals, first responders (e.g., police officers, firefighters, paramedics), and other critical workers.
- (g) Require face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain six feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace, and consider faceshields when employees cannot consistently maintain three feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace.
- (h) Increase facility cleaning and disinfection to limit exposure to COVID-19, especially on high-touch surfaces (e.g., door handles), paying special attention to parts, products, and shared equipment (e.g., tools, machinery, vehicles).
- (i) Adopt protocols to clean and disinfect the facility in the event of a positive COVID-19 case in the workplace.
- (j) Make cleaning supplies available to employees upon entry and at the worksite and provide time for employees to wash hands frequently or to use hand sanitizer.
- (k) When an employee is identified with a confirmed case of COVID-19, within 24 hours, notify both:
- (1) The local public health department, and
- (2) Any co-workers, contractors, or suppliers who may have come into contact with the person with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
- (l) Follow Executive Order 2020-36, and any executive orders that follow it, that prohibit discharging, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against employees who stay home or who leave work when they are at particular risk of infecting others with COVID-19.
- (m) Establish a response plan for dealing with a confirmed infection in the workplace, including protocols for sending employees home and for temporary closures of all or part of the worksite to allow for deep cleaning.
- (n) Restrict business-related travel for employees to essential travel only.
- (o) Encourage employees to use personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer on public transportation.
- (p) Promote remote work to the fullest extent possible.
- (q) Adopt any additional infection-control measures that are reasonable in light of the work performed at the worksite and the rate of infection in the surrounding community.
Businesses or operations conducted primarily outdoors must also (Executive Order 2020-91):
- (a) Prohibit gatherings of any size in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.
- (b) Limit in-person interaction with clients and patrons to the maximum extent possible, and bar any such interaction in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.
- (c) Provide and require the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, face shields, and face coverings, as appropriate for the activity being performed.
- (d) Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment to the maximum extent possible and to ensure frequent and thorough cleaning and disinfection of tools, equipment, and frequently touched surfaces.
Businesses or operations in the construction industry must (Executive Order 2020-91):
- (a) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering a worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening.
- (b) Create dedicated entry point(s) at every worksite, if possible, for daily screening as provided in sub-provision (b) of this section, or in the alternative issue stickers or other indicators to employees to show that they received a screening before entering the worksite that day.
- (c) Provide instructions for the distribution of personal protective equipment and designate on-site locations for soiled face coverings.
- (d) Require the use of work gloves where appropriate to prevent skin contact with contaminated surfaces.
- (e) Identify choke points and high-risk areas where employees must stand near one another (such as hallways, hoists and elevators, break areas, water stations, and buses) and control their access and use (including through physical barriers) so that social distancing is maintained.
- (f) Ensure there are sufficient hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations at the worksite to enable easy access by employees.
- (g) Notify contractors (if a subcontractor) or owners (if a contractor) of any confirmed COVID-19 cases among employees at the worksite.
- (h) Restrict unnecessary movement between project sites.
- (i) Create protocols for minimizing personal contact upon delivery of materials to the worksite.
Manufacturing facilities must (Executive Order 2020-91):
- (a) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering the facility, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with temperature screening as soon as no-touch thermometers can be obtained.
- (b) Create dedicated entry point(s) at every facility for daily screening as provided in sub-provision (a) of this section, and ensure physical barriers are in place to prevent anyone from bypassing the screening.
- (c) Suspend all non-essential in-person visits, including tours.
- (d) Train employees on, at a minimum:
- (1) Routes by which the virus causing COVID-19 is transmitted from person to person.
- (2) Distance that the virus can travel in the air, as well as the time it remains viable in the air and on environmental surfaces.
- (3) The use of personal protective equipment, including the proper steps for putting it on and taking it off.
- (e) Reduce congestion in common spaces wherever practicable by, for example, closing salad bars and buffets within cafeterias and kitchens, requiring individuals to sit at least six feet from one another, placing markings on the floor to allow social distancing while standing in line, offering boxed food via delivery or pick-up points, and reducing cash payments.
- (f) Implement rotational shift schedules where possible (e.g., increasing the number of shifts, alternating days or weeks) to reduce the number of employees in the facility at the same time.
- (g) Stagger meal and break times, as well as start times at each entrance, where possible.
- (h) Install temporary physical barriers, where practicable, between work stations and cafeteria tables.
- (i) Create protocols for minimizing personal contact upon delivery of materials to the facility.
- (j) Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment to the maximum extent possible.
- (k) Ensure there are sufficient hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations at the worksite to enable easy access by employees, and discontinue use of hand dryers.
- (l) Notify plant leaders and potentially exposed individuals upon identification of a positive case of COVID-19 in the facility, as well as maintain a central log for symptomatic employees or employees who received a positive test for COVID-19.
- (m) Send potentially exposed individuals home upon identification of a positive case of COVID-19 in the facility.
- (n) Require employees to self-report to plant leaders as soon as possible after developing symptoms of COVID-19.
- (o) Shut areas of the manufacturing facility for cleaning and disinfection, as necessary if an employee goes home because he or she is displaying symptoms of COVID-19.
Any store that remains open for in-store sales must (per EO 2020-91, 2020-92):
Consider establishing curbside pick-up to reduce in-store traffic and mitigate outdoor lines.
- (a) Create communications material for customers (e.g., signs or pamphlets) to inform them of changes to store practices and to explain the precautions the store is taking to prevent infection.
- (b) Establish lines to regulate entry in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, with markings for patrons to enable them to stand at least six feet apart from one another while waiting. Stores should also explore alternatives to lines, including by allowing customers to wait in their cars for a text message or phone call, to enable social distancing and to accommodate seniors and those with disabilities.
- (c) Adhere to the following restrictions:
- (1) For stores of less than 50,000 square feet of customer floor space, must limit the number of people in the store (including employees) to 25% of the total occupancy limits established by the State Fire Marshal or a local fire marshal. Stores of more than 50,000 square feet must:
- (A) Limit the number of customers in the store at one time (excluding employees) to 4 people per 1,000 square feet of customer floor space.
- (B) Create at least two hours per week of dedicated shopping time for vulnerable populations, which for purposes of this order are people over 60, pregnant women, and those with chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.
- (2) The director of the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to issue an emergency order varying the capacity limits described in this subsection as necessary to protect the public health.
- (1) For stores of less than 50,000 square feet of customer floor space, must limit the number of people in the store (including employees) to 25% of the total occupancy limits established by the State Fire Marshal or a local fire marshal. Stores of more than 50,000 square feet must:
- (d) Post signs at store entrance(s) instructing customers of their legal obligation to wear a face covering when inside the store.
- (e) Post signs at store entrance(s) informing customers not to enter if they are or have recently been sick.
- (f) Design spaces and store activities in a manner that encourages employees and customers to maintain six feet of distance from one another.
- (g) Install physical barriers at checkout or other service points that require interaction, including Plexiglas barriers, tape markers, or tables, as appropriate.
- (h) Establish an enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocol for high-touch areas like restrooms, credit-card machines, keypads, counters, shopping carts, and other surfaces.
- (i) Train employees on:
- (1) Appropriate cleaning procedures, including training for cashiers on cleaning between customers.
- (2) How to manage symptomatic customers upon entry or in the store.
- (j) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including a customer or supplier) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the store.
- (k) Limit staffing to the minimum number necessary to operate.
Per Executive Order 2020-90 9
- 1. Workers necessary to conduct research activities in a laboratory setting are considered workers who perform resumed activities within the meaning of section 10 of Executive Order 2020-77.
- 2. Research laboratories, but not laboratories that perform diagnostic testing, must adhere to the workplace safeguards described in subsection 11(a) through (h) of Executive Order 2020- 77, as well as the following:
- (a) Assign dedicated entry point(s) and/or times into lab buildings.
- (b) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for workers, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering a worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening.
- (c) Create protocols and/or checklists as necessary to conform to the facility’s COVID-19 preparedness and response plan under section 11(a) of Executive Order 2020-77.
- (d) Train workers on adherence to the facility’s preparedness response plan.
- (e) Suspend all non-essential in-person visitors (including visiting scholars and undergraduate students) until further notice.
- (f) Train workers on the proper use of lab protection and personal protective equipment.
- (g) Establish and implement a plan for distributing face coverings.
- (h) Limit the number of people per square feet of floor space permitted in a particular laboratory at one time.
- (i) Close open workspaces, cafeterias, and conference rooms.
- (j) As necessary, use tape on the floor to demarcate socially distanced workspaces and to create one-way traffic flow.
- (k) Require all office and dry lab work to be conducted remotely.
- (l) Minimize the use of shared lab equipment and shared lab tools and create protocols for disinfecting lab equipment and lab tools.
- (m) Provide disinfecting supplies and require workers to wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
- (n) Implement an audit and compliance procedure to ensure that cleaning criteria are followed.
- (o) Establish a clear reporting process for any symptomatic individual or any individual with a confirmed case of COVID-19, including the notification of lab leaders and the maintenance of a central log.
- (p) Clean and disinfect the work site when a worker is sent home with symptoms or with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
- (q) Send any potentially exposed co-workers home if there is a positive case in the facility.
- (r) Restrict all non-essential travel, including conference events.
Any office that is operating when work-at-home is not an option must (per EO 2020-91):
- (a) Assign dedicated entry point(s) for all employees to reduce congestion at the main entrance.
- (b) Provide visual indicators of appropriate spacing for employees outside the building in case of congestion.
- (c) Take steps to reduce entry congestion and to ensure the effectiveness of screening (e.g., by staggering start times, adopting a rotational schedule in only half of employees are in the office at a particular time).
- (d) Require face coverings in shared spaces, including during in-person meetings and in restrooms and hallways.
- (e) Increase distancing between employees by spreading out workspaces, staggering workspace usage, restricting non-essential common space (e.g., cafeterias), providing visual cues to guide movement and activity (e.g., restricting elevator capacity with markings, locking conference rooms).
- (f) Turn off water fountains.
- (g) Prohibit social gatherings and meetings that do not allow for social distancing or that create unnecessary movement through the office.
- (h) Provide disinfecting supplies and require employees wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
- (i) Post signs about the importance of personal hygiene.
- (j) Disinfect high-touch surfaces in offices (e.g., whiteboard markers, restrooms, handles) and minimize shared items when possible (e.g., pens, remotes, whiteboards).
- (k) Institute cleaning and communications protocols when employees are sent home with symptoms.
- (l) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including a customer, supplier, or visitor) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the office.
- (m) Suspend all nonessential visitors.
- (n) Restrict all non-essential travel, including in-person conference events.
Any operating restaurant or bar must (per EO 2020-91):
- (a) Limit capacity to 50% of normal seating.
- (b) Require six feet of separation between parties or groups at different tables or bar tops (e.g., spread tables out, use every other table, remove or put up chairs or barstools that are not in use).
- (c) Create communications material for customers (e.g., signs, pamphlets) to inform them of changes to restaurant or bar practices and to explain the precautions that are being taken to prevent infection.
- (d) Close waiting areas and ask customers to wait in cars for a call when their table is ready.
- (e) Close self-serve food or drink options, such as buffets, salad bars, and drink stations.
- (f) Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signage on walls to ensure that customers remain at least six feet apart in any lines.
- (g) Post sign(s) at store entrance(s) informing customers not to enter if they are or have recently been sick.
- (h) Post sign(s) instructing customers to wear face coverings until they get to their table.
- (i) Require hosts and servers to wear face coverings in the dining area.
- (j) Require employees to wear face coverings and gloves in the kitchen area when handling food, consistent with guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
- (k) Limit shared items for customers (e.g., condiments, menus) and clean high contact areas after each customer (e.g., tables, chairs, menus, payment tools, condiments).
- (l) Train employees on:
- (1) Appropriate use of personal protective equipment in conjunction with food safety guidelines.
- (2) Food safety health protocols (e.g., cleaning between customers, especially shared condiments).
- (3) How to manage symptomatic customers upon entry or in the restaurant.
- (m) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including an employee, customer, or supplier) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the store.
- (n) Close restaurant immediately if an employee shows multiple symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, atypical shortness of breath, atypical cough) and perform a deep clean, consistent with guidance from FDA and the Center for Disease Control. Such cleaning may occur overnight.
- (o) Require a doctor’s written release to return to work if an employee has a confirmed case of COVID-19.
- (p) Install physical barriers, such as sneeze guards and partitions at cash registers, bars, host stands, and other areas where maintaining physical distance of six feet is difficult.
- (q) To the maximum extent possible, limit the number of employees in shared spaces, including kitchens, break rooms, and offices, to maintain at least a six-foot distance between employees.
Webinars
We Don't Have A Work From home Policy...Now what?
During the global COVID-19 (or Coronavirus) outbreak, businesses are facing the dual challenge of how to transition their employees to remote work while simultaneously trying to create their own work from home policies.
Axios HR’s John Sanford breaks down the things business owners need to prioritize, what to do if they don’t have a work from home policy, and other resources for both business owners and their employees that will help to keep “business as usual”, business as usual.
Why Small Businesses Grow 2X Faster with Co-Employment
Many West Michigan businesses are regaining control of their time through co-employment partnership.
Discover the specifics of a co-employment partnership, and learn about the costs, benefits, and the ideal time to start co-employment. PLUS, click “Download Now” to get the webinar slides!
Co-Employment: The Key to Growth
Learn how businesses in West Michigan are using a co-employment partnership to reduce turnover, outpace competitors and minimize risk.
Discover in-depth how co-employment actually works, and hear from an Axios HR customer that is using this strategy to scale successfully. PLUS, click “Download Now” to get the webinar slides!
The Importance of Manager Training
Uncover specific programs and planning methods for delivering manager training, and how this minimal investment can produce HUGE results in productivity, engagement and retention for small businesses.
PLUS, click “Download Now” to get the webinar slides!
Successful Staffing Strategies
Learn about how new tools and techniques are changing the way that people fine meaningful work in West Michigan.
This webinar addresses the best technologies, tactics and processes needed to build a cohesive and successful staffing strategy. PLUS, click “Download Now” to get the webinar slides!
Building a Successful Culture
This webinar is designed to support HR professionals, small business owners and others in building successful organizations that attract, retain and develop top talent.
PLUS, click “Download Now” to get the webinar slides!
E-Kits & Tools
How to Hire Successfully
Recruiting processes have grown in complexity. This is mostly driven by the variety of talent pool sources and the strong impression your process gives candidates.
Click “Download Now” below to learn each detailed step of the recruiting process, and get your copy of the PDF tool!
Handling Difficult Employees and Termination
Hiring employees is expensive, but lawsuits caused by improperly handling a difficult termination can cost much more.
Before you make the decision to fire a difficult employee, it is important to protect yourself and your business from a lawsuit.
Click “Download Now” below to learn the necessary steps to protect yourself and the company when terminating an employee, and get your copy of the PDF tool!
Successful Employee Onboarding
If you have often felt like your onboarding process is an eternity away from the best thing since sliced bread, we have two things to say: One, you are not alone. Two, you are in the right place.
Discover how to develop more reliable, productive, and engaged employees through a fine-tuned and supportive onboarding system.
Click “Download Now” below to get your free copy of the PDF tool now!
White Papers
Successful Staffing Strategies
Strategy, mission, vision, and values. What do they have in common? Answer: they all contribute to creating your company’s culture. If aligned just right, you can set yourself up for higher employee engagement, better productivity, and a profitable future.
But how do you maintain and manage that culture?
Click “Download Now” below to discover simple strategies tailor-made for managing culture, PLUS get your free copy of the white paper!
The Complete Guide to Finding Hidden Employment Costs
As any company grows, it becomes more difficult to handle all of the employment costs involved. Managing all of these challenges well is incredibly difficult and leaves little time for thinking about cost management.
Click “Download Now” below to get the full white paper and discover how to masterfully manage your costs!
Cracking the Culture Code
Strategy, mission, vision, and values. What do they have in common? Answer: they all contribute to creating your company’s culture. If aligned just right, you can set yourself up for higher employee engagement, better productivity, and a profitable future.
But how do you maintain and manage that culture?
Click “Download Now” below to discover simple strategies tailor-made for managing culture, PLUS get your free copy of the white paper!
Creating a Caring HR Function
Effectively caring for employees requires you to set-up HR functions for success. There are three primary challenges that we see impacting the ability of an organization to meet the needs of their employees, managers, and leaders.
Click “Download Now” below to get the full white paper and learn to solve all three challenges!
