When it comes to dealing with communicable disease-related issues within the workplace, planning is everything. What kinds of things might an employer do to lessen the impact of a communicable disease disaster on their business? Join this panel of experts as they explore these topics: (1) FFCRA-eligibility, hardship waivers, benefits required; (2) Increased employer medical screening, testing & temperature taking; (3) Managing remote work, how to assess eligibility for remote work (job descriptions, accommodations, electronic access); (4) Workplace communication--HIPAA, privacy, etc. Part of the webinar series: PROTECTING YOUR EMPLOYEE ASSETS: THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP 2022 See more at https://www.financialpoise.com/webinars/

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Practical and entertaining education for
attorneys, accountants, business owners and
executives, and investors.

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4. Disclaimer
The material in this webinar is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered
legal, financial or other professional advice. You should consult with an attorney or other
appropriate professional to determine what may be best for your individual needs. While
Financial Poise™ takes reasonable steps to ensure that information it publishes is accurate,
Financial Poise™ makes no guaranty in this regard.
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5. Meet the Faculty
MODERATOR:
Charles Krugel - Law Offices of Charles Krugel
PANELISTS:
Max Barack - The Garfinkel Group, LLC
Helen Bloch - Law Offices of Helen Bloch, P.C.
Michelle Marks- Marks Employment Law
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6. About This Webinar - The Impact of
Communicable Diseases, Including Coronavirus,
on the Workplace
When it comes to dealing with communicable disease-related issues within the workplace,
planning is everything. What kinds of things might an employer do to lessen the impact of a
communicable disease disaster on their business? Join this panel of experts as they explore
these topics: (1) FFCRA-eligibility, hardship waivers, benefits required; (2) Increased
employer medical screening, testing & temperature taking; (3) Managing remote work, how to
assess eligibility for remote work (job descriptions, accommodations, electronic access); (4)
Workplace communication--HIPAA, privacy, etc.
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7. About This Series- Protecting Your Employee Assets:
The Life Cycle of the Employment Relationship
If you have employees or advise companies with employees, this webinar series is for you!
No employer—whether large, medium or small—is immune from the reach of federal, state
and/or local employment laws and regulations. Now, more than ever, employers should
consider taking a proactive approach to auditing their employment practices and policies so
that they can better respond when issues arise. This webinar series approaches the
employer-employee relationship from beginning to end, with programs covering the most
important steps along the way, including hiring and onboarding, policy and procedure
development and training, wage and hour compliance, accommodating disabled employees,
conducting investigations and considerations associated with ending the relationship.
Each Financial Poise Webinar is delivered in Plain English, understandable to investors, business owners, and
executives without much background in these areas, yet is of primary value to attorneys, accountants, and other
seasoned professionals. Each episode brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations designed to
entertain as it teaches. Each episode in the series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes so that
participants will enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some, or all episodes.
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8. Episodes in this Series
#1: Welcome to the Team! Recruiting and Hiring, Including Restrictive Covenants
Premiere date: 1/25/22
#2: An Ounce of Prevention: Policies, Procedures and Proactivity
Premiere date: 2/22/22
#3: Show Them the Money: Wage & Hour Compliance
Premiere date: 3/29/22
#4: The Impact of Communicable Diseases, Including Coronavirus, on the Workplace
Premiere date: 4/20/22
#5: I Know What You Did Last Summer: Workplace Investigations
Premiere date: 5/24/22
#6: It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye: Minimizing Risk When Terminating Employees
Premiere date: 6/22/22
#7: Time for a Break: Managing Leaves of Absence and Accommodating Disabilities
Premiere date: 7/27/22
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9. Episode #4
The Impact of Communicable Diseases, Including
Coronavirus, on the Workplace
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10. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
• For the most part, it’s longer in effect; expired end of 2020.
• However, under certain circumstances it’s effective to 9/30/2021; The American Rescue
Act Plan of 2021
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11. Some of the Laws We’re Talking About
• Be careful. In addition to the federal government, every state or municipality may have their
own workplace leave and medical laws.
• Some of the key laws we’re talking about include:
✓ The Americans With Disabilities Act
✓ The Rehabilitation Act
✓ OSHA
✓ Workers Compensation
✓ Unemployment Benefits/Compensation
✓ The Family Medical Leave Act
✓ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
✓ COBRA
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12. EEOC Issued Guidance
• Employers can mandate employees received COVID vaccinations, and can request proof
of vaccination.
• Exclusions for conscientiously held religious beliefs or medically verified reason.
• Engage in 1-on-1 interactive discussions.
• Whether this applies to future pandemics will probably be determined on a case-by-case
basis.
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13. Medical Documentation
• Like any other medical documentation an employer receives, such as records from a
doctor obtained during the interactive process, an employee’s medical condition and any
test results or medical records received, is confidential.
• Information should be kept in a confidential file and the contents should not be shared with
other employees. Likewise, the identity of an employee who may have COVID-19 or
symptoms of COVID-19 cannot be disclosed in the workplace.
• This will probably apply to future pandemics as well.
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14. Objective Evidence Required
• An employer must reasonably believe based on objective evidence that an employee has
COVID-19 in order to disregard the ADA’s general prohibition on disability-related
inquiries. Objective evidence would include that an employee has a cough, chills, runny
nose, or shortness of breath.
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15. HIPAA
• What is HIPAA? Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule
• What is HIPAA? In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA
was passed by the U.S. Congress. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for
Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided the first nationally-
recognizable regulations for the use/disclosure of an individual's health information.
Essentially, the Privacy Rule defines how covered entities use individually-identifiable
health information or the PHI (Personal Health Information). 'Covered entities' is a term
often used in HIPAA-compliant guidelines.
• This definition of a covered entity is specified by [45 CFR § 160.102] of the Privacy Rule. A
covered entity can be a:
✓ Health plan;
✓ Healthcare clearing house; or a
✓ Healthcare provider.
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16. What are Employers’ Obligations Under the HIPAA
Privacy Rules if They are Contacted by Officials
Asking for Emergency Personal Health Information
about One of our Employees?
• The privacy restrictions mandated by HIPAA only apply to “covered entities” such as
medical providers or employer-sponsored group health plans, and then only in connection
with individually identifiable health information.
• Employers are typically not covered entities, so if you have medical information in your
employment records, it is not subject to HIPAA restrictions.
• Nevertheless, disclosures should be made only to authorized personnel, and care should
be taken even in disclosures to government personnel or other groups such as the Red
Cross.
• Further, you should be careful not to release information to someone until you have
properly identified them.
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17. About the Faculty
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18. About The Faculty
Charles Krugel - cak1@charlesakrugel.com
As a management side labor & employment attorney & human resources (HR) counselor,
Charles Krugel, www.charlesakrugel.com, has 25 years of experience in the field & has been
running his own practice for 20 years. His clients are small to medium sized companies in a
variety of industries. Charles has been lead negotiator for hundreds of labor & employment
agreements & contracts. Additionally, he’s litigated dozens of court cases, administrative
proceedings & arbitrations. In addition to providing traditional labor & employment law
services, he represents companies desiring to institute preventive & proactive HR functions.
These functions include policies & procedures, which help to efficiently & discreetly resolve
issues in-house & prevent lawsuits & complaints; they also help to reduce costs & act as
catalysts for increasing productivity & profits. Moreover, he’s frequently the subject labor &
employment law related TV, radio & print interviews.
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19. About The Faculty
Max Barack - max@garfinkelgroup.com
Max leads the Garfinkel Group, LLC's employment law practices groups and is a plaintiff-side
employment law attorney. He has been practicing law since 2013 and has spent the majority
of that time handling plaintiff-side employment matters. He concentrates his practice primarily
on representing plaintiffs in their claims of discrimination, as well as wage & hour violations,
whistleblower actions, & severance negotiations. He has extensive litigation experience, with
a focus on electronic discovery (ESI). He has represented & assisted employers in defending
discrimination & wage & hour disputes, including in department of labor investigations. He is a
member of the Board of Directors of the National Employment Lawyers Association of Illinois
& co-chair of its Legislative Committee. He is a regular contributor to the Chicago Bar
Association's @theBar blog, & is fluent in Spanish.
J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law
B.A., University of Michigan
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20. About The Faculty
Helen Bloch - hbloch@blochpc.com
In 2007, Helen Bloch founded the Law Offices of Helen Bloch, P.C., a general practice firm that is a Certified
Female Business Enterprise. In the employment & business context, Helen represents clients on all sides of the
employment relationship- individual employees, managers, or employers. Routinely Helen negotiates &
counsels clients on employment agreements, including non-competition, confidentiality, & severance
agreements. Also, she drafts employment handbooks & various policies & procedures. Helen will advise
businesses on best practices, including providing sexual harassment training. Helen has lectured on topics such
as gender role in the law, legal issues affecting small businesses, & legal rights & obligations from multiple sides
of the employer-employee relationship. For the past two years she has been selected for inclusion in Super
Lawyers in the area of employment law. Helen is President of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers & serves on
the Alliance of Bar Associations, where she assists in screening judicial candidates. Her other bar association
memberships include the Illinois chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, Women’s Bar
Association of Illinois, & the Illinois State Bar Association. An active National Association of Women Business
Owner’s (NAWBO) member, Helen leads NAWBO’s Lincoln Park Business Exchange Group.
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21. About The Faculty
Michelle Marks - michelle@marksemploymentlawfirm.com
Michelle founded Marks Employment Law after fourteen years of practicing management-side employment law for Jones Day
and Epstein, Becker & Green, and also working as the Employment Practices Director of S&C Electric, a large manufacturing
company in Chicago, Illinois. Michelle has extensive experience litigating employment claims, assisting clients with legal
compliance, conducting investigations and training, and implementing HR programs for employers. She has also frequently
spoken in national forums on various topics ranging from gender inclusion and the use of technology & AI in the workplace.
Michelle is especially passionate about enhancing workplace culture through diversity and increased leadership opportunities
for women and people of color. Michelle founded Marks Employment Law to be able to help employers fully realize their long-
term goals in these areas, while also attending to their everyday legal needs.
Michelle is a Texas native who has spent her entire professional career in Chicago. As a result, she is an expert on barbecue,
extreme weather, and beloved (but mediocre) sports teams. In her free time, Michelle loves to travel, cook, write, and spend
time with her husband and three sons.
Michelle is a proud member of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), the National Employment Labor Council
(NELC) and the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).
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22. Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions about this webinar that you did not get to ask during the live
premiere, or if you are watching this webinar On Demand, please do not hesitate to email us
at info@financialpoise.com with any questions or comments you may have. Please include
the name of the webinar in your email and we will do our best to provide a timely response.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material in this presentation is for general educational purposes
only. It has been prepared primarily for attorneys and accountants for use in the pursuit of
their continuing legal education and continuing professional education.
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24. About Financial Poise
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