Independent Banker - September 2020 - 70

" We have a lot of parents-
and single parents-in our
employee base, and many had
unexpected responsibilities.
Even if there were no new
needs, this [one-time bonus]
was a way to say 'thank you.' "
Mark Hanna, F&M Bank
for someone else or they don't have
an ideal work-from-home situation. ...
Really, we need to have this extreme
empathy and not have assumptions
about what's best for any individual. "
A Gallup poll conducted between
March 28 and April 2 bears out the
suggestion that employees are not
monolithic in their preferences.
Gallup found that almost 60% of
Americans who were working from
home would prefer to work remotely
" as much as possible " even after
the lockdown had ended, with 40%
preferring to return to the workplace.
Janet Olawsky, an attorney at
Jackson Lewis, points out that
even though community banks
quickly-and for the most part,
successfully-pivoted to working at
home, the return to traditional work
sites may be bumpier.
For community bankers
anticipating this transition, she
underscores the importance of
understanding all applicable laws.
For instance, employees who feel
unsafe in their working conditions
might report violations to OSHA
and stop coming to work. And
60 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q September 2020
under the ADA, employees with
medical conditions can request
workplace accommodation requests.
Olawsky predicts that working from
home may top the list of popular
accommodation requests.
Companies are only required to
provide reasonable accommodations
unless doing so poses an undue
hardship. Olawsky points out that
employers are going to have a
tougher case for denying these types
of requests once the lockdown ends.
" Now that we've been forced to work
from home, " she says, " people are
more confident that the workforce can
work remotely and be productive. "
Steven Klein, president and CEO
of $5 billion-asset Northfield Bank
in Woodbridge, N.J., was devising
a more formal work-from-home
policy when the coronavirus hit.
Based on recent experience, he says
that the policy will prioritize " safety,
adaptability and resilience. "
Klein continues: " We're looking to
have an adaptable model where in a
normal circumstance with no threats
of COVID, we're at 50% capacity.
And if there's a vaccine and little to
no threats, then maybe we'd be at
75% capacity. " In even the rosiest
scenarios, he anticipates getting rid of
25% of desks and creating more of " a
hoteling structure. "
Revisiting everything from sick
leave to vacation pay
Community bank managers have
only so much control over workplace
benefits. When it comes to sick pay,
for instance, many cities, counties,
and states have rules or regulations
dictating how an employer must
offer sick pay, says Jackson
Lewis's Nodes. She notes that the
federal government's Family First
Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
required private companies with
fewer than 500 employees to provide
two weeks of paid sick leave to an
employee who is unable to work
because the employee is quarantined
(pursuant to federal, state, or
Independent Banker - September 2020

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