The Advance Group decided to have some fun today as we kick off the “unofficial” beginning of summer. Check out our team wearing some of their favorite Hawaiian Shirts, looks like everyone is ready for the holiday weekend!
Happy Memorial Day from our team to yours!
#lovemyjob #TheAdvanceGroup
To celebrate Tara Robinson’s 10th year with The Advance Group, we sat down with her for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q: What charity do you support?
A: Covenant House provides housing and supportive services to youth facing homelessness. Incorporated in 1972, Covenant House has been leading the effort to help homeless kids. And today, they are the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas that provides food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and an array of other important services to homeless, throwaway, and runaway kids.
Q: What would you like remembered about you?
A: Making people happy, being fun to be around, & being a genuine person.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self?
A: Pay attention in school & really strive to learn as much as you can, concentrate on your health and mental well being and don’t take anything for granted.
Tara is the Regional Business Development Manager and works in our Southgate & Monroe branches. Happy Anniversary, Tara!
To celebrate Dan Haller’s 7th year with The Advance Group, we sat down with him for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q: What brings you the greatest joy?
A: Being a dad.
Q: What is on your bucket list?
A: I’d like to visit all 50 states.
Q: What’s your favorite band?
A: Van Halen, yes I know it’s not 1984 anymore.
Dan is a Staffing Specialist and works in our Sylvania branch. Happy Anniversary, Dan!
To celebrate Kaydee Forgette’s 2nd year with The Advance Group, we sat down with her for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q: What are the last three items you purchased on your credit card?
A: L’ange hair products/ hair tools, clothes & fall throw pillows.Q: What’s your favorite holiday?
A: My favorite holiday is actually a tie between Christmas and Halloween.Q: What’s your favorite band?
A: The Beatles
Kaydee is a Staffing Coordinator and works in our Sylvania and Monroe branches. Happy Anniversary, Kaydee!
To celebrate Renee Trombly-DuBois’s 6th year with The Advance Group, we sat down with her for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q: What is the best advice you’ve been given?
A: “Just Because Life Gives You A Cactus, That Doesn’t Mean You Need To Sit On It”
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I love spending time with family and friends and being outdoors. That could include going on a long walk at the state park, sitting on my deck enjoying a book or a glass of wine, or sitting around the bonfire with family/friends.
Q: What pet would you love to have?
A: The better question is what pet wouldn’t I love to have?!?! I am a HUGE animal lover! If I could, I would run a rescue of some kind. I’d love to take in senior dogs from local shelters and let them live out their final years in a loving home. Another dream of mine would be to live on a big piece of land with horses, alpaca, llamas, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, and more! But for now, I have a dog and her name is Lexi Lu.
Renee is a Staffing Specialist and works in our Monroe branch. Happy Anniversary, Renee!
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires certain employers to provide paid sick leave or expanded family medical leave to employees for specific reasons related to COVID-19. The Act affords: (1) two weeks of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined; and (2) two weeks of paid leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because of a need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or care for a child whose school or childcare provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. Employees who have been employed for at least thirty days are entitled to an additional ten weeks of paid leave where an employee is unable to work because of a need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or care for a child whose school or childcare provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
Covered private employers are those with fewer than 500 employees in the United States. Temporary workers are protected by the FFCRA if either the staffing company or the staffing company client is a covered employer. This means that the temporary worker is entitled to leave under the FFCRA and may sue for backpay, compensatory damages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, pre- and post-judgment interest, injunctive relief, and reinstatement if the FFCRA is violated.
Michigan House Bill 6032, which was signed into law by Governor Whitmer on October 28, 2020, prohibits employers from discharging, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against an employee, including temporary employees, who is absent from work because they are experiencing symptoms of, or have tested positive for, COVID-19, or had close contact with an individual who displays symptoms of, or tested positive for, COVID-19. Employees lose this protection if they fail to make reasonable efforts to schedule a COVID-19 test within three days after receiving a request from their employer to get tested. Employees are further protected from retaliation for opposing a violation of the law in the workplace or for reporting health violations related to COVID-19.
Employees, including temporary employees, may seek injunctive relief, money damages, or both. These protections are applied retroactively to March 1, 2020 and the size of the employer is irrelevant.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“MIOSHA”) implemented additional rules for employers effective October 14, 2020. Under the new MIOSHA rules, businesses resuming in-person work in Michigan are required to develop a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, and to train employees on those policies and procedures. Further, employers must provide non-medical grade face coverings to their employees at no cost. Employers are responsible for enforcing mask mandates when employees cannot consistently maintain six feet of separation from others or are in shared spaces, including in-person meetings and in restrooms and hallways. Industry specific requirements for certain industries were also implemented. MIOSHA has already issued citations and penalties to a number of employers for failure to adhere to these requirements.
Individuals and businesses in Michigan receive a liability shield if they comply with COVID-19-related government orders and statutes. Under Michigan House Bill 6030, employers are immune from liability for a COVID-19-related claim as long as the employer complied with COVID-19-related directives. Immunity will not be denied for “an isolated, de minimis deviation from strict compliance,” meaning the employer is rewarded for a good faith effort to comply with regulations.
Michigan House Bill 6031 provides immunity from liability under MIOSHA for an employee’s exposure to COVID-19 to an employer operating in compliance with COVID-19-related regulations. Similar to HB 6030, “isolated, de minimis deviation from strict compliance” does not defeat the employer’s immunity. Both bills were signed by the governor on October 28, 2020.
Employers should ensure they are complying with all rules, regulations, and orders related to COVID-19 to minimize legal exposure and ensure they will receive the liability shield protections afforded by the recent Michigan House Bills. Using temporary employees instead of hiring an employee directly does not shield employers of that liability. Compliance includes strict enforcement of safety rules for all employees, including temporary employees, and refraining from any conduct that could be considered retaliatory following an employee’s absence for reasons related to COVID-19.
This article was written by:
Lynn V. Luther
Attorney at Law
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To celebrate Alayna Starrett’s 5th year with The Advance Group, we sat down with her for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q:What is on your bucket list? So many things!
A: Here is a start: Learn Spanish, go on an African Safari (preferably with Jack Hannah ?), participate in a Polar Plunge
Q:What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Garden! It’s a new-ish hobby and I have a lot to learn but being outside and watching my flowers and plants grow and flourish is so rewarding. I love being able to eat and share the healthy things I grow from seeds!
Q: What’s your favorite band?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Ever since I started making mix tapes when I was a kid (literally wait for a song to come on the radio to record on a cassette tape), I’ve been a super fan and was fortunate enough to see them in concert quite a few times before Tom Petty passed away. Their music makes me happy every time I hear it!
Alayna is in Business Development and works in our Sylvania branch. Happy Anniversary, Alayna!
To celebrate Brenda Frank’s 13th year with The Advance Group, we sat down with her for a Q & A session. Here are a few highlights to enjoy:
Q: What quote do you live by?
A: It is what it is
Q: What’s your favorite song?
A: Unforgettable
Q: What’s your favorite holiday?
A: Halloween
Brenda is a Staffing Coordinator and works in our Sylvania branch, though she has been referred to as our Director of First Impressions. Happy Anniversary, Brenda!
