Workplace safety regulations are getting stricter. Effective January 1, 2022, California Senate Bill 606 will dramatically expand OSHA’s enforcement powers, meaning stringent fines for employers who fall foul of their OSHA compliance responsibilities. And although the new law is state-level, California tends to set the bar when it comes to workplace safety. So, employers coast to coast had better take note.

Below, learn what changes are ahead, why the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws are coming, and how to turn workplace safety into a profitability driver at your company.

What types of violations will be subject to the new OSHA fines?

There are two new categories of violations – “Enterprise-wide” and “Egregious.” Senate Bill 606 creates a presumption that an “enterprise-wide” violation has been committed if an employer has a written policy or procedure that violates current OSHA workers’ rights, or, if there’s a pattern or practice of the same on-site health and safety violation involving more than one location. (Things like known hazards that employers haven’t taken action to fix, persistently high worker injury or illness rates, or a record of consistently working people over 60 hours a week.)

Why is this change a big deal for companies operating in California?

Because the fines are massively more expensive! Traditionally, when Cal/OSHA found an on-site health and safety violation, it would fine an employer for that instance only. But now, it can slap fines on multiple sites based on one violation – and for every time an employee is exposed – without investigating other sites or observing other violations. And considering that each violation can incur fines up to $124,709, that’s a huge multiplier effect.

Why should employers outside of California pay attention?

California is known as a leader in worker rights. As such, labor laws often start in California and move on out to the East Coast. Senate Bill 606 is one of a whole host of new Californian labor laws that come into play next month. Employers across America should take note and make adjustments to comply with California safety standards.

What’s the reasoning behind this new law?

Today’s labor crunch means unprecedented safety challenges for American employers. And an alarming uptick in workplace-related injuries, accidents, and illnesses. In the scramble to fill millions of jobs, we’re seeing multiple staffing companies operating on the same shop floors. This makes it difficult for employers to ensure that all workers are pre-screened, skill-tested, and drug and background checked. Unfortunately, this has meant that workplace accidents and illnesses are on the rise. And that’s why we’re seeing more stringent on-site health and safety measures to uphold OSHA workers’ rights.

What can employers do to get ahead of the changes?

Employers with strong on-site health and safety cultures will already be one step ahead in complying with the California safety standards. Ensuring staffing solutions are streamlined and well-managed is paramount. Adecco is the ideal partner for employers navigating this minefield because we’re just as invested in worker safety as they are. We keep abreast of every piece of Cal/OSHA news and send our safety team out and offer on-site training to ensure ongoing OSHA compliance.

“At Adecco, we’re experts in helping employers with large contingent workforces and multiple staffing vendors in complying with California safety standards and OSHA workers’ rights,” says Susan Shemanski, Vice President of Risk Management at Adecco USA. “We have a great safety team who can help identify areas of concern, and train on-site teams and managers.”

Visit Adecco USA for more advice on all aspects of building a safe, healthy, and inclusive workplace. From helping you get your workers safely back to a physical workplace, to promoting mental health at work, to sourcing temperature takers, we can help you build the resilient, flexible, and engaged workforce you need.

Visit our employer resources pages for articles, white papers, case studies and more. And talk to us about making your workforce the best it can be.

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The post Big violations, big fines: What to know about California’s new OSHA laws appeared first on Paragon Strategic Staffing.

Pent-up consumer spending is roaring back after 18 months of disruption. But the supply chains that crisscross the world are woefully tangled, threatening shortages in everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to semiconductors to toilet paper. Below, we unpack the supply chain crisis and offer our advice on getting your business – and your people – through a holiday season riddled with complications.

What’s driving the crisis?

COVID-related factory closures and distribution bottlenecks on the other side of the world are clashing with rebounding US consumer spending and rising geopolitical tensions. An unprecedented labor and skills shortfall in the US means getting goods out of the ports and inventory into stores is chaotic. More than 70 percent of all goods consumed in America move by trucks at some point in the supply chain, yet, there’s a national truck driver shortage. The result? ‘Containergeddon‘ at American ports, and a holiday season marked by fewer deals, soaring prices, and out-of-stocks.

What’s the impact on sales?

Holiday spending could hit $1.3 trillion this year, a 7% to 9% increase on 2020 (11% to 15% in eCommerce). Shoppers are ordering stuff in record numbers, but it is another story when they’ll actually get it. And while consumers can expect great deals once the containers are unloaded, that may not come until next year.

How’s it affecting retailers?

They had to start Christmas early. Generally, Black Friday marks the start of the season, but stores were pushing holiday promotions forward this year to as early as mid-September. Big box retailers like Costco, Home Depot, Ikea, and Walmart have resorted to chartering their own cargo ships to avoid delays and soaring freight costs. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, don’t have this kind of clout. A small retailer might have only one pallet in one container on one vessel, but that pallet could represent next quarter’s payrolls. Inflated freight costs are wiping out their margins, just as delays are wiping out their inventories.

What’s the government doing about it?

On October 13, President Biden announced new measures to ease the crisis, including a new round-the-clock working pattern at ports, railroads, and other connected services. But, as we’ve been reporting, the labor market is in a state of rapid flux, following 22 million jobs lost in just two months. While critical players like the longshore and warehouse union (ILWU) have promised to work extra shifts, they’re not the only workers vital to getting our supply chains moving again. For that, we need to double down on restarting all the other parts of the labor market that came to a shuddering halt last year.

And what can businesses do?

Start holiday hiring early. (Very early.)
Half of US consumers plan to have their 2021 holiday shopping done by Cyber Monday (29 November). Businesses across the supply chain should have their seasonal workers lined up early.

Recruit for non-traditional shift patterns
Finding workers willing to work unusual hours is critical to solving the supply chain crisis. Our highways are less crowded in the evenings, and cargo moves out of ports much faster than during the day. But hiring for these working patterns is tricky and can often involve higher pay rates. A professional staffing agency can help strike a balance between optimum pay, due diligence, and speed-to-hire.

Look after your people
The holidays are an 8–12 week season. If you don’t take on extra staff, you’re likely to exhaust your current workforce. Driven by burnout, long hours, and customer hostility, millions are deciding that jobs all along the supply chain are not worth the effort, wage hikes or not. Employers need to get creative in their attraction and retention strategies, invest in wellbeing, appeal to candidates’ top motivators, and nurture a healthy work-life balance.

Optimize wages
The current crunch is pushing up consumer prices by as much as 20% this holiday season, canceling out many pay rises. Even with weak hiring in September, we saw strong wage growth. (Walmart just gave its warehouse workers a temporary pay raise of $1-5 more per hour through January 2022.) A pay increase is usually way cheaper for employers than the downstream outages that staff shortages inevitably cause.

At Adecco, we are stepping up to address the root causes of America’s skills gap and labor crunch, which overlap the current supply chain crisis. We’re investing in training people right here in America, including apprenticeships and work-based learning in critical industries like manufacturing. And we’re committed to providing thought leadership on the issues impacting the American workforce, like the upcoming infrastructure bill.

Learn how we helped a global transportation and logistics leader quickly recruit talent for last year’s peak season. Find out how our transportation hiring specialists are finding new drivers to meet spiking demand while taking the heat off tired workers. Or talk to us for tailored advice for you.

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These days, retailers aren’t just in battle for consumer dollars. They’re going to war for seasonal workers. Job seekers have enormous choice and that puts employers under pressure to hire the best temporary staff as early as possible. Just consider that last year, Amazon went on a hiring spree to recruit 100,000 seasonal workers for processing holiday orders.

Many industry players pull in the bulk of their annual profit in the last quarter, so adequate staffing during this time can make the difference between a successful year and a disastrous one. While the war for good workers has never been tougher, pent-up demand and projections of a new ‘roaring twenties’ economy means rich pickings are in store for retailers who get it right.

Read on for our five tips for seasonal hiring success:

Tip 1: Above all, start early!

It’s not enough just to put a few ads out for seasonal labor a month or so before you need your workers to start. You’ll need to be systematic about which types of workers you’re targeting. And don’t forget – COVID-19 has changed the very nature of peak period planning, from ‘back-to-school’ to potentially another virtual Christmas. At Adecco, we are experts in quickly mobilizing huge numbers of temporary staff and our recruiters will act decisively to secure the holiday talent you need.

Tip 2: Understand the complex dynamics of today’s market

According to McKinsey, COVID-19 catapulted the retail industry through 10 years’ worth of change in 90 days. Many retailers were forced to lay off sizable chunks of their workforces. At the same time, stimulus checks, an oversupply of jobs and a hesitant U.S. workforce has sent wages and benefits soaring. But there are opportunities for employers, too. Hundreds of thousands of people were left out of work in other sectors, and they can potentially be re-deployed and inject some diversity of thinking into your workforce. Working with a top staffing partner can help you stay creative in attracting the right workers with the right offer thanks to resources like our free payrate calculator.

Tip 3: Don’t underestimate the administrative burden

Seasonal hiring helps you scale your teams without overburdening your permanent staff. But vetting applicants, scheduling interviews and processing hiring paperwork takes considerable time and resources. This means diverting your core team – from HR and recruitment, to finance to corporate counsel – away from your regular business for weeks at a time. What’s more, uncertainties around stimulus support, lockdowns and ever-shifting regulations make operational planning difficult. Learn more from this case study about how we rapidly deployed workers when our retail client needed an urgent ramp-up.

Tip 4: Allay COVID-19 fears through meticulous safety protocols

Recent research suggests that candidates are still facing tough decisions when it comes to returning to work, with millions citing COVID-19 fears. To create a workplace where everyone feels safe, we have produced a range of resources to help you keep your people infection-free during the ongoing pandemic. You can also access our specialized staffing offerings like temperature takers, or visit our business continuity page, designed to reassure our clients and associates of our ongoing commitment throughout the pandemic.

Tip 5: Take the load off permanent staff

Now, more than ever, employers need to protect their current staff. Work-related mental health issues and physical health problems are on the rise. Do employers really want to keep pressing permanent associates to deal with exponential increases in throughput, with all the stress and physical strain that entails? Do they want to burden their finance and HR teams with the relentless uptick in volumes that comes with holiday time? At Adecco, we can help you lighten the load on your staff, while building a healthy workplace culture and – as a bonus – help you boost your retention stats, too.

To learn more about how we can help your business meet even the most challenging peak period staffing demands, download our Seasonal Hiring white paper. 

Visit our Employer Resources section for more helpful insights, and contact us if you have any staffing needs.

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