In this week’s highlights we’ll cover what HR needs to know about Biden’s Latest Vaccine Mandate, 6 ways to support workplace well-being and how the EEOC is taking aim at bias in workplace artificial intelligence, algorithm tools.

Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Rule Is Released: What HR Needs To Know Now

With the deadline in early 2022, employers won’t have much time to implement their plans. Here are tips on where to start.

The Biden administration on Thursday released details of its long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine mandate rule for employers, lifting looming uncertainty for organizations and demanding that HR and company leaders act quickly to ensure their workers are vaccinated.

Employers with more than 100 employees will need to implement a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for their employees—and offer a weekly testing alternative to those who refuse or are unable to receive a vaccine—by Jan. 4, 2022, according to an emergency temporary standard issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employees who are not fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 must produce a verified negative test to their employers every week. Regardless of other dates, unvaccinated workers must begin wearing a mask at work as of Dec. 5. Workers also might have to bear the cost of weekly testing. Significantly, the guidance says that employers do not have to pay for testing.

To view the entire article by HR Executive click here.

6 Ways To Support Workplace Well-Being

Employee mental health could be HR’s biggest challenge and greatest hope these days.

More than 85% of employees said their workplace well-being declined since the start of COVID-19, according to a Harvard Business School study. The problems, to name a few: increased job demand, disconnection and disengagement.

Couple that with life’s issues, and it’s a bigger mess. About 85% of employees said their overall well-being went downhill. They feel isolated, lonely and often too stressed to take care of basic needs.

To view the entire article by HR Morning click here.

EEOC Takes Aim At Bias In Workplace AI, Algorithm Tools

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will launch an initiative aimed at rooting out bias created by artificial intelligence and other technologies used in hiring, EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows announced at an Oct. 28 event.
• The agency plans to reach out to “key stakeholders” to learn about algorithmic tools and their effect on employment. It will identify a number of best practices and publish technical assistance covering “algorithmic fairness and the use of AI in employment decisions.”
• “Bias in employment arising from the use of algorithms and AI falls squarely within the Commission’s priority to address systemic discrimination,” Burrows said. “While the technology may be evolving, anti-discrimination laws still apply.”

To view the entire article by HR Dive click here.

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