Please read the following important information
To all employees,
The number 1 issue for Richards Industrials is the Health and Safety of our employees! Therefore it is important that we continue following CDC guidelines on avoiding exposure to the virus. We will continue to invest in daily cleaning and semiweekly fumigation, and we ask that you all continue practicing social distancing, regularly washing hands, and avoiding touching your faces.
We also need to make sure we have a strong viable business after the Pandemic clears. We are doing everything we can to ensure that the business comes out of the Pandemic in as good a position as possible. We are doing this by managing our expenses as tightly as we can. In addition, we are pursuing Small Business Loans to help offset the anticipated lower volume of business while maintaining full employment for all employees. These are uncertain times and we have seen our incoming order rate begin to fall off as we have moved deeper into the crisis. It is hard to predict what the next few months will bring in terms of the flow of business. We are in good shape financially at the moment but we are being very careful with cash so that we can avoid the lay-offs and deep cuts that we are seeing other businesses and municipalities make. We have examined the stimulus package.
I know there are still many questions relating to how time-off during the Pandemic is being handled. We will be strictly following the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Expanded Family and Medical Leave Act, effective on April 1, 2020. Please see attached for a good summary for both.
COVID-19 Leave Request Form
EPSLA and EFMLA
A few questions that you might have are:
- If I am sick but don’t have COVID symptoms, how will this be handled? If you are sick, it is important to seek medical advice before you report to work, especially during the pandemic. Illnesses not related to COVID symptoms will continue to be handled on a case by case basis per our Attendance Policy.
- What about the time off prior to April 1, 2020 or if the company asked me to Quarantine but I was not sick? The EPSLA did not become effective until 4/1/2020. For those of you who were off work due to sickness or being quarantined prior to April 1, we would ask that you use vacation and personal days to offset those days. If you do not have enough vacation to cover those days, we as a company will pay any remaining off days at a rate of 60% of your base pay to help with any hardship that this situation may have caused.
- What if I have COVID symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who does? Stay home and seek advice from your doctor or the local health department. Directive from a healthcare provider about whether or not you should quarantine is key. If you need to be under quarantine, please return the attached Leave Request Form to me immediately.
- What if I have COVID symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who does? Stay home and seek advice from your doctor or the local health department. Directive from a healthcare provider about whether or not you should quarantine is key. If you need to be under quarantine, please return the attached Leave Request Form to me immediately.
Thanks,
Cheryl Neiheisel
513.379.3155 (Cell)
