News From PCCA...

The following information was sent to PCCA by Greg Guidry, of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Guidry spoke at PCCA's 2019 Mid-Year Meeting and is a regular contributor to the PCCA Journal.

Due to the mountain of information in our COVID-19 Resource Center, we’ve reorganized it by topic and made it more user friendly. It contains new updates from the U.K. and Canada, as well as a summary of OSHA's New Enforcement Guidance and our regularly updated Chart Summarizing Both State & Local Closure Orders and Chart Summarizing Orders to Screen Employees for Symptoms & Provide Protective Measures.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to report that we are developing a comprehensive Return to Work Guide, including numerous checklists and templates you’ll need to help restart normal operations safely and in compliance with the emerging state and local orders mentioned above. More to come next week on that. As always, we have numerous upcoming webinars, including D&I and Employee Engagement Strategies During the Pandemic

Given the current prevalence of a remote workforce, it’s important to remember that the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act requires employers obtaining e-signatures on employment-related documents that are required by law to be provided in writing to do two things in order for the e-signatures to be valid:  (1) electronically provide e-signature disclosures and (2) obtain the individual’s electronic consent to use e-signatures. Many well-known e-signature providers fail to satisfy the technical requirements, and we have begun to see claims alleging an agreement was never actually signed because it did not comply with the E-SIGN Act. For help with compliance with the E-SIGN Act, go to https://ogletree.com/solutions/compliance-solutions/od-comply/e-signatures/.

The Ogletree Deakins COVID-19 Resource Center is at https://ogletree.com/coronavirus-covid-19-resource-center/.