Employers have an obligation to get rid of known hazards in the workplace, he says, and COVID-19 has proved to be a hazard unlike any other.   Article by Andrea Hsu on "All Things Considered", November 25, 2020.   Just a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, Holly Smith had already made up her mind. She was not going to reopen her restaurant to diners until there was a vaccine. She just didn't think it was safe. When she shared the decision with her staff, they asked: Would the vaccine be mandatory? Yes, she said. It would be.   "I'm not going to open until I can...

THE ASN OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED THURSDAY & FRIDAY THIS WEEK.   All of us at Available Staffing Network Wishes You a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

This is like deja vu all over again Yogi Berra   Two steps forward, one step back. Or is it one step forward, two steps back? I guess the answer to that is up to us. Obviously pandemic exhaustion is starting to set in and everyone is sick of the virus, sick of restrictions and sick of being afraid. But most of us would agree it's better than actually being sick.   In the early days of the pandemic, Rhode Island was leading the way, for the most part, in doing things right and doing them in a timely fashion. Then the lazy, hazy days...

Why is this time different?   In Superman's bizarro world, nothing seemed to make sense. Everything was the opposite of what was expected. It would seem that today's pandemic impacted economy, especially as it relates to hiring, would feel right at home in the Man of Steel's alternate universe.   (I would have used a Superman Bizarro World image, but I didn't think that D.C. Comics would like it.)   We have record unemployment, yet jobs go unfilled. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the September unemployment rate had decreased to 7.9% with the number of people unemployed down to 12.6 million. Among those...

Is the Break Room Gone?   One of the great things about almost any job is the people you meet. People who you otherwise would never know and, more importantly, never connect with. The workplace certainly isn't the great equalizer, but it can act as a social mixing pot. However, with work-from-home being implemented more and more, and workplace redesign intended to purposely keep us apart becoming the norm, getting to know our fellow employees is becoming harder and harder. Just when we think it can't get worst, now it looks like we're going to (at least now), lose our coffee breaks...