Coronavirus employment and operational issues March 24, 2020

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Coronavirus employment and operational issues
March 24, 2020

See webinar schedule below. Webinars have started.   Register now for Mitch Reitman - starting soon
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Coronavirus employment and operational issues

With events moving so quickly it’s hard to stay relevant.  I am writing this email on March 18, and it’s not scheduled to go out until March 23 [I don’t want to overwhelm you].  So, maybe the virus issue will be history by the time you read this, or, perhaps the advice will be old news or, hopefully not irrelevant because we are all roaming around as if on a Walking Dead set.  Here are a bunch of employment issues that keep coming up.

Coronavirus employment and operational questions

Ken
            Gov Cuomo [NY] is further limiting our exposure by shutting down nonessential businesses.   Does that include us that do fire, security and access?
Thank you,
  John

Response

            By definition life safety businesses should continue in operation.  That is not to say that all your personnel are essential.  It seems to me that providing burglar, fire, medical alert, environmental and other detectable events could be, and should be, included in essential services.  Non-security or fire services often provided by security integration companies would likely not qualify as essential, such as audio-video installations.

Ken
            Should I have a release for employees to come to work?  How about layoffs? Am I allowed to lay people off?  Somebody said I can’t with this new law.
John

Response

            A “release” from your employees is not necessary, or appropriate.  Employees who are not comfortable coming to work should be excused.  You should not put yourself in a position of “forcing” an employee to come to work and at the same time insisting on a release should they get ill, from Coronavirus or something else; perhaps a breakdown just from the stress.
            But you can terminate an employee if you are open and they don’t want to come to work, unless the employee has an Employment Contract, union or otherwise, that guarantees employment or has termination limitations.  For those employees who work “at will” they can be terminated for any or no reason, except the few illegal discriminatory areas that are protected by statute.  I am not aware, as I write this, of any law that affects discharge during this emergency situation.
            You can lay off employees.  They will qualify for unemployment insurance, which may raise your rates in the future.
            You cannot ask employees to work from home and then not pay them.  If your employee is salaried, rather than hourly, you have to continue paying them if they perform any work.  You can tell them to stop working, which is the same as firing them; they will qualify for unemployment.  You can re-hire, of course.

Ken
Are Central Stations and security companies considered essential?
Eric

Response

            Yes, but not all employees may be essential to continued operation, and they can be asked to stay home.
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Ken
            Would recommend, or is there any reason to release a "COVID-19" statement to our client base?  Liabilities for doing so or not doing so?   Any  special verbiage that we should use/avoid?
Thanks
Alan
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Response
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            There is no reason not to communicate with your customers.  Customers will be comforted knowing that their security and fire alarm company is available if needed.  They will also be comforted knowing that you have taken appropriate precautions to ensure and protect the safety of your employees.
            I am fairly certain that if you knowingly send an infected employee to a customer premises and that customer gets ill and traces it back to your employee, you will be, and should be, sued.  If you think your employee has been exposed do not send them to customers and do not expose your other employees.

Webinars Series 2020 - Register now

          We are pleased to offer the below FREE Webinars. Originally scheduled as Roundtable discussions at the ISC we are now opening up attendance in webinar format. Please sign up for one or more webinars and we hope you’ll participate in the discussion. Other webinars TBA
            For those of you who had a Free private meetings scheduled with Ken Kirschenbaum at the ISC show, please call Stacy Spector,Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304 to re-schedule the meeting via Skype
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When: March 20, 2020 at 1 PM ET
Topic: discussion on Errors and Omissions Insurance Claims and Risk Management
Presented by:  Bart Didden, Executive Claims Administrator, Security America and Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq
Who should attend: owners, managers
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/258940891371390211

When: March 23, 2020 at 11 AM ET
Topic: discussion on Taxes and Corporate issues for alarm companies relevant when selling or buying accounts
Presented by:  Mitch Reitman
Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Who should attend: owners, CFO
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7232585693958553346
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When: March 24, 2020 at 11AM ET
Topic: discussion on Selling or buying alarm accounts and RMR issues
Presented by:  Ron Davis and Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Who should attend: owners, CFO
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4456255062166732547
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When: March 26, 2020 at 11AM ET
Topic: discussion on the value of quality video contracts and services
Presented by:  Sharon Elder, VP Sales, USA Central Station
Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq
Who should attend: owners, COO, managers, technical staff
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3745137120793115395
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When: April 7, 2020 at 12 PM ET
Topic: discussion on the current state of the Financial/Capital Market Stability in the Security Industry and necessary agreements needed for security companies
Presented by:  Troy Iverson, VP of Sales, Brian Davis, CFO of AvantGuard Monitoring Centers
Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq
Who should attend: owners, CFO, managers,
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7558739325686839811

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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com