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In July, N.J. Spotlight News reported that gun owners in New Jersey are packing classes focused on applications for new carry permits — and lining up for instruction at shooting ranges so they can learn how to draw and fire a weapon safely. People want to enroll in open-carry classes since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for owners to apply for carry permits without having to first prove “justifiable need.”

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the Court overruled a strict New York gun licensing law.  The decision has already or will also likely affect similarly restrictive laws in a handful of other states, including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

“The decision may not mention the workplace, but because it will almost certainly lead to the presence of more guns in public, some employers are already on alert,” says John Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey.

According to Manolis Boulukos, an Indiana-based partner at Ice Miller LLP, cited in Law360, the ruling will probably be misinterpreted.

“I think there’s a reasonable likelihood that both employees and members of the public are going to misunderstand this decision, and they are going to conclude, or get that information from the internet, that this decision somehow allows them to carry a gun wherever they want to,” he said.

Workplace weapons bans are still lawful under the Court’s ruling and nothing restricts an employer’s right to prohibit employees from bringing firearms onto your premises, including company-owed vehicles, says Sarno

Some experts have also pointed to the general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which requires employers to provide a safe workplace.

Shortly after the Court decision, New Jersey further tightened the state’s already strict gun control laws with seven bills, from requiring additional training and registration to limiting ammunition and prohibiting .50-caliber rifles.

Results from Employers Association of New Jersey’s June 2022 Hybrid Workplace Survey show that over 90 percent of employer respondents utilized a hybrid workplace during the last two years and over 60 percent (either wholly or in partially) continue to do so now.

Hybrid work is usually thought of as some combination of remote and on-site work. According to respondents, 62 percent retain a hybrid or partially hybrid workplace.  About 14 percent have transitioned from hybrid to fully in-person.

Hybrid work, of course does not apply equally to all job categories.   Therefore, it is not surprising that the survey shows that mostly administrative, managerial, finance, IT and sales jobs are amenable to working remotely.

Challenges abound, including maintaining interpersonal connections, communications and trust to get the job done.

By far, better workplace balance and improved morale are the biggest benefits to hybrid work.

However, it is unclear whether business owners and executives embrace hybrid work. Improved morale is difficult to measure.   And only about two in ten respondents say that hybrid work has improved productivity or efficiency.

The workplace flexibility that allowed this massive shift to remote work was already gaining traction in certain environments well before COVID-19, and now it is unlikely that the world will return to pre-pandemic norms. How organizations adapt to this disruption will have significant, lasting implications for organizational success, however that success is measured.

Register now for Handling a Hybrid Workplace, July 20, 2022, 10am-11am

On May, 18, 2022, the Employers Association of New Jersey (EANJ) convened its 106th Annual Membership Meeting, the first in person meeting since March, 2020.  The following is an excerpt from the opening remarks by John Sarno, EANJ’s president.

2019 – New Jersey had achieved a “full employment economy” Unemployment 3.6 %, more job vacancies then people looking for work.

Biggest challenges faced by EANJ members were 1) finding skilled workers to fill jobs and 2) retaining skilled workers to operate the business.  Majority of members said that these issues were hitting he bottom line.

To say that the pandemic disrupted the workplace is an understatement.   Overnight, the biggest challenges were 1) ensuring the health and safety of the workplace, 2) managing a hybrid workplace 3) dealing with employee stress, mental health and wellness.

2019 – World Health Organization identified “burnout” as major contributor of occupational disease and workers reported work stress was at an all time high (downside of the full employment economy”  An EANJ seminar that year – Mental Health and Wellbeing: An HR Toolkit – 7 people attended

Employee wellbeing, always a back seat issue for most employers – became a top concern. Adjust priorities 2020-2021.  Biggest challenge for HR in 2020-2021 was to acquire and analyze new information.   HR has become permanently information-intensive, difficult for those who work part-time HR jobs.

Like many members, EANJ went virtual. This had to be done as legal and medical information were changing dramatically

April, 2020 – March, 2022,  EANJ staff delivered 17 COVID and COVID-related webinars – New Jersey’s ongoing response to the public health emergency, OSHA standards, CDC guidance,  ADA guidance, EEO guidance, FMLA, sick leave, COVID testing, vaccines and all the updates

2,050 people representing EANJ members attended

Other webinars covering HR Law and management topics – 1,047

Certificate Programs – HR Law, HR Administration – 120

Premier Courses – Strategic HR – 94 people

EANJ staff fielded 3,708 calls and emails form members – Health & Safety, Benefits Administration (disability and sick leaves)

WE. EANJ members and EANJ staff, STEPPED UP – mastering new subject matter at the same time as learning to work virtually, staying focused and managing our own stress and anxiety.

Where are we now?

Economy is about 95% back to pre-pandemic levels, even as the Corona Virus proliferates

Unemployment – 3.6% – prepandemic levels  

Top Concerns – 1) finding skilled workers to fill jobs and 2) retaining skilled workers to operate the business.  Majority of members say that these are  hitting he bottom line.

We know that we have gone through two years of disruption, dislocation, fear, stress, grief and anxiety

What have we learned?  Charles Darwin did not say that the strongest survive.  He said that the imperative of survival is adapting and learning.  Not going backwards, but going forward – with new skills and techniques

Even as COVID remains unpredictable –

What strategies can we utilize to address these persistent workforce challenges?
What new knowledge is necessary to be better at our jobs?
How do we create better workplaces?
How do we Re-imagine, Re-engage, Retain and Recruit in a new era?
What do leaders at all levels need to do now?

These are the questions we are going to try to answer this morning.

Questions for panelists

1.    Over the past two years, millions of people have decided to quit, retire or leave the workforce.  Some industries are more impacted then others. Throughout our surveys and focus groups before and during the pandemic, the importance of workplace culture came up repeatedly – as both an asset and a detriment.   Asked about their best asset for recruiting and retaining talent, many said “positive workplace culture.” Asked about their biggest challenge, many said “inflexible workplace culture.” How can workplace culture make or break a business?

2.    What role does training play in promoting a positive workplace? What would you recommend to an employer that does not want to go back to a pre-pandemic HR model?

3.    According to a Monmouth University Poll, 70%  of Americans say we must accept that COVID is here to stay.  What impact to you think this acceptance will have on the workplace?

4.    Business owners and executives must take direct responsibility for making workplace health, safety and wellness core values.  Would anyone disagree with that? Many employers are reluctant.  Many take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach.  Is there a business case that can be made?

5.    Pre-pandemic morale and engagement were at record lows pre-pandemic.  Who would like to comment on what strategies can be employed to increase morale and engagement.

Twelve dispensaries in New Jersey have been approved to sell cannabis items and products commercially. “Cannabis item” means any usable cannabis, cannabis product, cannabis extract, and any other cannabis resin.
 
Under the state law, employers can still conduct random and pre-employment drug tests for weed use and can still ban marijuana use at work. They cannot fire, discipline or refuse to hire someone solely because the result is positive.
 
To enforce their rules, however, employers must have a certified Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert witness impaired behavior by an employee and a positive drug test indicating presence of marijuana in a person’s system.

The use of experts who can identify impaired workers was supposed to give clarity to employers, according to John Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey.
 
But it is complicated by a challenge before the state Supreme Court over the training of police departments to use Drug Recognition Experts to identify impaired drivers.

The high court appointed a Special Master, Appellate Judge Joseph Lisa, to determine whether the use of Drug Recognition Experts is based on legitimate science or junk science. The case is expected to have ramifications in the workplace over the use of experts as a right of employers.

“Employers obviously don’t want drivers or machine operators stoned” says Sarno. “Nor do we want people handling money or medical records, or customer service, for that matter to have impaired judgment.”

The central question in the court case is whether evidence obtained by Drug Recognition Experts – which, in the case, included testimony that a person is admissible under the 1923 U.S. Supreme Court decision that rejected the scientific validity of a lie detector test.

“Right now we are in a wait and see moment on whether and how employers are going to test employers for marijuana,” says Sarno, noting that the pressure to sell cannabis commercially outweighed getting clarity for employers.

According to Bloomberg, 12,438 customers spent roughly $153 per purchase on the first day New Jersey authorized legal marijuana sales on April 21.

Click here for EANJ’s Employer Resource: Marijuana at Work

The labor market is stronger, tighter, hotter than it was before the pandemic but the problems faced by employers in hiring staff remain persistent, says John Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey.

With surveys and focus groups of employers in New Jersey before, during and now post-pandemic, the Association is presenting a compete overview at its Annual Meeting on May 18th.

Just before the pandemic, the state’s unemployment rate had fallen to a record low – 3.5 percent. According to Sarno, most employers report that they are concerned about employees leaving for other jobs. While this concern was spread among employers of all sizes and industries, the most acute concern was among employers with 50 or more employees.

Six out of ten employers expected a talent shortage and seven in ten expressed concern that experienced staff would quit for other jobs.

Even so, three-fourths of employers stated that they had no talent management strategy.

“It is a complicated picture. Job dissatisfaction was at record high and morale was at a record low and HR managers recognized that a positive work culture was the best way to retain valued employees.  But for many, fostering a positive work culture was derailed by the pandemic,” says Sarno.

Lacking a pre-pandemic strategy, employers’ primary method to retain valued employees relied on raising pay.

Focus groups during the pandemic showed more than half of employers laid off workers, reduced hours or cut pay.  Stress levels that were high before the pandemic skyrocketed during the pandemic, remaining high for nearly two years.

“Employers said that workers felt isolated and fearful and having a safe, positive workplace became a top priority,” says Sarno.

Presently, 99 percent of employer respondents to the Association’s most recent survey say they are or plan on hiring this year.  

And nine of ten are concerned about skilled and experienced employees quitting. And seven out of ten say they are facing the same recruitment problems as they were facing pre-pandemic.

“Again, the default retention strategy seems to be raising pay.  But as the only strategy, employers are tapped out, they are at a loss now without an alternate strategy,” adds Sarno.

So, what has the pandemic taught employers and can they learn new recruitment and retention strategies from the experience?

The Association’s Annual Meeting on May 18th will begin to answer that question.