Elizabeth K. McManus and Lauri F. Rasnick attorneys in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, co-authored the checklist for employers, “Covid-19 & Workplace Violence,” published by Bloomberg Law.
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full checklist in PDF format):
The recent uptick of Covid-related retaliation claims shows that friction between employees and resulting frustrations due to Covid-19 are by no means hypothetical. For example, in recently filed retaliation cases, employees allege that when they have raised Covid-related complaints or concerns in the workplace, they have been told that their concerns are disruptive, blowing things out of proportion, or are manifesting unfounded “Covid anxiety.”
The allegations in such lawsuits reveal that when employees do not feel that their concerns about Covid are being heard, they may take matters into their own hands by, for example, photographing and confronting other employees to demonstrate perceived violations of required health and safety measures, or by sending emails to coworkers about the safety of the workplace. Employers must prepare for such disagreements, as they can lead to threatening, harassing, or intimidating behaviors towards one another, or even physical violence.
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