December 16th - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has addressed the most common employer questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. As of now, there are currently no state or federal laws that prohibit employers from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment, however, employees can refuse to get the vaccine if they have certain medical conditions, challenge the mandate based on sincerely-held religious beliefs, or for disability-related reasons. If this occurs, the EEOC says that the employee cannot be excluded from the workplace, unless the employer can establish the unvaccinated employee poses a direct threat to themselves or others that cannot be eliminated by providing the employee a reasonable accommodation.
For more information on these new guidelines, and for answers to some common vaccine-related questions, we recommend referring to this blog post: https://www.saul.com/blogs/wise-workplace-initiatives-and-strategies-employers/frequently-asked-questions-workplace
Small Business Mayoral Forum Recap
The Small Business Advocacy Council and a robust number of chambers and organizations hosted a small business mayoral forum. This was a lively discussion about each candidate’s visions for supporting small businesses and neighborhood business districts. We want to thank all of the local chambers of commerce that partnered with us on this important forum.…
SBAC Women in Business: Roundtable on Small Businesses and Child Care
The SBAC Women in Business hosted a virtual roundtable with Chairman Edgar Gonzalez Jr. to discuss accessibility to affordable child care and small businesses. It was an insightful conversation and we sincerely thank Chairman Gonzalez for taking the time out of his busy schedule to join us and for championing this legislation! We look forward…
Welcome Our New BOD Member!
Welcome Sherry Jursa! We’re happy to welcome Sherry Jursa from PNC‘s Business Banking wing to the Empower Board. Sherry holds an MBA from Northern Illinois University and a BA from North Central College in Political Science. With over 15 years’ experience in banking, Sherry is a proven professional who strives to provide excellence while meeting…