This Week's Show: Virtual Selling – Building Relationships Online
On Saturday, August 15, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Rick Gallegos, President & CEO of Dale Carnegie Tampa Bay , for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Rick discuss virtual selling and building relationships online. Rick is a specialist in developing...
This Week's Show: Cause Marketing and Employee Engagement
On Saturday, August 8, Tawny interviewed Rob Laplaca, Partner in Verrill's Litigation & Trial group and Chair of the Promotions group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Rob and Tawny discuss cause marketing and employee engagement. Rob practices in two primary areas: promotion law and...
This Week's Show: Beyond Stadium Status
On Saturday, July 18, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed John Brubaker, speaker and award-winning author of Stadium Status, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and John discuss his book on what every large corporation, small business, CEO, and entrepreneur should strive...
Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement: Third-Party Intervention Training (Part 5 of 12)
This is the fifth post in a 12-part series on how companies can show support for the Black Lives Matter movement by changing company policies and practices. This post focuses on the importance of third-party intervention training for employees and managers so that they have tools and resources to...
This Week's Show: Title VII Protects Sexual Orientation
On Saturday, July 11, Tawny interviewed Benjamin Ford, Partner in Verrill's Employment & Labor group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Ben and Tawny discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision, specifically how Title VII protects sexual orientation. Ben learned firsthand that the best product...
This Week's Show: Mental Resiliency in the Workplace
On Saturday, June 27, Tawny interviewed Kate Simpson, Co-author and Developer of Take Two: A Journal of New Beginnings , for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Kate and Tawny discuss building resilience at work, specifically how the Take Two journal came about and how it...
OSHA Publishes Return-to-Work Guidance; Reminder to be Mindful of Employee Medical Record Retention
OSHA has published Guidance on Returning to Work to assist employers in understanding their obligations under OSHA as they continue the process of re-opening and returning employees to work. Employers should review this document in conjunction with state and local regulations concerning re-opening, as well as the CDC Guidance...
This Week's Show: Become - The 5 Commitments of Purposeful Leadership
On Saturday, June 20, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Mark Hannum, Chief Research Officer of Linkage, Inc. and Author of Become: The 5 Commitments of Purposeful Leadership , for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Mark discuss his book on successful...
Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement: Implicit Bias Training (Part 4 of 12)
This is the fourth post in a 12-part series on how companies can show support for the black lives matter (BLM) movement by changing company policies and practices. This post focuses on implicit bias and the effect it has on the work environment and choices that leaders can make...
This Week's Show: Mass Biotech Boom
On Saturday, June 6, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Kevin O'Brien, CFP, Founder and President of Peak Financial Services and Author of Massachusetts Biotech Boom, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Kevin discuss his new book, Massachusetts Biotech Boom, about...
This Week's Show: Trusting Technology
On Saturday, May 23, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Graham Binks, Author of Trusting Technology, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Graham discuss his book, Trusting Technology, about adjusting to new ways of life and work and how technology provides...
This Week's Show: Overcoming Intercultural Issues in the Workplace
On Saturday, May 16, Tawny interviewed Liz Greason, Co-Owner of Maine Intercultural Communication Consultants, LLC, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Liz and Tawny discuss overcoming intercultural issues in the workplace. She lived in the Middle East for many years, where she taught students from...
This Week's Show: Learning From Your Failures
On Saturday, June 13, Tawny interviewed Robert Baldacci, MPA of Baldacci Consulting, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Robert and Tawny discuss his history and learning from failures. Bob brings a successful 30 year career in real estate, development and corporate finance. He has held...
Supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement: Anti-Discrimination Training (Part 3 of 12)
This is the third post in a 12-part series on how companies can support the Black Lives Matter movement through changes in company policies and practices. Our last post focused on reviewing and updating your EEO Policies. In this post we will focus on best practices in training managers...
Supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement: Update EEOC Policies (Part 2 of 12)
This is the second post in a 12-part series on how companies can show true support for the Black Lives Matter movement by changing company policies and practices. The focus of this post is to understand the role that a company’s EEOC policy plays in creating a safe work...
Showing True Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement Means Changing Company Policies
Statements of inclusion and solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement by companies are important, but not enough. What are some steps that you as a business owner or HR leader can do to change and implement policies that can lead to actual change? If you don’t already...
What will COVID-19 Liability Litigation Look Like for Consumer Facing Businesses?
The short answer is, no one knows right now because the issues arising from COVID-19 are extraordinarily rare and distinguishable from more typical claims against retail, restaurants, and similar consumer facing businesses. For example, when a patron experiences a slip and fall accident , food poisoning , a hot...
This Week's Show: Don't Forget General Obligations When Focusing On COVID-19
On Saturday, May 9, Tawny interviewed Elizabeth Johnston, Associate in Verrill's Employment & Labor Group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Liz and Tawny discuss the importance of not forgetting employers' general obligations in the midst of COVID-19. A regular contributor to Verrill’s Taking Care...
This Week's Show: Visual Leadership
On Saturday, March 28, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Todd Cherches, CEO and Co-founder of BigBlueGumball, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Todd discuss Todd's new book about visual leadership. Todd is also a three-time award-winning Adjunct Professor of leadership...
This Week's Show: Opportunity Under COVID-19
On Saturday, April 25, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Chris Cynkar, Franchise Consultant of FranChoice, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Chris discuss job opportunities and options during COVID-19. Chris Cynkar knows the challenges of finding the perfect business opportunity...
The NWCDN’s COVID-19 Benefits Survey: A State By State Analysis
The National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN), a nationwide and Canadian network of law firms, has published COVID-19 updates, including “COVID-19 Benefits Survey,” a state by state analysis of the pandemic layoffs and affects on benefits as of April 13, 2020. Beth Smith , a member of the NWCDN...
Can I Require Employees to be Tested for COVID-19 Before Entering the Workplace?

Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published guidance in response to this question and the agency’s answer was yes—“an employer may choose to administer COVID-19 testing to employees before they enter the workplace to determine if they have the virus.” (See Q. A.6). The EEOC noted that under...
This Week's Show: Intellectual Property for HR Professionals
On Saturday, April 18, Tawny interviewed Kelly Donahue, Partner in Verrill's Intellectual Property Group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Kelly and Tawny discuss intellectual property for HR professionals, including delving into trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patents. Kelly assists small and large businesses in...
This Week's Show: The FFCRA and CARES Act
On Saturday, April 4, Tawny interviewed Benjamin Ford, Partner in Verrill's Employment & Labor Group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Ben and Tawny discuss the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic based on information currently available. Topics covered include recent CARES Act and FFCRA...
This Week's Show: Training, Development, and Humanizing Recruiting
On Saturday, March 28, David Ciullo, co-host of HR Power Hour, interviewed Saïd Eastman, CEO and General Manager of JobsinME, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, David and Saïd discuss training and development, a key driver to employer retention and engagement. Founded in Maine, JobsInME...
COVID-19 Alert: State of Maine and City of Portland Issue Orders to Close Non-essential Businesses
On Tuesday March 24, 2020, both the City of Portland and the State of Maine issued comprehensive new limitations on business establishments in order to further limit the spread of the coronavirus. Both actions were aimed at limiting the operation of non-essential business and government operations, and continuing to...
BREAKING: Massachusetts and Connecticut Order Closure of Non-Essential Businesses
Massachusetts has joined an increasing number of states ordering the closure of non-essential businesses in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. On March 23, 2020, Governor Charles Baker signed COVID-19 Order No. 13 , which requires all businesses and organizations that do not provide “COVID-19 Essential Services” to temporarily...
Hiring During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What You Can Do
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, business—and hiring—must go on. As the EEOC continues to update its guidance regarding employment practices during the pandemic, here are common questions regarding how to implement legally-sound hiring practices while protecting your workplace. Q: May I screen job applicants for COVID-19, and if so...
Employer Obligations under the Revised Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) in response to COVID-19. Among other provisions, the Act gives a broad group of employees the right to emergency paid sick leave and also expands protections under the Family and Medical Leave...
To Test or Not to Test: Employer Considerations Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Q: I am concerned about employees coming to work with a fever—can I test employees’ temperatures before allowing them to work to avoid spreading the coronavirus? Verrill’s View: Maybe—but there are many factors to consider. Generally, taking an employee’s temperature would be a restricted medical examination, but employers may...
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