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Mark Adams can be reached at madams@joneswalker.com or 504.582.8258.

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A hurricane, natural disaster, or any other crisis in the workplace can bring a business to a screeching halt and devastate the lives of a business’s most valuable asset — its employees.

To minimize the impact of a natural disaster, companies should have various plans in place before disaster strikes, such as a crisis management plan, a communications plan, and a disaster response and recovery plan. These plans must take into account the effect a catastrophe may have on workers and include ways to help impacted employees return to work as soon as practical to ensure continued productivity of the workplace even in the face of personal loss. Any enacted plan should also consider the application of relevant federal and state laws to ensure compliance and avoid any employment-related lawsuits or any agency enforcement actions following a natural disaster.Continue Reading Planning for a Catastrophe – Tips for Ensuring Proper Communications

With hurricane season upon us, employers are justifiably concerned about the potential impact of a natural disaster on their business. A hurricane, natural disaster, or any other crisis in the workplace, can bring a business to a screeching halt and devastate the lives of a business’ most valuable asset, its employees. This article was first published in the wake of Hurricane Katrina based on lessons learned in managing through that crisis. These lessons continue to ring true year after year, crisis after crisis. Thus, we continue to update and republish this article each hurricane season.

To minimize the impact of a natural disaster, employers should have plans in place before disaster strikes, including, for example, a crisis management plan, a communications plan, and a disaster response and recovery plan. These plans must take into account the effect a catastrophe may have on workers and include ways to help impacted employees return to work as soon as practical to ensure continued productivity of your workplace even in the face of personal loss. Any enacted plan should consider the application of relevant federal and state laws to ensure compliance and avoid any employment-related lawsuits or any agency enforcement actions following a natural disaster.
Continue Reading Planning for a Catastrophe

With hurricane season upon us, employers are justifiably concerned about the potential impact of a natural disaster on their business. A hurricane, natural disaster, or any other crisis in the workplace can bring a business to a screeching halt and devastate the lives of a business’s most valuable asset, its employees.

To minimize the impact of a natural disaster, employers should have plans in place before disaster strikes, including, for example, a crisis management plan, a communication plan, and a disaster response and recovery plan. These plans must take into account the effect a catastrophe may have on workers and include ways to help impacted employees return to work as soon as practical to ensure continued productivity at the workplace following a natural disaster. Any enacted plan should consider the application of relevant federal and state laws to ensure compliance and avoid any employment-related lawsuits or any agency enforcement action following a natural disaster.
Continue Reading Planning for a Catastrophe

We first published this article in the Louisiana Employment Law Letter the month after Hurricane Katrina. We republished it following last year’s catastrophic flooding in Louisiana and are publishing it again now in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, as we believe its advice is timeless and as cogent as ever in the aftermath of any…

This article was published in the Louisiana Employment Law Letter a month after Hurricane Katrina. In the wake of the recent catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, we believe its advice is as cogent as ever.

A crisis in the workplace, whether the result of a natural disaster, terrorism, workplace violence, or other conflicts, can bring your business to a screeching halt and devastate the lives of the employees who are essential to your business’ existence. It’s only natural for business owners and managers to think immediately of the economic loss such a disaster can cause, particularly because the loss of a business usually translates into the loss of a livelihood for owners, managers, and employees. Your plan for responding to and recovering from a crisis must take into account the effect it will have on your workers and the ways you can help them become productive again, even in the face of personal loss.

Follow these guidelines to help your employees cope with the catastrophe and return to productive employment:

  • Communicate with employees as soon as possible after a disaster. When disaster strikes, your employees may suffer the loss of their personal possessions, homes, friends, and family. Even a temporary inability to return to work can compound any sense of loss or emotional trauma your employees may experience. Locate and contact your employees immediately after a disaster, and tell them the company’s status and plans. If employees know what’s expected of them and what they can expect from the company, they can take the company’s plans for them into consideration when rebuilding their personal lives. For example, if a leave of absence, relocation, or layoff is inevitable, employees should be told as soon as possible so they can plan accordingly. Don’t leave them in the dark about their employment.

Continue Reading Crisis Management: Weathering the Storm