A new partnership between Paychex and HireRight is going to allow small businesses to manage workplace testing of COVID-19. The new service will make it possible for Paychex clients to order bulk or small batch orders of rapid COVID-19 test kits. According to Paychex, these kits will give businesses results within 15 to 30 minutes after a test is administered.
COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits for Small Business from Paychex and HireRight
As new variants of COVID-19 keep emerging, testing is one of the best ways to keep the staff of a small business safe. And with the rapid test delivering results in 30 minutes or less, owners can make a quick decision on how to proceed with staffing. Additionally, it can address any compliance obligations businesses might have to abide by.
Paychex is addressing this issue by streamlining a process that can be unnecessarily complicated and burdensome. This includes purchasing the testing kits as well as tracking the data in an efficient way. As Tom Hammond, Paychex vice president of corporate strategy and product management, said in the release, the goal is to identify inefficiencies and support businesses as they navigate through these challenges. Adding, “Through a combination of the enhanced functionality of the Paychex Flex technology and testing kits provided by HireRight, we’re helping businesses address the critical safety issues impacting their workplace.”
Paychex also has a publicly available Paychex COVID-19 Help Center which includes changing COVID-19 related federal and state legislation and regulations.
Additional tools currently available in Paychex Flex include:
- Health Attestation: Also available in Paychex Flex Document Management, allows employers to customize and digitally distribute an automated attestation form to employees, securely store responses in real-time, and view advanced analytics for individuals or the entire workforce.
- Vaccination Status Tracking: Leveraging self-service, employers can request employees upload a digital copy of their vaccination card with tracking capabilities that allow administrators to track the status of their request.
- COVID-19 Leave Tracking: Enables administrators to identify and track an employee-submitted issue through the HR Connect feature in Paychex Flex. Following case submission, administrators can be prompted to indicate if the issue is related to COVID-19 and whether the employee requested time off.
COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
States are challenging the vaccine mandates of the Biden Administration. And with the U.S. Supreme Court currently hearing oral arguments in two cases on an emergency basis on the matter, time will tell how small businesses will have to deal with the mandates.
In one case – NFIB v. OSHA – the plaintiffs are arguing that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 did not clearly authorize OSHA to hijack businesses into implementing a vaccine-or-testing mandate. This can affect some 84-plus million Americans.
They also argued OSHA was required to use regular notice-and-comment procedures instead of issuing an emergency rule. This requirement by the Administrative Procedure Act ensures public rulemaking by executive agencies that is thoughtful and takes all matters into consideration.
The second case – Biden v. Missouri – looks to block a vaccine mandate issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Medicare and Medicaid laws for workers at health care facilities.
Image: Depositphotos
This article, “COVID Rapid Test Kits for Small Business Made Available Through New Partnership” was first published on Small Business Trends
