Joe Connaughton Quoted in American City Business Journals Article About Possible Issues Facing Employers in 2023
Joe Connaughton, a San Diego-based partner in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, shared his thoughts about challenges employers may face this year in an American City Business Journals article about “under-the-radar” employment issues in 2023.
Specifically, Connaughton addressed the evolving landscape of workplace safety questions in a post-pandemic world. An excerpt:
Joe Connaughton, partner at Quarles & Brady LLP, said one notable change in the post-pandemic environment is an increase in situations where employees claim they feel unsafe at work.
In the past, he said those claims usually centered on harassment or the physical condition of the workplace. However, he said increased focus on mental health in the workplace has led to a rise in additional types of claims.
…
“Employee concerns about safety are now nuanced. Workplaces that not long ago may have been described as intense or demanding are now sometimes perceived, and conveyed, as toxic or even unsafe,” he said. “Smart employers neither reflexively under, nor overreact, but should always respond quickly.”