California wildfires: Supporting employees during an emergency 

The ongoing wildfires in California serve as a stark reminder of the significant impact climate change has on our population. Employers are asking, how can we support our employees? The best advice we have for businesses with employees impacted by the fires in CA: Consider what you would you do for yourself and your family — and treat everybody else the same way. Impacted workers are going to be under an incredibly high level of stress for potentially extended period. Support them, however that makes sense for your business and the worker’s circumstances.

• Short-term — quick solutions — that are easy to facilitate with existing benefit programs. Examples include: expedited access to medical care/prescriptions/eye wear, fast track disability claims approval, flexible time off, child care support. Promote use of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Provide financial support if possible. 
• Long term — holistic support — including remote work options, extended mental health and wellness benefits, ongoing childcare assistance.

First order of duty: Make sure everyone is safe (and keep communicating with them)

Communication is so important. Reaching out to impacted employees one-on-one to help with individual situations. Ensure every employee is contacted directly to understand their immediate needs. This includes asking if they can access essentials like medications, eyeglasses, or funds.  If possible, provide personalized guidance and help based on individual circumstances. Remember to continue communicating -- make sure workers have up-to-date information about where they can go to access services and benefits -- and other information you are able to provide. Keep in mind employees may be overwhelmed with the unfolding events – do what you can to explain exactly what their benefits entitle them to, and make sure employees are clear on what steps they should take.  

Immediate needs 

Identify ways your business can help employees who’ve lost homes or belongings; connect them with temporary housing, emergency/temporary childcare resources, assist with filing insurance claims, or offer financial support for essentials.  

Below are a few examples of ways to provide financial support:

• Set up dedicated funds to assist employees impacted by the fire or other crises. Check out this blog post on: Setting up a relief fund
• Consider offering immediate grants to affected employees. While people may have insurance for their house or car, some people may need immediate money to deal with the basics like food and shelter. Some companies offer one-time grants to employees who have been affected by a natural disaster. And while this is sometimes part of a larger climate change benefits package, companies can also decide to just give money directly to employees.  
• Partner with local organizations, donate to relief efforts, or establish a matching donations program to support broader community recovery. Matching donations is a great way to encourage and enable non-impacted employees to engage and provide support.

Work flexibility/time off

Clearly those impacted directly may need time off and flexibility for an extended period. Also consider employees still working finding it difficult to concentrate on day-to-day tasks while images of their burning city take over television and social media. Some people may need to take some time off work altogether to process the unfolding events, even if they are not directly affected. From a benefit perspective, employers might want to establish a leave-sharing program where employees can donate their unused leave to those who need more time off, or employers can simply provide PTO outside of their annual leave policies.

Mental health support

Mental health support is a particularly important consideration for employees right now, even if they haven’t been directly affected by the fire. Employee Assistance Programs connect employees with counseling or other mental health resources. These can be especially helpful directly following a major natural disaster. The EAP may also help people with filling out their home insurance claims for their evacuation, home damage, other property loss. Frequently, evacuation is covered under insurance.

Put a plan in place for next time

Unfortunately, wildfires that were once considered a somewhat rare event will become even more common. Not just fires – hurricanes, flooding, etc. There will absolutely be more extreme climate related events and disasters. Any disaster relief plan should address how employers will be communicating with their employees, have established emergency response procedures, and a blueprint for how to react so employees can get the help and support they need as quickly as possible.  This list may be helpful as you further develop your plan: 10 ways to support employees in an emergency

But right now, it’s important that employers offer impacted workers in CA as much support and empathy as possible.

I hope you find this information helpful. Please keep in mind, the approaches above may have tax implications for both employees and employers. We recommend consulting with qualified tax and HR advisors to understand the potential impacts and risks—if any—associated with a chosen approach.