US: 32.8M Cases - 586.6K Dead - 25.4M Recovered
Worldwide: 148.6M Cases - 3.1M Dead - 126.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
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Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 279   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 287
*Red indicates change in total deaths

CDC says it is safe for vaccinated people to unmask outdoors
New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it is safe for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be outside without a mask, but only in small groups.

The guidance, which CDC Director Rochelle Walensky outlined during a White House press conference Tuesday, builds on previous updates from the agency about the activities people can feel comfortable with once fully vaccinated.

According to the CDC, fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks during small, outdoor gatherings even if there's a mixture of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Dining at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households is also considered a safe activity for vaccinated people to do without a mask, the agency said.

People are considered fully vaccinated by the CDC two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. thehill.com

Newly Reported Cases Falling on Seven-Day Average - Below 60,000 Daily
The U.S. reported more than 56,000 new cases for Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University that was published early Tuesday. The data may be updated later. Monday's figure was up from the 32,065 cases reported on Sunday, but lower than on most days last week. Daily case numbers are often lower on weekends and early in the week due to lower levels of testing. Not all states report new cases daily.

The seven-day moving average, which smooths out irregularities in the data, was 58,164 as of Sunday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data, while the 14-day average was 62,807. When the seven-day average is lower than the 14-day average, as it has been since April 17, it indicates cases are falling. wsj.com

  In dramatic turnaround, Calif. now has the lowest COVID case rate in U.S.

   Amazon starts push to vaccinate thousands of warehouse workers in Wash.


Why - and how - to incentivize employee vaccination
It's time to figure out how to get as many employees vaccinated as possible, write EY health experts.

A year into the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that we will go from COVID-19 vaccine supply constraints to surplus in a matter of weeks. That means it's time to figure out how to get as many of our employees vaccinated as possible, to facilitate safe workplaces and return to a new normal. hrdive.com

Mask-Wearing and Vaccine Hesitancy Threaten Herd Immunity
As summer approaches, cases of COVID-19 will decline, but a decrease in people donning masks coupled with an increase in vaccine hesitancy could lead to a surge in cases during the winter, according to experts. govtech.com

Want That Job Offer? A Covid-19 Vaccine Is Now Required.
Employers are starting to mandate shots before candidates are hired. It's a new rule some managers are rolling out for existing employees, too.

As the U.S. job market heats up, positions operating machines in Louisville, Ky., working in offices in Houston and waiting on diners in Manhattan now require that candidates be vaccinated-or be willing to get their Covid-19 shot within 30 days of hire.

These mandates are in their early stages, making it tough to determine how many U.S. employers now require vaccines. Companies largely have been reluctant to require shots, at first because vaccines were scarce, and more recently because bosses feared blowback from their employees, employment attorneys and human-resources executives say.

Companies can legally require vaccines as a condition of employment, though they must accommodate religious beliefs or medical conditions that may keep workers from getting shots.

"The enforcement process can be pretty complicated," Mr. Troutman says, adding that most companies requiring the shots give employees advance notice and months to comply. "I'm beginning to see a slow movement of more employers looking to require it." wsj.com

How a Fully Connected Workforce Improves Frontline Safety
COVID-19 has highlighted the need for companies to maintain open communication with their employees, especially frontline workers.

Create a Culture of Safety with a Digitally Connected Workforce
Throughout 2020, people relied more on their mobile devices. In fact, global mobile usage jumped by 70% during the pandemic, according to statista. Those trends have presented an opportunity for companies to create a culture of safety in the workplace through a mobile-first strategy.

When a company embraces digital transformation through a mobile-first strategy, it signals a cultural shift that prioritizes the safety and well-being of their entire workforce. A digital communication platform levels the playing field and gives everyone equal access to the same information. Workers, especially those on the frontline, can receive immediate alerts, have access to safety documents and watch safety training videos-all on their smartphone. ehstoday.com

Brewing coronavirus liability shield laws create 'potential nightmare'
for multi-state employers
In a pandemic, what can employers be held liable for? That's a question nearly every state, in addition to Congress, is attempting to answer.

Employers across the U.S. are aiming to calculate potential exposure as they consider vaccine policies, on-site operations and more end-of-pandemic logistics. But as different states pass different laws, employers face a "moving target" in terms of their liability, Karl Lindegren, co-chair of Fisher Phillips' California litigation practice and partner at the firm, told HR Dive in an interview.

"Every state and Congress is looking at something, given where the pandemic is," Lindegren said. "Everyone is taking different approaches."

Kentucky is the most recent state at press time to pass a law that shields businesses from certain coronavirus-related lawsuits. It joins a growing list of states that have enacted such legislation -- a list that includes Florida, West Virginia, Indiana, Alabama, Ohio and Georgia.

"I think something is likely to come out in every state setting some kind of a standard as to what they expect of employers in particular in how to deal with this," Lindegren said. Employers will need to understand, for instance, how return-to-work plans may interact with such standards. "If we order people back to work when we didn't have to, will that meet the standard for liability?" hrdive.com

Men's Clothing Boutique Owners' Virus Coverage Bid Denied
Owners of stores in a national clothing chain can't tap into coverage with Twin City Fire Insurance Co., a Louisiana federal judge has ruled, saying losses from coronavirus lockdowns were economic and not caused by any physical loss or damage to their men's clothing boutiques. law360.com
 

Leading Retailers Encouraged by Hearings into COVID-19 Scams,
Urge Congress to Pass INFORM Consumers Act to Combat Online Fraud
Washington, DC - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) released the following statement during the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing on scams related to COVID-19. Executive Vice President, Public Affairs Michael Hanson urged Congress to combat the scams discussed in today's hearing by passing the INFORM Consumers Act.

"Today's hearing is a sober reminder that over the last year, while retailers across the country were investing in PPE and implementing safety protocols to protect employees and customers, criminal networks and scam artists have been using the pandemic to peddle counterfeit products, bogus remedies, knockoff vaccine cards, and other dangerous items.

"Consumers are regularly warned about buying suspicious products, but its not enough for Congress to say, 'Buyer Beware'. We need better transparency and accountability from large marketplace platforms like Amazon and Ebay to make it harder for criminals to hide their schemes behind fake screennames and bogus information.

"We urge Congress to pass the INFORM Consumers Act to create the transparency consumers and law enforcement need to identify and weed out fraudulent sellers. Removing the anonymity on these platforms by creating basic accountability measures will protect consumers from illicit goods, aid law enforcement in their efforts to track organized crime, and make it harder for bad actors to build an illegal business and profit by selling counterfeit merchandise."

IPS Logistix receives the 2020 Outstanding Partnership Award from Homeland Security Investigation
IPS Logistix was awarded the HSI (Homeland Security Investigation) 2020 Outstanding Partnership Award. This award is presented to companies for exemplary partnership in the furtherance of public safety.

Last year, CEO Darrel Lyell initiated a strategic partnership with HSI to ensure that his company is not participating in the shipment of illegal goods out of the United States. RAC NKY provided guidance on prohibited items and regulations regarding parcel services.

Through VP of Operations Whitney Lyell's observations and awareness, she alerted HSI to 20 suspicious shipments during FY20, which gave HSI NKY the ability to develop these shipment alerts into multiple leads and controlled deliveries on a variety of weapon components that were being exported to numerous countries. retaildive.com

Nike, Retail Workers Reach $8.25M Security Bag Check Deal
Nike Retail Services has agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle workers' claims that it didn't pay them for time spent waiting for end-of-shift security checks, according to a Friday settlement filing in California federal court. law360.com

Second Chance Business Coalition announced new members Monday
Best Buy, McD's and Walmart give ex-cons a second chance
The more than 70 million Americans with criminal records may be a valuable pool of employees as companies juggle labor shortages and jockey for more diverse workforces.

LPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is teaming up with Craig Arnold, CEO of Eaton Corp., to co-chair an initiative that aims to foster employment opportunities for Americans with criminal records and provide a forum for member companies to share resources and advice. Other corporate participants in the Second Chance Business Coalition announced on Monday include railroad Union Pacific Corp., Best Buy Co., Microsoft Corp., General Motors Co., Bank of America Corp., McDonald's Corp. and Walmart Inc. It's a who's who of corporate America, and that makes this commitment incredibly striking. In total, the nearly 30 publicly traded members have a combined market value of $6.8 trillion - more than enough to make a real difference in how former convicts are treated in the hiring process.

While the U.S. unemployment rate has declined to 6% from as high as 14.8% during the worst of the pandemic, some underlying trends are rightfully raising alarms at the highest levels. Those older than 55 are steadily dropping out of the labor force, leaving employers with few options to fill job openings that are close to the highest level in at least 20 years, according to Labor Department data. chicagobusiness.com

FDA and States use Rapid Response Teams Approach to Combat Foodborne Illness through Domestic Mutual Reliance
In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched the Rapid Response Team (RRT) state partnership program to reduce the time it takes to investigate and stop foodborne illness outbreaks. Not long after, in 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) became law. After more than a decade, the 2008 RRT partnership program has proven so successful that FDA is using it as a model for expanding state partnerships to support implementation of FSMA through the Domestic Mutual Reliance program.

Domestic Mutual Reliance enables FDA and states with comparable public health systems to rely on, coordinate with, and leverage one another's work, data, and actions to ensure food safety. These partnerships are key to the success of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety, an FDA initiative that represents a new approach to food safety, leveraging technology and other tools to create a more digital, more traceable, and safer food system.

The FDA funds RRTs in 20 states, and another four states participate in the program in a voluntary, non-funded capacity. Designed to provide an integrated and sustainable response capability for food emergencies, the RRTs have shortened the duration of foodborne illness outbreaks, preventing illness and saving lives in the process. Building on this model has potential to further improve efficiency and effectiveness of our response efforts. food-safety.com

Industries With the Highest Rates of Workplace Injuries
One of the concepts that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront of the public imagination is the idea of an "essential worker." The pandemic highlighted that many professions are critical for allowing the rest of the economy and society to function properly, especially in a time of crisis. Some essential professionals like health workers and teachers were already held in high regard, but COVID-19 put a new spotlight on workers in oft-overlooked industries like grocery, elder care, and shipping and logistics.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall number of cases per 100 full-time workers has been cut nearly in half over the last two decades, from 5.0 in 2003 to 2.8 in 2019. And this is part of a much longer-running trend that began with the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the early 1970s. When OSHA was created in 1971, the rate of injury and illness on the job was 11 per 100 workers, but that number has been on the decline ever since thanks to OSHA and other efforts to promote workplace safety.

Here are the industries with the highest rates of workplace injuries. For the purposes of the Daily, we're only listing those involved in or supporting retail.  globaltrademag.com

USA Today Names Fresh Market, Hy-Vee, Lidl Best Supermarkets
Panel of 10Best local experts and contributors nominated favorite American retailers based on value, selection, service. Readers could then cast a vote for their favorite supermarket once per day for a 28-day period through the 10Best website.

The Fresh Market has been named the "Best Supermarket in America" for 2021 in USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, with Hy-Vee Inc. and Lidl U.S. coming in at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

The complete top 10 winners in the Best Supermarket category are as follows:

1- The Fresh Market
2- Hy-Vee
3- Lidl US
4- Market Basket
5- Aldi
6- Stew Leonard's
7- Publix Supermarkets
8- Sprouts Farmers Market
9- Wegmans Food Markets
10- Trader Joe's  progressivegrocer.com

Lululemon to launch resale program for 'like new' products

Dollar General to Donate More Than 100,000 Books to Elementary Schools