US: 47.1M Cases - 772.3K Dead - 37.1M Recovered
Worldwide: 249.4M Cases - 5M Dead - 225.9M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
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Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 322  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 517
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID Cases, Deaths & Hospitalizations Continue to Fall

New COVID Epicenter
WHO says Europe is back at the epicenter of Covid pandemic, despite vaccines
Top officials at the World Health Organization said Thursday that Europe has seen a more than 50 percent jump in coronavirus cases in the last month, making it the epicenter of the pandemic despite an ample supply of vaccines.

“There may be plenty of vaccine available, but uptake of vaccine has not been equal,” WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said during a press briefing on Thursday.

He called for European authorities to “close the gap” in vaccinations. However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries that have immunized more than 40 percent of their populations should stop and instead donate their doses to developing countries that have yet to offer their citizens a first dose.

Earlier on Thursday, the director of WHO's 53-country Europe region, Dr. Hans Kluge, said the rising Covid-19 case counts are of “grave concern.” nbcnews.com

NRF & RILA Respond to Biden's Vaccine Mandate
Several big business groups aren’t happy with Biden’s Covid vaccine mandate

Business groups expressed a range of concerns about the White House’s new mandate for U.S. companies to require their employees to be fully vaccinated, or face regular testing, by Jan. 4.

The mandate, which applies to businesses with 100 or more workers, requires U.S. companies to ensure their employees have gotten vaccinated, or face regular testing, by Jan. 4.

OSHA will also conduct on-site workplace compliance inspections, with penalties for violating the rules ranging from $13,653 up to $136,532.

The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which requested a 90-day implementation period during meetings with White House officials last month, said the mandate would burden their members during the busy holiday shopping season.

“Since the president’s announcement of the vaccine mandate for private industry, the seven-day average number of cases in the United States has plummeted by more than half,” said David French, NRF’s senior vice president for government relations.

“Nevertheless, the Biden administration has chosen to declare an ‘emergency’ and impose burdensome new requirements on retailers during the crucial holiday shopping season,” French said.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association called the implementation period “insufficient” and said the potential fines for noncompliance are “unnecessary and unhelpful,” warning that “it pits government against private employers instead of working with them to create a safe working environment.” cnbc.com

The Corporate Leader on Vaccine Mandates
How Tyson Foods Got 60,500 Workers to Get the Coronavirus Vaccine Quickly

The meatpacking giant, which was criticized for failing to do enough to protect its workers from Covid-19 last year, has become a leader on corporate mandates.

Tyson’s announcement that it would require vaccinations across its corporate offices, packing houses and poultry plants, many of which are situated in the South and Midwest where resistance to the vaccines is high, was arguably the boldest mandate in the corporate world.

But it was also bad for business when Tyson had to shut facilities because of virus outbreaks. Since announcing the policy, roughly 60,500 employees have received the vaccine, and more than 96 percent of its work force is vaccinated.

Tyson’s experience shows how vaccine mandates in the workplace can be persuasive. It comes as many employers await the start of Biden administration rules that will require vaccines — or weekly testing — at companies with 100 or more workers.

Tyson’s aggressive push on vaccines also marks a significant turn for a company that had been criticized early in the pandemic for failing to adequately protect workers in its plants. Its low-wage workers typically stand elbow-to-elbow to do the work of cutting, deboning and packing meat, making them particularly vulnerable to the airborne virus. nytimes.com

Giving Unvaxxed Workers More time to Apply for Exemptions
De Blasio strikes deal with NYC unions over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Mayor Bill de Blasio has struck a deal with four city unions — including the largest in the Big Apple and sanitation workers — to allow more time for unvaccinated workers to apply for exemptions from his COVID-19 vaccine mandate, city officials announced.

Notably absent from the deal are the unions that represent the FDNY and EMS workers, which have vehemently opposed de Blasio’s executive order requiring city employees to get the jab or go out on unpaid leave.

The deal — announced Thursday afternoon and signed by the DC 37, Teamsters Local 237, Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Local 831 and SEIU Local 300 — allows workers to apply for a special accommodation from the vaccine for religious or medical reasons until the end-of-day Friday.

Those employees will be allowed to work with pay while those applications are pending. But if they are denied, they will be placed on unpaid leave if they choose to appeal, the city officials said.

The deal is similar to how the NYPD, whose unions actively pushed their vaccine-hesitant members to apply for an exemption before the deadline, handled the mandate. nypost.com

New Sheriff In Town
NYC mayor-elect wants to 'revisit' vaccine mandate
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams says he wants to "revisit" the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers, which has drawn resistance from some unions.

"We need to revisit how we're going to address the vaccine mandates," Adams said on MSNBC on Wednesday.

While saying he did not want to "Monday morning quarterback" current Mayor Bill de Blasio, who put the mandate for city workers into effect, Adams said, "what I'm going to encourage him to do is to sit down with the unions."

"We can work this out," Adams added. "This is a very difficult moment, but there's an opportunity to sit down with the unions. I communicated with some of the union leaders yesterday and they are open to sit down, and this is a good opportunity to do so and I'm going to encourage him to make that happen."

De Blasio has defended the mandate, saying that it has helped raise the vaccination rate among city workers, after voluntary measures reached their limits. thehill.com

Preparing for the Vaccine Mandate
Webinar: OSHA's COVID-19 Vaccine/Testing Mandate: Are You Ready?

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 | 2:00 p.m. ET

In arguably the most far-reaching move of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration just announced that federal workplace safety officials will soon issue a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to either ensure their workers are vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to produce a weekly negative test result before coming to work.

As you would expect, there are many moving parts with such a significant development, and employers are bound to have questions. When will this new rule take effect? Will it apply to remote workers? Who pays for the tests? And what kind of tests are we talking about?

This timely webinar will address these and many other questions. Attendees will come away with a five-step action plan you can put into place immediately. Register here

Phasing Out In-Store Mask Requirements
Apple will start phasing out mask requirements for US retail store customers

The changes could start rolling out to stores beginning Friday

Apple is reportedly planning to begin ending mask requirements for customers at some of its US retail stores as early as Friday (via Bloomberg). The company told employees about the change in an internal memo on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, saying the decision was based on a decline in coronavirus cases and a rise in vaccination rates. theverge.com

Ohio attorney general, sheriffs sue Biden administration over COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Pfizer Says Covid-19 Pill Is 89% Effective in Preliminary Assessment

McDonald's CEO Text Controversy Sparks Anger & Protests
Text from McDonald's CEO appears to blame parents for fatal shootings of Chicago children
Protests erupted at McDonald's headquarters in Chicago this week after a text exchange between the fast food giant's chief executive and Mayor Lori Lightfoot seemed to blame the parents of two children who were recently shot to death in the city.

Lightfoot had visited McDonald's headquarters and met with CEO Chris Kempczinski in April, the day after the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams, who died in a hail of bullets fired into her family's car that was in a McDonald's drive-thru lane. The child's death came as the city was still mourning and outraged over the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a police officer.

In a text exchange recently made public, Kempczinski wrote to Lightfoot: "With both, the parents failed those kids, which I know is something you can't say. Even harder to fix," according to ABC Chicago station WLS-TV.

The comment sparked immediate backlash and accusations of racism and victim blaming.

Images shared to social media by the labor advocacy group Fight for 15 Chicago, which helped organize a protest on Wednesday, showed crowds of protestors descending on McDonald's headquarters. Many of those marching were children.

"As the leader of the largest fast food corporation, Mr. Kempczinski has a responsibility to do much better for Black and Brown communities than add on to racist stereotypes," Fight for 15 Chicago said in a Tweet.

Kempczinksi lamented the "senseless surge in gun violence that is affecting so many children," adding that, "it is also clear to me that everyone has a role to play." abcnews.go.com

'Honoring Leadership in Safety Management'
America's Safest Companies of 2021

EHS Today’s annual profile of the companies that demonstrate excellence in safety leadership.

Safety has always been a top-of-mind consideration for EHS professionals, but as the COVID-19 pandemic continues on with no immediate end in sight, it’s become more important than ever for companies to establish procedures that ensure the health and safety of its workers both on-site and at home. As you’ll see, the winners of this year’s America’s Safest Companies awards excel at keeping their employees and communities safe by emphasizing that safety has to be an ingrained part of a company’s culture, at every touch point an employee might encounter.

The winning companies for 2021 are:

● Ampirical
● CJ Drilling
● Fastenal Company
● Honeywell
● KHS&S Contractors
● Middough Inc.
● RMF Nooter
● Rosendin Electric
● SBM Management LP
● Yonkers Contracting Company

America’s Safest Companies was founded in 2002 by EHS Today. To date, more than 250 companies have been recognized with this annual award. We hope these profiles-in-safety inspire you, and we invite you to consider applying for the ASC award in 2022. ehstoday.com

Trucker Shortage Complicates Retail Supply Chain
Where Are All the Truck Drivers? Shortage Adds to Delivery Delays
Trucks haul more than 70% of domestic cargo shipments. Yet many fleets say they can’t hire enough drivers to meet booming consumer demand as the U.S. economy emerges from the pandemic. The freight backup has intensified longstanding strains in the industry over hours, pay, working conditions and retention.

The surge of goods has created logjams at loading docks and port terminals, gobbling up scarce trucking capacity and making drivers’ jobs even harder. Factories and warehouses are also short of staff to load and receive goods. Meanwhile, the broader labor shortage has left openings for other blue-collar jobs that compete with trucking, including in local delivery operations, construction and manufacturing.

The shortfalls are pushing up transportation costs and delaying deliveries for retailers and manufacturers already coping with disruptions ahead of the holiday peak.

The American Trucking Associations, one of the largest trade bodies, estimates the industry is some 80,000 drivers short of the workers needed to keep goods moving freely this year—up from an estimated shortage of 61,500 drivers before the pandemic. New trucks, trailers and other equipment are in short supply, further limiting the movement of cargo. wsj.com

Retail's 'Nightmare Before Christmas'
Retailers dream of a glitzy Christmas, even as supply chain snarls loom
From Neiman Marcus to Macy's and Home Depot, several major retailers told Reuters that they expect to see shoppers pulling out all the stops at gatherings after Covid-19 kept them socially distanced last year.

“After being limited by Covid-19 restrictions, people want to travel, spend more time out enjoying outdoor activities, express themselves and above all live and share experiences," Remo Ruffini, Moncler's chairman and CEO, said.

Many consumers are entering the holiday season with more disposable income, having saved up during lockdown and as economic rebound puts money in their hands. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs this week, while London's FTSE 100 index marked its highest close in 20 months.

Yet retailers are up against a supply chain crisis that has left them scrambling to stock enough sparkling wine, tinsel, scented candles and partywear, among other things. In addition, the new AY.4.2 “Delta Plus” coronavirus variant looms, after causing some concern in the United Kingdom. investing.com

The Healing Labor Market
U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October as hiring swelled again
The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October, offering a clearer portrait of an economy that was slowed briefly by the coronavirus’s delta variant in the late summer but is emerging with new momentum in the final months of 2021.

The unemployment rate dropped too, to 4.6 percent from 4.8 percent. It is still up from its pre-pandemic low of 3.5 percent in February 2020 but down significantly from January of this year, when it was at 6.3 percent.

The new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also showed that a late-summer labor market slump wasn’t as bad as earlier thought. BLS officials revised upwards their August and September payroll reports to show that hiring had not slowed as dramatically as they initially thought.

And there are fresh signs that women reentered the workforce in large numbers in October. This came after worrying signs from September when it appeared that problems reopening schools and child care centers would wreak major havoc on millions of households. Some 251,000 women over 20 re-entered the labor force in October, and 138,000 took jobs. washingtonpost.com


LPF Announces LPC & LPQ Professionals for October
The Loss Prevention Foundation would like to recognize and congratulate the following individuals who successfully completed all of the requirements set forth by the board of directors to be LPQualified (LPQ) and/or LPCertified (LPC). View Full List Here


Prices, Not Shortages, Are the Real Issue
Supply Chain May Not Be Impacting Consumers As Badly As Expected

Mattel nearshores manufacturing to bypass port bottlenecks during peak

Big Lots offers incentives to store employees to work on Thanksgiving

Allied Universal Acquires The Millard Group To Expand Its Janitorial Services Division
 

LP & AP Jobs Market

Asset Protection Manager job posted for Macy's Philadelphia, PA
As an Asset Protection Manager II you will be responsible for one of our highest shortage locations with an elevated scope of responsibility that may include executive direct reports and increased staff levels, higher Sales Volume or significant Shortage risk. You will be the subject matter expert on Asset Protection and Shortage Reduction Strategies within your location. Read more here