Preparing for a second wave of the new coronavirus, in-house attorneys still have concerns about the impending employment issues related to workers heading back to the office, according to a report published by Morrison & Foerster on Monday.

Of the over 100 in-house counsel respondents, 87% believe that employment issues pose the greatest risk to their organizations as they bring employees back to the office.

"Employers care about their employees and want to make all of the right decisions but are also concerned with their liability and exposure," David Newman, a partner at Morrison & Foerster in Washington, D.C., told Corporate Counsel.

Newman said employers are aware that the worst of the pandemic may still be coming. However, employers in certain industries need their employees to be back full time to operate. About 67% of the respondents indicated they are moderately concerned with the threat of subsequent lockdowns caused by COVID-19.

"What you're seeing is some optimism but a broad realization that this is going to continue to have a disruptive effect on in-house counsels' work for years," Newman said.

Roughly 70% of in-house counsel indicated that their companies are paying for personal protective equipment for their returning employees.

"We anticipate 'Work From Home' will be our primary method of operation for many months, and, for a good portion of our employees, it may now be permanent," one anonymous in-house attorney said of his company's efforts in the report.

Many in-house attorneys believe there will be employment-related litigation once the dust settles, with 67% of respondents expecting their business to face litigation related to employee issues.

"I think it's fair to expect an uptick in litigation in employment and labor from a whole host of issues," Newman said.

He explained companies should prepare for litigation related to laid off or furloughed employees and changes in how they pay employees, such as reclassifying employees from salary to hourly employees.

"Employment and human resources litigation may be inevitable as employees head back into their offices because there are competing regulations, individuals making decisions about where they work based on unique medical factors, and different levels of risk tolerance," said Janie Schulman, a partner at Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles, in the report.

Anecdotally, Newman said in-house counsel are also concerned about regulatory bodies, especially the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state and local authorities, cracking down on how companies bring employees back to work.

The respondents included assistant general counsel, general counsel, chief legal officers and senior in-house attorneys.

Read More: