Sample Disaster Response Practices
This document contains sample disaster response practices.
Hurricanes, wildfires and other major disasters are now a business responsibility. The media reports which brands are contributing what, workers ask employers for ways to help and victims take note of which businesses are sensitive to their plight. Research from Cone Communications finds that 87 percent of surveyed citizens expect companies to play a role in disaster response.
What’s a business executive to do?
Your first responsibility is to your employees. How will you treat pay, leave and other issues affecting employees stricken by disasters? Do you want to support employees who have lost their homes with monetary assistance? Will these be loans or gifts? Have you considered the tax implications?
Your second responsibility is to your customers and business partners. Might customers affected by disasters benefit from a due-date extension? A dedicated support line? In-kind product? Do you have retailers or suppliers that need help re-establishing operations?
Your third disaster response responsibility is to victims other than employees, customers and business partners. This, however, also requires responding to many questions. What qualifies as a disaster? Does it need to be a presidentially declared? What if it’s in Mexico or Thailand? How will you assist victims? Which nonprofit organizations will you partner with?
Whatever you decide regarding your company’s disaster response, it’s recommended that you have practices and policies in place and avoid making ad-hoc decisions as homes burn or communities break apart.
Tohelp you develop your disaster response policies and procedures, this document contains sample practices from eight businesses, expressed in their words.
Looking for more assistance in crafting your disaster response practice? Contact us!
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Employees: CVS Health
At CVS Health, our employees can support eachother by donating to our Employee Relief Fund, a publiccharity designed to help CVS Health employeesduring unanticipated and unavoidable financial hardshipsand emergencies.
Funded by employee contributions through payrolldeduction and an initial donation from CVS Health, ourEmployee Relief Fund provides short-term,immediate financial relief to employees who’ve sufferedsignificant hardship as a result of a natural disaster,family death, medical emergency or other unforeseendesignated events.
Types of Assistance
The CVS Health Employee Relief Fund will evaluate colleague applicationsfor assistance for Qualified Relief (including presidentially declared disasters andcatastrophic events) as well as Emergency Hardship Assistance (including personalloss and health care expenses). Some examples include:
Home Catastrophe / Natural Disaster
Funds needed to establish or re-establish a habitable and safe residence followinghurricane, fire, flood, tornado, etc.
Funeral / Emergency Travel Expense
Funeral or travel expenses for attending a funeral or caring for a terminally illemployee or immediate family member.
Military Deployment
Initial assistance once employee or spouse/domestic partner is deployed.
Personal or Medical Emergency
Accident or illness of employee and/or immediate family member resulting in loss of work;out-of-pocket health care expenses not subject to a payment plan with health care provider;care and resources for a critically ill immediate family member resulting in loss of work; theft;spouse/domestic partner laid off work; and other non-medical emergencies.
Grants provided to colleagues can be up to $3,000 and are tax-exempt for the beneficiary.We encourage allcolleagues to supportone another with a$1 per monthdonationto the CVS HealthEmployee Relief Fund.All donations aretax-exempt.
For more information, to apply or to donate:
If you are a colleague who is interested in applying for assistance through the CVS Health Employee Relief Fund,please contact your Human Resources Business Partner.
For general questions about the CVS Health Employee Relief Fund,
Support your colleagues by donating to theCVS Health Employee Relief Fund.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Employees: Marathon Oil
I.Purpose
The purpose of the Marathon Petroleum Disaster Relief Policy is to assist employees rebuild personal property damaged in the event of a federal, state, or local declared disaster (or equivalent event as determined by the Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations) (“Disaster”). The Disaster Relief Policy provides interest-free loans of up to $10,000.
II.Employee Eligibility
Eligibility includes:
1.Regular employees of a participating company, as specified in Article V, working on a full-time or part-time basis at the time of the loan request.
2.Regular employees on approved Sick Leave, Family Leave, Military Leave (while receiving Company pay offset), or Personal Leave.
Eligibility does not include:
3.Employees on an Educational Leave.
4.Casual employees.
III.Policy Provisions
The Company will provide loan assistance according to the following provisions:
1.The maximum loan amount is $10,000 (the Principal Sum) per household or residence. In the event of multiple Disasters being declared within the loan repayment period, an employee may request one additional loan be taken for a maximum of two loans at one time); however, the combined maximum loan amount is limited to $10,000 at any given time. The Company reserves the right to limit the maximum loan amount.
2.Loan request is submitted within three months of the date from which the Disaster was declared.
3.The loan is repaid via payroll deduction, in compliance with any applicable state or federal requirements.
4.The Principal Sum shall be paid by the Borrower, free of interest, in regular payroll installments beginning with the first payroll period after initiation of the loan, and continuing thereafter with each payroll period, for a term of 24 months by payroll deduction, or as otherwise agreed to by the Company and the Borrower and in compliance any applicable law.
5.There shall be no prepayment penalty and the balance may be paid in full at any time prior to the end of the loan term.
6.In the event that Borrower’s employment with Marathon Petroleum Company LP (“MPC”) or any other entity in the MPC controlled group is terminated for any reason or the wage assignment
is revoked, Borrower shall agree that Borrower’s remaining unpaid balance shall become immediately due and Borrower shall agree that the Company may withhold that amount from any final pay otherwise due.
7.In the event that Borrower commences any type of unpaid leave, Borrower shall continue to make regular payments on the same schedule as the payroll schedule they were on immediately prior to the commencement of the unpaid leave.
8.Borrower certifies that they have no more than one outstanding Disaster Relief Policy loan or
any other outstanding loans from MPC or any other entity in the MPC controlled group, including but not limited to, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Service Company, Marathon Petroleum Logistics Services LLC, Catlettsburg Refining LLC, Blanchard Refining Company LLC, MW Logistics Services LLC, and Speedway LLC. (For the purposes of certification under this paragraph, outstanding loans from the Marathon Petroleum Thrift
Plan (“Thrift Plan”) and/or Speedway Retirement Savings Sub-Plan (“RSSP”) are excluded).
9.Borrower agrees that in the event their employment is transferred to a subsidiary, parent,
or affiliate of MPC including, but not limited to, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Service Company, Marathon Petroleum Logistics Services LLC, Catlettsburg Refining LLC, Blanchard Refining Company LLC, MW Logistics Services LLC, Speedway LLC or their subsidiaries, affiliates or successors, this Wage Assignment shall remain in effect through the payroll of the entity to which they are transferred.
10.Borrower understands that loans (excluding Thrift Plan and RSSP loans) due to MPC, or an affiliate of MPC, including but not limited to, Marathon Petroleum Company LP, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Service Company, Marathon Petroleum Logistics Services LLC, Catlettsburg Refining LLC, Blanchard Refining Company LLC, MW Logistics Services LLC, Speedway LLC or their subsidiaries, affiliates or successors, with an aggregate outstanding principal balance exceeding $10,000, may result in the imputation of interest income to Borrower. Borrower understands and agrees that the Company shall report income and withhold taxes in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Further, Borrower understands and agrees that Borrower shall be liable for any additional taxes resulting from this loan, including but not limited to any taxes related to imputed interest income.
11.Borrower hereby voluntary assigns to the Company the installment amount due (according to their respective pay period) as repayment of the loaned amount, beginning with their first payroll period after the agreement is signed, and continuing thereafter for a period that is the earlier
of 24 months or until the entire amount loaned has been collected and repaid to the Company in accordance with the terms herein discussed.
IV. Administration Guidelines
Employee completes Promissory Note and Wage Assignment Agreement with assistance of their local Human Resources Consultant. The Human Resources Consultant contacts the Payroll Department to complete the installment information.
Note: Before any loans can be granted, the area in which the employee is requesting assistance must have been declared a Disaster within three months of submission of the loan request.
Once the Promissory Note and Wage Assignment Agreement is signed and submitted to Payroll, funds are disbursed to the employee through the normal payroll process. Any questions in reference to the disbursement process can be directed to the employee’s payroll office.
V.Participation by Other Companies and Employees
Upon specific authorization and subject to such terms and conditions as it may establish, Marathon Petroleum Company LP may permit subsidiaries and affiliated organizations to participate in this Policy. Currently, these participating companies include Marathon Petroleum Company LP, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Logistics Services LLC, Catlettsburg Refining LLC, Blanchard Refining Company LLC, MW Logistics Services LLC, and Speedway LLC.
The term “Company” and other similar words shall include Marathon Petroleum Company LP and affiliated organizations. The term ‘employee’ and other similar words shall include any eligible employee of these companies.
VI.Additional Information
Human Resources and Payroll administer the Policy throughout the Company.
Marathon Petroleum Company LP may modify or terminate this Policy, in whole or in part, in such manner as it shall determine, at its sole discretion.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Employees and Customers: Target
Our Corporate Command Center (C3) in Minneapolis helps us keep an eye on potential issues where we do business. Operating round the clock, the C3 uses cutting-edge technology to monitor severe weather and other events around the world that could affect guests and team members, and connects our teams so we can respond quickly to almost any situation.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Customers: Verizon
We've got your back.
We've got your usage.
Sometimes life throws the unexpected at you, and it could mean using extra data that you weren’t planning on needing. Verizon will relieve domestic talk, text and data charges to customers in qualified Northern California zip codes [wildfire locations], so you can stay connected when it matters most.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Customers: MassMutual
MassMutual’s disaster relief and servicing guidelines help ensure that policyowners and clients in impacted areas have service and product options available to them when natural disasters occur. These may include extended grace periods, lost policy assistance, address change support, and various policy and plan provisions. For more information, click here or call our Customer Service Center at (800) 272-2216 with questions about insurance policies and annuities, or call (800) 743-5274 with questions about retirement plans.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Customers: Iowa Credit Union
The Iowa Credit Union Foundation is offering disaster relief grants to Iowa credit union members who have been displaced from their home for an extended period of time as a result of a disaster. The money is to be used to cover immediate expenses of Iowa credit union members.
Stop in to either office today to pick up an application.
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Victims: PetSmart
We're here to help in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. In case of an emergency, funds are available to assist during the rescue, relief, and/or recovery stages for qualifying organizations seeking to assist more than 20 companion pets impacted by the disaster.
Acceptable requests for this category include:
- Man-made disasters such as hoarding or animal abuse
- Natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, and floods
Sample Disaster Response Practiceto Support Victims: Airbnb
Disaster response tool
When disasters strike, we often activate our response tool to provide additional housing within the first week – in or nearby the affected area. When the tool is activated, Airbnb automatically contacts hosts in the impacted and surrounding areas asking if they have extra space to share with their displaced neighbors. Hosts who respond choose to list their spaces free of charge, and Airbnb waives all booking fees. Guests and hosts in the area also have access to Airbnb’s 24/7 customer support.
Providing travel credits to relief organizations
Relief organizations often need immediate accommodations for their advance teams and larger relief worker groups. Airbnb can help meet this need through contributions of travel vouchers to nonprofit relief organizations with teams in need of immediate lodgings – typically where no other lodging is available. This program has provided the facilitation of accommodations for relief workers in Greece, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Island of Dominica, Fiji, Louisiana, Texas, and Northern California.
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