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Credit Union Times

JULY 8, 2020 | VOL. 31 | NO. 13 | CUTIMES.COM

Must Reads

CREDIT UNION MANAGEMENTPlan a Mindful ReopeningEvery state has announced a reopening plan, a welcomed movefor some following the nationwide coronavirus quarantine period. As officials chart the pathforward, credit union leaders areable to implement their plans forbringing teams back to the office.But with the coronavirus threatstill looming over us, creating asafe environment for staff is a toppriority.

Preparing your organization tosafely reopen is more than placing disinfecting wipes and handsanitizing stations around thepremises. Protecting your team’semotional well-being needs tobe a top priority, too. COVID- 19has not only impacted individuals’ physical health but theirmental health as well. Employers need to account for this whenthey reopen, which is why having a plan in place to promotemental health and awareness iscrucial.

Designing a Psychologically-Healthy Reopening Plan

There are certainly silver liningsthat have emerged from this experience and will help carry usthrough a successful transitionback into the office.

Yet, there’s evidence – including an increase in telemedicineuse for anxiety and an uptickin corresponding prescriptionclaims – to suggest that thereshould be a focus on addressingemployees’ well-being and creating a culture in which Y15

CUs CreateReturn-to-Work PlansC. RYAN BARBERcbarber@alm.com

t his home in Virgin-
ia, David Reed is re-
minded frequently of
a quote by the famed
writer and philosopher Ralph
Waldo Emerson: “The mind, once
stretched by a new
idea, never returns
to its original di-
mensions.”
The phrase has
long resonated
with his wife, so
much so that it is
featured in their
home’s decor. But
lately, Reed said he has found
himself becoming a similar pro-
ponent of Emerson’s words of
wisdom – and not just because
he sees them almost around the
clock working from home.

For Reed, a lawyer who specializes in counseling credit unions,the phrase has proven oddly applicable to the advice he’s givenclients about bringing employeesback after months of teleworkingamid the coronavirus outbreak. Incalls and virtual training sessions,the partner at Reed & Jolly has laidout a host of new considerationsfor credit unions, all of them underscoring how the pandemic hasperhaps forever changed work life.

“Once you’ve allowed yourmind to be expanded, Y18OPERATIONS

ReedWong

FOCUSREPORT:CORONAVIRUS CRISISThe global COVID- 19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis haschallenged credit union leaders like never before. In this Focus

Report, hear from experts on ways to navigate branch reopening,member assistance programs, talent recruitment and more as anew reality continues to unfold. Y6

Training FromAfar

Keep staff engagedwith virtualcontent. Y12

Widening

Talent Pools

Embrace a
new era of
recruitment. Y10
or the first time, court
documents revealed
new details and alle-
gations of widespread
fraud and corruption that oc-
curred at the $3.2 billion Munici-
pal Credit Union. According to
those court documents, those in-
volved included its CEO, at least
five top executives, two super-
visory committee members and

13 former board members; thescheme led to more than $18 million in financial losses and $109million in write-down losses.

The conserved credit union
and the NCUA have sued CUMIS
Insurance Society because the
Madison, Wis.-based organiza-
tion refused to pay a $9.8 million
interim insurance claim to cover
the losses from former MCU
President/CEO Kam Wong. He
was sentenced in June 2019 to five
and a half years in prison after he
pleaded guilty to
embezzling nearly
$10 million from
New York City’s
oldest financial
cooperative. Al-
though CUMIS has
acknowledged the
NCUA’s demand
for the $9.8 million payment, the
organization denied it owes this
amount because of Wong’s em-
bezzlement, according to court
documents.