The Modern Workplace
While the presidential inauguration is front and center, here are two quick items employers will want to take note of:
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A Hennepin County Court judge has issued an order temporarily blocking enforcement of Minneapolis new paid sick time ordinance against employers who are not located within the city limits.
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There is a new I-9 form that must be used starting this Sunday, January 22. Previous versions of the I-9 may not be used with new hires after that date.
Minneapolis Paid Sick and Safe Time. We have previously blogged about the Minneapolis paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance ...
As we previously predicted, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received more new H-1B petitions during the first week of April 2014 than there are visa numbers available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. USCIS received approximately 172,500 petitions for FY 2015, which is more than double the annual limit of 65,000 regular H-1B visas and the additional 20,000 visa numbers reserved for individuals who hold advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.
USCIS has already conducted a random computer-generated lottery of all of those petitions to determine which ...
Last year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received more than 124,000 applications for new H-1B specialty occupation visas for foreign professionals during the first week of April. As a result, USCIS implemented a computer-generated lottery system to allocate the 65,000 regular H-1B visas and the 20,000 additional H-1B visas reserved for foreign nationals with a masters degree or higher from a U.S. institution. Although there were predictions of high demand in 2013, some employers were not prepared given that the cap had not been reached for many months in the two ...
While making a presentation to clients yesterday, I was reminded of the practical and logistical problems many employers face when trying to complete the I-9 process for remote employees. One of my presentation hypotheticals involved a scenario in which a Minnesota company hired a California employee and wanted to complete Section 2 of the I-9 by having the new hire send scanned copies of her identification and employment authorization documents by email. Sounds like a logical and modern approach to I-9 completion, right? Unfortunately, it doesnt comply with I-9 ...
The newly revised Form I-9 went into full effect this past week on May 7, 2013. USCIS rolled out the new form earlier this year, but gave employers a 60-day grace period to transition. As of last Tuesday, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is no longer accepting the previous version of Form I-9. Employers must use this new form for all new hires and reverifications going forward, but they do not need to complete a new Form I-9 for existing employees with a properly completed form on file. For more information on the changes to the new Form I-9, please visit the previous blog ...
The bill addresses many aspects of the U.S. immigration system, but in the interest of brevity, I will limit my comments to a few key parts of the bill that directly impact employers.
Under the proposed legislation, all ...
The USCIS has published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the release of the revised Form I-9. Employers should begin using the revised form immediately. There is, however, a 60-day grace period before penalties may be imposed for using a previous version of the form.
The final changes to the form include additional instructions, an expanded two-page layout, and new data fields for employees to list their email addresses and phone numbers. Employers should be sure that they update their policies and handbooks to reflect the changes in the revised form and instructions. In ...
While employers should take steps to comply with all applicable legal obligations, it doesn't hurt to know those areas of compliance that are going to be given particular attention by enforcement agencies. Earlier this week, the EEOC announced its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for Fiscal Years 2013 2016. The SEP gives employers a peek at the measures the EEOC believes are needed to achieve its goal of deterring discriminatory practices in the workplace.
The SEP identifies the following six enforcement priorities:
- Eliminating Barriers in Recruitment and Hiring. The Commission ...
- The Society of Human Resource Management provides a brief summary of the decision on its Web site.
- Kaiser Permanente (the largest medical provider network in the country) has a helpful summary (aimed at consumers) at After The Ruling: A Consumers Guide.
- Other sites are providing relevant analysis such as the Minneapolis/St ...
- Time of hire is redefined as no later than the first day of work for pay.
- Clear instructions to employers about how to ...
Immigration is among the thornier and most complicated of all political issues, and also one of the most consequential to employers. A representative example: The current debate surrounding the federal worker eligibility status database, E-Verify.
In an era of increasing worksite enforcement, many employers are turning to technology to assist in their compliance with immigration laws. For example, in recent years, new technology has emerged that allows employers to electronically store their Forms I-9. An electronic I-9 retention system may allow quicker completion, fewer mistakes, easier retrieval and a more accurate way to flag documents.
In July 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a regulation intended to provide more flexibility for employers to electronically sign and store I-9 forms. Until ...
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