New I-9 now available: USCIS released a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on July 17. Employers can use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 through September 17, 2017. On September 18, 2017, employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9. Changes include: changing the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section and removing “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.” In addition, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) was added to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Sections 2 and 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for Form I-9. All changes were included in the revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274). Source: USCIS 7/17/17
Vets 4212 Reporting Cycle begins August 1, 2017: The VETS 4212 reporting cycle for 2017 is scheduled to open on August 1, 2017, and the filing deadline is September 30, 2017. For contracts entered into prior to October 1, 2015, the VETS-4212 Report must be filed by all nonexempt federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts or subcontracts for the furnishing of supplies and services to the government, or who have the use of real or personal property belonging to the government, whose total yearly amount equals $100,000 or more. For contracts entered into on or after October 1, 2015, the VETS-4212 Report must be filed by all nonexempt federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts or subcontracts for the furnishing of supplies and services to the government, or who have the use of real or personal property belonging to the government, whose total yearly amount equals $150,000 or more.
The EEO-1 reporting due date is now March 31, 2018: The EEO-1 reporting cycle is scheduled for March 31, 2018 based on a snapshot date sometime 4th quarter 2017. The EEO-1 pay reporting requirement applies to employers with 100 or more employees and is based on the W-2 box 1 information. Employers who have to report pay will do so by taking the Box 1 amount and correlating it to one of the 12 bands. Employers will less than 100 employees do not have to report any pay. At this point in time the pay report is expected to begin in 2018; however, a newly constituted EEOC could request a delay until 2019. Further, on July 13, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee adopted a rider to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill which prohibits EEOC from using funding money (flat funding of $363,807,000) to implement the new EEO-1 component. This amendment to the bill was adopted on a vote of 29-20. In its report, the Appropriations Committee said that it expects the EEOC “to prioritize inventory reduction rather than allocate resources for systematic changes.” Source: DCI 7/19/17
Failure to hire for medical marijuana use in Massachusetts is discriminatory: Bucking the general U.S. trend that use of medical marijuana does not fall under anti-discrimination statutes, Marijuana use and possession are illegal under federal law. Like heroin, marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has no accepted medical use, and it has a high potential for abuse. Doctors cannot lawfully prescribe marijuana to patients under federal law. Notwithstanding, on July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that employers may have to allow employees to engage in off-duty use of marijuana for medical purposes reasoning that tolerating off-duty medical marijuana use may be a “reasonable accommodation” of a disability under the Massachusetts anti-discrimination statute. Whether this view is taken on by other states is yet to be seen, but those employers with facilities in Massachusetts should review their employment policies and accommodation practices. The SJC noted that its ruling doesn’t apply to safety-sensitive jobs like transportation employees or federal contractors that are required to adhere to federal drug-free workplace laws, and that there is no implied statutory private cause of action under the state’s medical marijuana law. Source: Seyfarth Shaw 718/17, Law.com 7/19/17
California now requires notice of rights for victims of domestic violence for new hires: Effective July 1, 2017, California employers with 25 or more employees must provide written notice of workplace rights for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Those rights, which include the rights to leaves of absence, accommodation and freedom from discrimination and retaliation, are found in Labor Code Sections 230 and 230.1. The new notice requirement is codified in Section 230.1 of the California Labor Code. The California Labor Commissioner has posted a form that California employers may use to satisfy these notice requirements at the following link: Victims of Domestic Violence Leave Notice. The written notice may be provided electronically, so long as new hires are able to freely access and print it without cost or restraint. A provision in an employee handbook that includes the required information also would satisfy the notice requirements of Labor Code Section 230.1, but only if the handbook is given to all employees upon "hire," which means the date when an offer of employment is accepted, and not on the employee's first day of work. Source: Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 7/14/17
Chatbot – your next employment legal counsel? Last year Stanford student Josh Browder’s robot lawyer, DoNotPay, was able to help appeal over 160,000 parking tickets across London and New York City. The legal community had barely heard of a chatbot. Since then, chatbots have expanded across the legal industry in ways that have both assuaged and stoked attorneys’ concerns about the technology. DoNotPay has blown up in the year since its launch. The chatbot service announced last week that it now offers users over 1,000 different free legal services across practice areas through chatbots hosted on both Facebook Messenger and its own website. When users can’t find a chatbot that meets their request, DoNotPay directs users to email DoNotPay directly. Browder said DoNotPay staff will then follow up with a direct email to users within 24 hours of the original inquiry suggesting some legal tech or community resources that may better fit their problem. Further, the technology is now available to users in all 50 states. However, while chatbots are incredibly scalable and accessible, they can potentially direct users to incorrect information and mislead users into thinking there’s a real-life attorney sitting on the other side of the chat. There isn’t. Reliance on the chatbots are at the users’ risk. You should still talk to your legal counsel on employment issues. Source: law.com 7/17/17