The new I-9 is out: On Jan. 31, 2020, USCIS published the Form I-9 Federal Register notice announcing a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, that the Office of Management and Budget approved on Oct. 21, 2019. This new version contains minor changes to the form and its instructions. Employers should begin using this updated form as of Jan. 31, 2020.The notice provides employers additional time to make necessary updates and adjust their business processes. Employers may continue using the prior version of the form (Rev. 07/17/2017 N) until April 30, 2020. After that date, they can only use the new form with the 10/21/2019 version date. The version date is located in the lower left corner of the form.  USCIS made the following changes to the form and its instructions: 

• Revised the Country of Issuance field in Section 1
• Revised the Issuing Authority field (when selecting a foreign passport) in Section 2 to add Eswatini and Macedonia, North per those countries’ recent name changes. (Note: This change is only visible when completing the fillable Form I-9 on a computer.)
• With the instructions, clarified who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of an employer
• Updated USCIS website addresses
• Provided clarifications on acceptable documents for Form I-9
• Updated the process for requesting paper Forms I-9
• Updated the DHS Privacy Notice. 

A revised Spanish version of Form I-9 with a version date of 10/21/2019 is available for use in Puerto Rico only.  Source: USCIS 1/31/20

A disadvantage of remote work-work:  Working from home is more stressful than working in the office, 43% of corporate professionals said in a new survey. The poll of 1,076 U.S. professionals by Neuvana found that "work-life balance is nearly non-existent," prompting many to work continuously, even at home. Although 60% of respondents worked remotely at least once a month, 51% reported that working from home elevates their stress levels, and a third admitted putting in more work hours at home than in the office.  More than half the respondents also said they felt stressed when disconnected from work, with 61% saying they felt pressured to respond to work-related communication around the clock. In addition, a majority — 82% — also said they'd been contacted by a colleague about a work matter on a personal channel while off the clock.  While vacation is supposed to be a time for workers to de-stress, nearly half of the respondents said the pressure to be always "on" and electronically connected to work makes this allotted time off more stressful than it's worth. The respondents added that taking vacation time puts them behind in their work, forcing coworkers to pitch in while they're out.  Source:  HR Dive 1/29/20

Craig Leen, OFCCP Director, nominated to OPM Inspector General position: In a surprising turn of events, the White House has announced President Trump’s intent to nominate current OFCCP Director Craig Leen to the position of Inspector General of the Office of Personnel Management. There were no details around timing or potential OFCCP Director candidates provided in the release.  He would need to be confirmed by the Senate before moving into the role.  Source: Jackson Lewis 2/3/20

EEOC issues FY2019 statistics:  The EEOC’s fiscal year 2019 data shows that, once again, retaliation was the most frequently filed charge among the 72,675 workplace discrimination charges that the agency received last year. Notably, the total number of charges dropped significantly from the 76,418 filed in FY 2018—a nearly 5% decline in charge filings. Disability, race, and sex came in second, third, and fourth in frequency behind retaliation.   The Commission’s comprehensive enforcement and litigation statistics for FY 2019, which ended September 30, 2019, are posted on the agency’s website. The new data also reveals a substantial decline in the number of lawsuits that the EEOC filed, as well as a significant boost in the number settled. In FY 2019, the EEOC received 7,514 sexual harassment charges, amounting to 10.3% of all charges—a 1.2% decrease from its percentage in FY 2018.  The Commission’s top 5 charges are Retaliation: 39,110 (53.8% of all charges filed), Disability: 24,238 (33.4%), Race: 23,976 (33.0%), Sex: 23,532 (32.4%) and Age: 15,573 (21.4% percent).  As to litigation activity, the EEOC filed 157 lawsuits in FY 2019, substantially down from the 217 suits the agency filed in FY 2018—about a 28% drop. In FY 2019, 144 of the suits filed were merit suits, compared to the 199 merits suits filed in 2018.  Source:  EEOC, CCH

2^nd largest private employer in U.S.?  Amazon: Amazon's U.S. workforce topped 500,000 for the first time, up 43% from the year before and more than triple what it was five years ago, the company said Friday. It gained 150,000 workers last year, more than the size of Apple's entire workforce. Worldwide, Amazon had 798,000 employees by the end of last year. Only one American company beats Amazon in the size of its workforce; retail rival Walmart, which employs 1.5 million in the U.S. and more than 2 million worldwide. Walmart, however, took 35 years to build a workforce of similar size to Amazon today. Amazon reached the milestone in 24 years, more than a decade sooner.  Source:  Chicago Tribune 1/31/20

Not safe being a CEO anymore:  Chief executives routinely face barbs from investors and the media. Now some are dealing with criticism from a group closer to home: their own staff. The top boss used to be more shielded from in-house criticism. With some exceptions, discontented employees tended to grumble among themselves or at a town hall meeting. They let labor leaders do the toughest talking, usually in pursuit of better wages or job security. But at a time when digital forums like Slack and others are proliferating, workers aren’t just pressing employers to develop a stronger social conscience. They are taking leaders to task for their management style and, in some cases, calling for their jobs. To the CEOs under pressure, “it feels like everyone in the world is shouting at them,” said Erik Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, a Denver-area firm that advises companies on corporate communications and reputation management.  By empowering employees to speak out, though, company leaders are opening the door for workers to criticize the boss, said Ronnie Chatterji, a professor of business administration at Duke University.  “This is a double-edged sword of openness and transparency for a lot of companies and something that the new generation of CEOs is grappling with,” he said.  Source:  Wall Street Journal 2/1/20

Adoption assistance benefit may be a game changer for recruitment and retention: Unum has increased the adoption assistance it offers employees in its latest effort to grow and enhance its family-friendly benefit offerings. The insurance company will now provide $25,000 to employees adopting a child, up from the $5,000 it previously offered.  The benefit is available to all full-time U.S. employees who have worked at Unum for a year. Part-time employees also can take advantage of the program, but with a reduced benefit amount depending on their hours, Unum says.  The company says the benefit is a way to support its 9,500 U.S. employees, boost wellbeing, and invest in its workforce.   “Benefits like these are not just perks for parents—they’re investments that clear the runway for working parents to thrive professionally, meet their goals, and bring their best to work each day,” Liz Ahmed, executive vice president says.  The benefit also aims to help employees expand their families without worrying about the financial burden involved. The average cost of adoption from foster care is $2,500, and private domestic and international adoptions average upward of $43,000, according to research from Adoptive Families Magazine, which was cited by Unum. Those costs don’t include lost wages from work to bond with the child once adopted.  Source:  Human Resource Executive 1/28/20