Form I-9 requirements flexibility extended for an additional 30 days: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification due to COVID-19. This temporary guidance was set to expire August 18. Because of ongoing precautions related to COVID-19, DHS has extended this policy for an additional 30 days. This provision only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. See the original news release for more information on how to obtain, remotely inspect, and retain copies of the identity and employment eligibility documents to complete Section 2 of Form I-9. Employers must monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates about when the extensions end and normal operations resume.  E-Verify participants who meet the criteria and choose the remote inspection option should continue to follow current guidance and create cases for their new hires within three business days from the date of hire.  Source USCIS 8/19/20

Women’s cell phone usage increases may be problematic for employers: Women are reporting a 70% increase in mobile-device usage compared to pre-pandemic and are conducting at least half of their work on such devices, according to a new survey.  The research, conducted by the data and insights division of The Mom Project called WerkLabs, reports an even more dramatic increase among working moms, who use their mobile device for work 80% more during the pandemic (non-moms reported a 30% increase). The mobile device increase comes with added stress, as 72% of all women surveyed feel pressured to stay online and accessible throughout the day. This type of stress could drive more women from the workplace. In an earlier Werklabs’ survey, women reported being almost twice as likely as their male counterparts to leave their employer within a year due to their work experience during the pandemic.  Source:  HR Executive 8/20/20

OSHA whistleblowing complaints growing yet staffing shortages hinder investigations: An audit by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, which was dated Aug. 14, found that staffing shortages within OSHA's whistleblower protection program combined with virus-fueled increases in complaints have the potential to severely hinder the agency's ability to promptly investigate claims. In particular, the processing complaints alleging retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions, especially as the Coronavirus pandemic has caused whistleblower claims to spike, is especially hindered. The OIG said it undertook the audit as part of its so-called pandemic oversight response plan specifically to assess the impact that whistleblower complaints related to COVID-19 have had on OSHA and how the agency has responded to those complaints.  The pandemic has resulted in a 30% jump in whistleblower complaints during its first four months as compared to the same period in 2019, when it took in about 3,250 complaints.  Of the 4,100 whistleblower complaints OSHA received from February through May, the OIG noted that about 1,600 of them were related to COVID-19, such as claims that someone was retaliated against for claiming violations of guidelines regarding social distancing or personal protective equipment.  Source:  Law360 8/18/20

Double standard for women with video calls? According to a recent report from employment law experts Slater & Gordon, managers are actively instructing female employees to dress ‘sexier’ for video calls. In fact, 35% of the women interviewed claimed to have been subjected to sexist workplace demands since lockdown began. The report found that 41% of workers relayed that their bosses had asked them to dress up for the team, while 38% said it would ‘please a client’ if they wore certain style of attire.  Source: HRD 7/24/20

More people thing discussing politics at work is a bad thing:  Politics may be top of mind for many people right now, but a new survey from Robert Half shows there is no consensus on whether or not it’s a safe topic for the workplace. While 22% of professionals surveyed said it's appropriate to discuss politics with colleagues, 26% noted it's never OK. Just over half of respondents (53%) stated it depends on the situation.   Additional findings include:  Among the 28 U.S. cities in the survey, San Francisco (63%) has the highest percentage of workers, by far, who are on board with talking about politics with colleagues, followed by New York (34%) and Los Angeles (33%).   Professionals in Cincinnati (35%), Phoenix (35%), Cleveland (33%), and Philadelphia (33%) are most opposed to political discussions with coworkers.   More respondents ages 25 to 40 (32%) than those ages 41 to 54 (13%) and 55 and older (9 %) said conversations about politics are acceptable.   More women (30%) than men (20%) said it's inappropriate to bring up politics with colleagues.  Professionals without children (31%) were more likely than working parents (20%) to report that political discussions are unsuitable for work. Source:  Robert Half 8/20/20