I-9 COVID-19 flexibility requirements extended:  In May, 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 June 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. Please see the USCIS COVID-19 webpage for more information.

Racism is an issue in the workplace, just not mine:  Three-fourths of American workers (76%) think racism and discrimination is an issue at U.S. workplaces, but fewer than half (44%) think it's an issue at their company, according to a new survey from Clutch. The survey found that just 14% of workers say racism and discrimination is a major problem at their own workplace, compared to 43% who think it's a major problem at U.S. companies overall. Two-thirds of African-American workers (64%), however, say racism and discrimination is a problem at their workplace.  Many people may be discriminating without knowing it. These "microaggressions" are small actions, comments, and gestures people make that only marginalized groups may notice. Workers may not think their company is discriminatory, but many likely don't understand common workplace microaggressions. Training would help many organizations.  ASE is offering a webinar July 10^th - If You’re Human, You’re Biased: How Our Biases Impact Our Decisions, Interactions, and Perceptions.  Complimentary for ASE Members.  Register here.  Source: Clutch 6/10/20

EEOC updates its pandemic assistance guide:  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The publication, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” provides approaches employers may adopt as they plan for employees returning to the workplace, including providing information to all employees about who to contact with requests for disability accommodation or other flexibilities, and inviting employees to make any requests in advance that the employer will consider on an individualized basis. The updates also address requests for accommodation in the employer’s process for workplace screening, as well as frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and age discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and sex discrimination involving employees with caretaking or family responsibilities.  Finally, there are new questions about steps employers may take to prevent and address harassment of employees who are or are perceived to be of Chinese or other Asian national origin, including reminding employers that workplace harassment may occur while employees are teleworking.   Source:  EEOC

Model liability shield legislation making the rounds: A model state bill for business liability shield has been circulated by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a non-profit that drafts conservative model legislation. Jonathon Williams, chief economist for ALEC, claims that liability shields would provide “business owners [with] confidence that trial lawyers will not be able to feast on them for real or perceived harm.” Oklahoma and North Carolina have both passed shield legislation already, and Kansas appears poised to as well.  Senate Majority Leader McConnell wants a federal liability shield law as part of the next Stimulus package.  Currently in Michigan limited liability is provided through Governor Whitmer’s Executive Orders for health care organizations.  However, there will still be a question whether this law will be effective overall.  The liability shields being proposed would not preclude protracted litigation. An employee or customer could still bring an action, but instead of the typical claim for negligence they would instead argue that the company did not, in fact, meet government guidelines. Even the ALEC’s model legislation would permit a lawsuit to proceed where the plaintiff complains the company exhibited “gross negligence,” a higher standard but one that would nonetheless often require findings of fact past the motion to dismiss stage.  Source:  Justia Verdict 6/8/20

A growing number of employees want to return to the workplace: A survey of 410 senior and mid-level American businesspeople conducted by the process automation company Pipefy showed similar ambivalence towards remote work. Only 20% of newly remote workers said they'd like to work remotely full-time. 41% said they'd prefer to head back to the office, and 39% said they'd like flexibility. According to a Whereby survey, 82% of decision-makers said they're planning more remote work going forward. 65% want to downsize their office space.  Why the gap between employee preference and business intent? The Whereby survey provides these clues.  54% of newly remote employees report working more hours than before.  53% of decision-makers feel that going remote has increased overall productivity.  Source: Inc.

Does your company employ a rapid-response team?  A rapid response team is a designation of employees to address social and political issues that arise externally and in the workplace.  According to a survey by i4cp during a webinar on diversity only about 50% have a rapid-response team.  Half of the respondents said their organization does not use a formal team to respond to social or political events. In particular, 30% said the company responds as needed but efforts are ad hoc, while 10% doesn’t currently but is interested in building such capacity.  Another 10% said the company doesn’t get involved with events that don’t directly impact the bottom line or business continuity. Overall, one-third of respondents do utilize a rapid-response team for such efforts. Specifically, 20% deploy teams whose makeup varies, while 11% have inclusion and diversity representatives incorporated; 2% have guidelines for their rapid-response teams but a loose structure.  Source:  HR Executive 6/4/20