Remote I-9 completion continued to November 19:   U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is again extending the flexibilities in rules concerning Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) compliance that were granted earlier this year. Because of the continued COVID-19 precautions, the Department of Homeland Security is extending the policy for another 60 days with the accommodations now set to expire November 19, 2020.

EEOC commissioners confirmed this week:  Republicans Keith Sonderling and Andrea Lucas and Democrat Jocelyn Samuels were confirmed by the Senate. Sonderling, a deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Labor, has been tapped to fill one vacancy, and Samuels, who heads a UCLA think tank, has been tapped to fill another. Lucas, a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP associate, will fill the seat of outgoing Commissioner Victoria Lipnic, a Republican who stayed on following her seat's July expiration per agency policy allowing commissioners to hold their seats until their successors are confirmed. Republican Chairwoman Janet Dhillon holds one current commission seat, and Democrat Charlotte Burrows has the other.  Source:  Law360 9/21/20

Working parents strongly hit by pandemic:  Nearly half of working parents have had to quit or reduce hours because of the pandemic, according to FlexJobs’ survey of than 2,500 parents with children 18 and younger living at home. 40% have had to change their employment situation by either voluntarily reducing their hours (25%) or quitting entirely (15%). An additional 5% said their partner has had to either reduce their hours or quit their jobs. The data is the latest to underscore the toll the pandemic is taking on working parents. Previous research from WorldatWork found that nearly a quarter of 234 organizations say they’ve had an employee quit during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their children’s education needs.  FlexJobs’ research also finds that of those workers who quit, 38% do not plan to rejoin the workforce. So how can HR and other company leaders help prevent a further exodus of parents from the workforce? Offering support, providing backup care benefits, and being flexible are just some of the ways. In particular, working parents say having a flexible schedule (58%) would have the greatest impact on their ability to juggle career, distance learning, and childcare responsibilities, according to FlexJobs.  Source:  HR Executive 9/18/20

Are you listening to employees? Crisis breeds innovation: In these times where everything seems to move or change faster, business leaders need to listen to their employees. None will know what will come next, but crisis provokes innovation. The challenge is for management to enable it to make it safe to try and try again. Here are a few action steps:  Create virtual town halls where employees are encouraged to come with ideas about a given issue. Choose suggestions to be explored by individuals and teams.  Execute the best ideas and keep people apprised of their progress. Follow up and evaluate successes.  Then rinse and repeat. Listen. Suggest. Execute. Evaluate. It is a way to get employees engaged with the issues of the day and give them a voice in solving them.  One thing is for sure: the new normal will not be the old normal. And while we can mourn the loss of the old familiar, we can take heart that when people put their hearts and minds into something greater than themselves, good things can happen.  Source:  Smart Brief 9/18/20

California expands FFCRA to over 500 employees and union employees:  The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) generally requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to eligible employees for qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. On September 9, 2020, California’s Governor Newsom signed AB 1867. This law expands access to paid sick leave (“Coronavirus PSL”) to California workers employed by entities with 500 or more employees in the United States.  The California Coronavirus PSL (LC 248.1) applies to any private or public entity that is subject to the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) and who elected to exclude health providers or emergency responders from the FFCRA’s requirements. Covered workers must leave their homes or other places of residence to perform for the hiring entity to qualify for Coronavirus PSL. Notably, Coronavirus PSL does not provide any carve-outs for unionized workers. California non-health care employers with more than 500 employees might prefer to change their prior FFCRA exclusion election to allow those previously excluded employees to use the paid time off benefit provided under FFCRA and to exempt themselves from compliance obligations under LC 248.1.  Source: Dykema 9/15/20

Harvard affirmative action case is heard in appellate court:  A federal appeals court heard oral arguments in a closely watched case about the role of race in undergraduate admissions at Harvard University, where the outcome could reshape how selective colleges choose who gets a coveted acceptance letter.  Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group whose members include Asian-Americans who were denied admission to Harvard, is appealing a federal district court’s 2019 ruling in favor of Harvard. After a widely watched trial, the court found that Harvard didn’t intentionally discriminate in selecting from a sea of applicants. Both sides have said they expect the case to end up with the Supreme Court.  The plaintiff alleged that the school engaged in “racial balancing,” similar to quotas, and held Asian-American applicants to higher standards than it did applicants of other backgrounds. It also accused Harvard of not fully assessing race-neutral alternatives to diversifying its class and of using race as a determinative factor when assessing applicants. The administration has mounted multiple challenges to affirmative action. Most recently, the Justice Department concluded, after a two-year investigation, that Yale University discriminates by race in undergraduate admissions. Federal officials threatened legal action in August if that school didn’t change its practices. Yale has called the findings baseless.  Source:  Wall Street Journal 9/16/20