I-9 Expired List B documents no longer acceptable starting May 1: DHS is ending the COVID-19 Temporary Policy for List B Identity Documents. Beginning May 1, employers will no longer be able to accept expired List B documents.  DHS adopted the temporary policy in response to the difficulties many individuals experienced with renewing documents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that document issuing authorities have reopened and/or provided alternatives to in-person renewals, DHS will end this flexibility. Starting May 1, 2022, employers must only accept unexpired List B documents. If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers are required to update their Form I-9s by July 31, 2022. Source:  DHS 3/17/22

Watch out, the “Big Regret” is next: Employers across the U.S. have been dealing with a historic shift in labor thanks to the Great Resignation, and the pundits have been falling over themselves to explain why employers are at fault. Now it looks like the Great Resignation may be followed by the Great Regret. Researchers at the consulting firm McKinsey, say “[employees] want a renewed and revised sense of purpose in their work. They want social and interpersonal connections with their colleagues and managers. They want to feel a sense of shared identity. They want meaningful – though not necessarily in-person – interactions, not just transactions.”  However, another recent study  by the job search site the Daily Muse of more than 2,500 workers found that almost three-quarters of them (72%) experienced either “surprise or regret” that the new position or new company they quit their job for turned out to be “very different” from what they were led to believe. Nearly half (48%) of these workers said they would try to get their old job back thanks to a phenomenon that The Daily Muse is calling “shift shock.”  Effective HR recruiting channels may now be boomerangs.  Source:  The Guardian 3/20/22

Why haven’t women returned to the workforce yet? More women than men left the workplace during the pandemic and many have not returned. Sharmili Majmudar, the executive vice president of policy and organizational impact with Women Employed explained why. "The availability of childcare continues to be a really significant issue. About a third of the childcare workforce left the industry during the pandemic because their childcare center closed or because they took another job or retired.” Majmudar also states that "[s]ome companies are kind of really trying to reset back to the status quo of pre-pandemic. And others that are really utilizing all of the lessons learned during the pandemic to create more inclusive workplaces. But I think the important thing to realize is that even with something like a hybrid system it's not simply a difference in work location, it's a cultural shift. And with any cultural shift, it can create barriers and challenges and sometimes particularly for women and people of color."  To bring women back to the workplace, employers need to re-evaluate their programs for caregivers and the flexibility of work – not the location but hours when work can be completed.   Source:  ABC News 3/20/22

EEOC issues new caregiver technical assistance:  The EEOC has released a technical assistance document (TAD), “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law” (TAD), as well as an update to its COVID-19 “What You Should Know,” questions and answers series, explaining discrimination against employees and job seekers with family caregiving responsibilities. The new TAD includes 18 Q&As, while the “What You Should Know” update adds a new section on caregivers with four Q&As. Using existing EEOC policy guidance, the guidance documents outline how discrimination against applicants or employees with caregiving responsibilities can violate federal equal employment laws when based on a protected characteristic such sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. An employer’s assumptions or stereotypes about caregivers may result in illegal discrimination when those assumptions lead the employer to make employment decisions based on a protected characteristic, even where the employer’s decisions are well-intentioned.  The TAD also addresses situations in which caregivers may encounter illegal harassment, retaliation, or discrimination based on pregnancy, gender, association with someone who has a disability, or other bases protected by EEOC-enforced laws. Source:  EEOC

Long COVID could fall under ADA:  Most of what we know about how COVID can affect the brain has come from studies of severe infection. In people with severe COVID, inflammatory cells from outside the brain can enter brain tissue and spread inflammation. There may be changes to blood vessels. Brain cells can even have changes similar to those seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease.  For the first time, a new study has investigated the effects of mild COVID (that is, infection that doesn’t lead to a hospital admission) on the brain. The findings may further explain some of the brain changes contributing to long COVID. Many people who have had COVID report feelings of “brain fog”, fatigue, and problems with concentration and memory long after their initial symptoms resolve. These problems, collectively referred to as “long COVID”, may last for months even after mild infection. Long COVID is very common and may affect more than half of the people who catch COVID, even if they have a mild case.  Therefore, if you find an employee experiencing these symptoms, follow the ADA playbook.  Failure to do so could lead to ADA discrimination.  Source: PsyPost 3/20/22

Should crypto be part of our 401K offerings? Employers with 401(k) plans and a crypto-savvy employee population began asking whether they could offer cryptocurrency as a plan investment option. In the 401(k) world, where even a self-directed brokerage window with built-in investment limitations can be too risky, the answer seemed obvious – watch out! Cryptocurrency is notoriously volatile and, quite frankly, confusing for many investors. For that reason, it doesn’t seem to pair well with 401(k) retirement planning, where plan fiduciaries are charged with choosing investments that balance long-term growth with a certain level of stability and reasonable fees. The Department of Labor is now weighing in, however, and recently released Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (Release), in which it “cautions plan fiduciaries to exercise extreme care before they consider adding cryptocurrency to a 401(k) plan’s investment menu for plan participants”. The Release further indicates that the DOL expects to conduct an investigative program aimed at plans offering investments in cryptocurrency and related products and to “take appropriate action to protect the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries” regarding cryptocurrency investments. Plan fiduciaries are put on notice that they must be ready to “square their actions with their duties of prudence and loyalty” in light of the risks set out by the Release.  Source:  Jackson Lewis 3/21/22