Ok so I wasn't exactly correct about the new I-9 Form but leave it to the federal government to be ambiguous ;) Days before the new I-9 Form was set to be effective, President Obama's Chief of Staff sent a letter to all Government Agencies that any final rules or changes could not be sent to the Federal Register until it is reviewed by the new administration. This morning they announced they would postpone implementation of the New I-9 Form until April 2009 to give them time to review.
Until any further information is released the Rev. 06/07 I-9 is still the only valid version of the I-9 Form.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Myth of the New February 2, 2009 I-9 Form....
Some of you may have recently seen announcements about a new I-9 Form that must be in place by February 2, 2009. Unfortunately, the messages coming from the Department of Homeland Security(DHS), various legal firms, and HR websites have a lot of conflicting information and dates so I wanted to clarify and propose MY thoughts about what is really going on.
If you will remember my HR friends, an I-9 Form with an expiration date of 2009 was released in June 2008. Normally when the government produces new Forms for things it must publish them in the Federal Register, after which usually 45 days later the new form is effective. Ahh but the trick here is DHS never published that June I-9 Form in the Register! (I think this observation is backed up by the fact that the USCIS website currently lists the Form with an expiration 6/07 as the correct version of the I-9).
Recently, on December 18, 2008, DHS did publish in the Federal Register new rules that would eliminate certain forms of identification and a copy of a different 2009 I-9 Form reflecting those changes,but it is marked with a gray "informational purposes only" across the body of it and it is open for public comment until February 2, 2009. Unfortunately, some people have interpreted this as a requirement to use a new I-9 Form. But that begs the question, if there is a new Form which one is it? The one printed last June (which does not have the updated ID changes) or the one printed in the back of the Register in December (which is informational only)?
So here is my theory.....DHS printed the I-9 Form last June because they had to, the expiration date for the Form was 6/30/08 so something had to be created to extend the approval DHS has from the budgeting office to actually collect Immigration information. (See my earlier post on 9/4/08 for clarification on the form creation process). However, they never published it keeping in mind they may want to make edits to it. The information published in the Federal Register in December is an "Interim Rule" which means it is NOT final, and they would like people to comment on the new ID removals and the new I-9 Form format before they officially release a new form.
Hopefully DHS will send out some clarification before February 2, 2009 but I would recommend for now sitting tight and waiting for more information.
If you will remember my HR friends, an I-9 Form with an expiration date of 2009 was released in June 2008. Normally when the government produces new Forms for things it must publish them in the Federal Register, after which usually 45 days later the new form is effective. Ahh but the trick here is DHS never published that June I-9 Form in the Register! (I think this observation is backed up by the fact that the USCIS website currently lists the Form with an expiration 6/07 as the correct version of the I-9).
Recently, on December 18, 2008, DHS did publish in the Federal Register new rules that would eliminate certain forms of identification and a copy of a different 2009 I-9 Form reflecting those changes,but it is marked with a gray "informational purposes only" across the body of it and it is open for public comment until February 2, 2009. Unfortunately, some people have interpreted this as a requirement to use a new I-9 Form. But that begs the question, if there is a new Form which one is it? The one printed last June (which does not have the updated ID changes) or the one printed in the back of the Register in December (which is informational only)?
So here is my theory.....DHS printed the I-9 Form last June because they had to, the expiration date for the Form was 6/30/08 so something had to be created to extend the approval DHS has from the budgeting office to actually collect Immigration information. (See my earlier post on 9/4/08 for clarification on the form creation process). However, they never published it keeping in mind they may want to make edits to it. The information published in the Federal Register in December is an "Interim Rule" which means it is NOT final, and they would like people to comment on the new ID removals and the new I-9 Form format before they officially release a new form.
Hopefully DHS will send out some clarification before February 2, 2009 but I would recommend for now sitting tight and waiting for more information.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
FMLA General Notice Requirements January 16, 2009
The Family Medical Leave Act Final Rule was released in November 2008 and has changed some major provisions of the Act affecting the responsibilities of employers and employees. I will be posting a more detailed outline of these changes soon, but the most immediate concern to my fellow Human Resource Professionals is the new Notice requirements.
FMLA now requires that each individual employee be given "notice" of their rights under FMLA. The provisions state that this can be accomplished by placing the general notice posting in an employee handbook if it is distributed to all employees but if not then it must be handed to employees at the following times:
- at the time they are hired,and
- when they first request a FMLA leave of absence.
In addition, the new notice poster must be posted in a conspicuous place within the workplace.
Here is a link to a copy of the general notice poster:
www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/FMLAPoster.pdf
The general notice poster must be distributed to employees and posted by January 16, 2009.
FMLA now requires that each individual employee be given "notice" of their rights under FMLA. The provisions state that this can be accomplished by placing the general notice posting in an employee handbook if it is distributed to all employees but if not then it must be handed to employees at the following times:
- at the time they are hired,and
- when they first request a FMLA leave of absence.
In addition, the new notice poster must be posted in a conspicuous place within the workplace.
Here is a link to a copy of the general notice poster:
www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/FMLAPoster.pdf
The general notice poster must be distributed to employees and posted by January 16, 2009.
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