labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The deadline for employers’ compliance with changes to the I-9 form is April 3, 2009.

Essentially, the U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services, the agency in charge, has given employers a several-weeks respite.

Action by the new Presidential administration has helped the cause of those seeking a delay. Numerous employment law and regulatory deadlines put into action by the Bush Administration during its final months were postponed recently. Chief of Staff of the White House, Rahm Emmanuel, put out a memo urging federal agencies to take an additional 60 or 90 days to review all of those policies. The intention was to insure that the policies would be consistent with the standards of President Barack Obama.

An interim rule published by the USCIS in December of 2008 originally required all employers in the U.S. to begin using a new I-9 form by February 2, 2009. Under the new regulations, (more…)

In one of his first official acts, President Barack Obama signed 3 executive orders reversing employment policies introduced under the Bush administration.

The executive orders reversed Republican policies that many Democrats considered anti-union. However, employers argue that these new policies will further hamper employers – especially federal contractors – trying to compete financially in a tight market.

The new policies require federal contractors to inform employees of their rights to form unions. They also require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change, and make it more difficult for employers to discourage union activities, according to the New York Times.

Under one of the executive orders, when a government service contract expires and there is a new contract to perform the same services at the same location, the new contractor has to retain the old workers. Proponents point out that keeping trained, experienced workers (more…)

An new executive order requires federal contractors to post notices informing employees of their right to form unions and collectively bargain. This requirement must be included in every federal contract along with language giving the government the right to terminate/suspend the contract or even debar the contractor for noncompliance.       

Under Executive Order 13496, every federal contractor is required to post a notice informing employees of their rights to form unions and collectively bargain. This executive order overturns an order signed by President George W. Bush early during his administration.

Under the Executive Order signed by President Barack Obama on Friday, January 30, 2009, this requirement must be included in every federal contract along with language giving the government the right to terminate or suspend the contract if the employer does not comply.

In fact, employers who fail to post the required notice can be debarred for noncompliance.

The Executive Order signed by President Obama focuses specifically on (more…)

Federal contractors have been given a few more weeks to purchase required supplies and comply with the new E-Verify regulations.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that the deadline has been moved back from January 15, 2009 to February 20, 2009.

This temporary postponement was made to accommodate employers after several business groups, including SHRM, the Society of Human Resource Management and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce objected to the new regulations.

Indications are that the Department of Justice will be strictly enforcing the new regulations, so employers would be wise to have all supplies on hand and implement E-Verify prior to the deadline. This will permit employers to work out any problems with their program, ahead of the deadline. 

The new E-Verify regulations implement an executive order issued by President George W. Bush in June 2008. Under the new regulations, federal contractors must use an electronic system such as E-Verify to ascertain that new employees working on federal contracts are legally permitted to work in the U.S.

E-verify is a joint venture between the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm the legal work status of new employees. The program is free for any employer to use.

One of the more controversial portions of the rule would require federal contractors to ascertain the legal work and immigration status of existing employees, working on some sensitive federal projects.

The new regulations require that the government cannot enter into a contract with a company that refuses to check the employees legal work status with E-Verify. However, the rule is not retroactive – it applies only to contracts signed after the new effective date of February 20, 2009.

The new E-Verify regulation, or a similar version, will probably prevail although it has been challenged in court by SHRM. “SHRM supports the use of an electronic employment verification system but E-Verify is far from ready to be mandated on all employers,” said attorney Nancy Hammer. She is the Manager of Regulatory and Judicial Affairs for SHRM. “We are pleased with the Justice Department’s decision to delay the effective date. We want to avoid the problems and confusion that will result if the rules go into effect before the court has a chance to evaluate their legality.”

Both parties must file final motions and briefs on the case in the U.S. District Court in Maryland by February 11, 2009.

Meanwhile, employers can get a jump on this deadline, by implementing E-Verify now. A number of states already require that every employer use E-Verify, while others only recommend it.