Hire Image will be closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Our office will reopen on Monday, July 6th, with normal business hours.
Government agencies will also be closed for the national holiday. Minor delays may be incurred. We will return results as expeditiously as possible.
Have a safe and fun 4th of July!
As Hire Image previously reported, the Form I-9 physical presence requirements were deferred through July 19th due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to assist employers with filling out the form during this time, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued various examples. These examples include recommendations for how the Form I-9 should be notated when remotely inspecting employment authorization and identity documents.
The following examples should be followed when notating Form I-9 in these circumstances:
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Have any questions? Hire Image can help. Contact us if you have any concerns about hoe the Form I-9 should be completed.
The FTC has filed a complaint against Kohl’s Department Stores, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide victims of identity theft with complete records of questionable transactions, a right granted by the FCRA. According to the complaint, the company’s policies did not provide a feasible way for their customers to get the documentation needed to establish the charges weren’t theirs. According to the FTC, these customers were victimized twice in this process – once by identity thieves and then by Kohl’s.
The $220,000 settlement serves as a reminder to employers to ensure not only their identity theft policy, but all policies, are in compliance with the FCRA and other applicable the laws.
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Hire Image works with companies every day to help ensure their policies and procedures comply with applicable laws and regulations both federally and within the states in which they operate. Contact us if you have questions about your own.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced increased flexibility in the processing of initial employment authorization documents (EADs) for asylum applicants. In the regulatory change, the USCIS removed the requirement that it has 30 days from the date an asylum applicant files the initial Form I-765 to grant or deny that initial employment authorization application. The 30-day timeframe was originally implemented over 20 years ago and is now obsolete, as USCIS has developed additional background screening and vetting processes to reduce fraud and identify threats. “Removing this self-imposed internal processing time frame gives USCIS the operational flexibility to conduct the kind of systematic vetting and identity verification procedures the public expects from an agency charged with protecting national security,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow.
The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on June 22nd and becomes effective August 21st.
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Contact us if you have any questions.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) added new guidance Wednesday to its updated technical assistance document relating to employers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the guidance, businesses cannot force workers to take COVID-19 antibody tests without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “An antibody test constitutes a medical examination under the ADA,” the EEOC said. “In light of CDC’s interim guidelines that antibody test results ‘should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace,’ an antibody test at this time does not meet the ADA’s ‘job related and consistent with business necessity’ standard for medical examinations or inquiries for current employees. Therefore, requiring antibody testing before allowing employees to re-enter the workplace is not allowed under the ADA,” the EEOC added.
The EEOC also pointed out that antibody tests are different from viral tests, and that the latter do not violate the ADA. As such, employers may administer viral tests to determine if employees are actively infected with the virus before letting them come back to work without violating the ADA.
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As part of our COVID-19 Updates, Hire Image previously reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was exercising discretion to defer the physical presence requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) for employers and workplaces operating remotely. As such, employers were not required to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence for 60 days.
Those 60 days were extended through June 18, 2020 and have now been extended for another 30 days through July 19, 2020.
As a reminder, the Form I-9 must still be completed within three days of hire, regardless of the fact that the in-person requirement is currently waived. Additionally, employees who were onboarded during this period must report to their employer within three business days for in-person verification.
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Have any questions? Hire Image can help. Contact us if you have any concerns about this extension.
