ARE THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS 

ACT CHANGES STILL HAPPENING?

December 1, 2016, the effective date of the changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is fast approaching.

We’ve received many calls since the election from clients asking if they should proceed with the reclassification of their employees earning less than $47,476, the new minimum compensation for exemption.  The answer is, “Yes!”

President-elect Trump does not take office until January 20, 2017.  That’s well after the changes to the FLSA go into effect.  Please do not put your organization at risk of Department of Labor fines and orders to pay back wages by waiting to see what is enacted by the new administration.

Based on recent comments by Vice-President Elect Pence, we are expecting that the FLSA changes will be an early consideration for the new administration.  So, while there may be changes, it will most likely not be a complete roll back to the regulations in effect currently.  Additionally, we have been promised heightened scrutiny by the Department of Labor immediately following the effective date of the new regulations.

Continue with your plans for implementation of the changes.  We’re monitoring the comments coming from D.C. and will keep you updated.  As soon as we have new information about plans to change the regulations, we will let you know.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about the correct classification of any of your employees, please let us know immediately.  You only have a short time to get all of your employees appropriately classified prior to the effective date of the changes.

NEW I-9 FORM

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new I-9 form that is “smart.”  The new .pdf form can be provided electronically to new hires and completed (up to a point) on line.  We’ve attached a copy of the new form which can be used immediately.  Updated Form I-9  The old form which has a revision date of 3/8/2013 can be used until January 21, 2017.  The new form must be in use for all new hires after January 21, 2017.

There are many changes to the new form.  Some of the notable changes include:

• Each field has embedded instructions for proper completion.
• There is electronic validation in some of the fields, like confirming the number of digits in a social security number.
• Because the form is .pdf, there are drop-down lists from which to choose for documents.
• There’s also a drop-down calendar for date selection.
• Employees may press a button to start over or print the form.
• There is a new checkbox on this form.  If the employee is not getting assistance from either a preparer or a translator in the completion of the form, they must check the box labeled, “I did not use a preparer or translator.”

Because the employee may now access instructions electronically, it is presumed that the error rate for completion will be diminished, but Human Resources will need to ensure a printer is available for those employees who are completing the form on-site.

There is a QR code (barcode) that prints on each form that will assist officials in future enforcement audits.

Some requirements remain-even with the new electronic form.  You will continue to separate the instructions from the actual form once it is printed.  You will only maintain the actual form.  Additionally, even though the new form is available for partial completion electronically, you must continue to obtain handwritten signatures.  Also, if you are subject to E-Verify, you will continue to retype the employee’s information into the E-Verify system.