The local Ocala Human Resource Management Association has been organized to support human resource professionals by providing quality programs, networking resources, career development opportunities to assist our community.
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NEWS
Use Existing I-9 Form Until Replacement Is Available
By Fragomen,April 17, 2007
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allowing employers to continue to use the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, which expired on March 31, until a replacement form is ready.
Since 1986, the Immigration and Nationality Act has required all U.S. employers to verify the employment eligibility and identity of all employees hired to work in the United States. To comply with the law, employers are responsible for the completion of Form I-9 for all employees, including U.S. citizens.
Completed I-9 forms are not filed with the federal government; rather, employers are required to retain them in their own files for three years after the date of hire or one year after the date that employment is terminated, whichever is later.
DHS is currently updating the Form I-9; the revised form is expected to become available during 2007. The modifications are likely to reflect the legislative changes to the employment eligibility verification system, particularly for electronic storage of Form I-9s. However, despite a split among government authorities over the use of an expired form to complete a government requirement, employers are advised to continue to use the expired Form I-9 and avoid being accused of not complying with the Immigration and Nationality Act.
House Approves Ban on Workplace Genetic Discrimination
By Bill Leonard
By an overwhelming vote of 420-3, the House of Representatives on April 25, 2007, approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 493), whichwould prohibit employers from using genetic information or test results when making employment and health benefits decisions.
The bill would prevent group health plans and health care insurers from using genetic information to set premiums and would bar insurance carriers from requiring plan participants to submit to genetic tests. The proposal has broad bipartisan support and has passed the Senate twice the last time in 2005. This marks the first time that the measure has gained approval in the House.
President Bush has indicated that he supports the bill and would sign it into law once approved by both houses of Congress. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved a companion version (S. 358) of the legislation in late January. According to political observers and sources familiar with the issue, the House lopsided approval of the measure could speed up the Senate vote on the bill.
The Senate version has wide bipartisan support with 32 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Several leading GOP senators, including Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., ranking member of the HELP Committee, are co-sponsors of the bill, which could ensure quick approval from the Senate, sources agree.
Many business groups have voiced their support for a ban on using genetic information in employment decisions, including the Society for Human Resource Management, which co-chairs the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Employment (GINE) Coalition. However, members of the coalition have expressed concern that the legislation and enforcement of the law should focus on preventing discrimination and not on the innocent use or collection of genetic information for health care purposes.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has opposed the bill, and Chamber officials claim that the legislation would place another unneeded workplace mandate on employers and could create confusion in connection with existing medical privacy laws and regulations.
Although the House markup of the bill secured several important technical improvements, H.R. 493 remains overly broad," said R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president of government affairs for the U.S. Chamber, in a letter to members of Congress. The legislation medical privacy provisions will radically alter employer use and processing of health care information, in a confusing manner inconsistent with existing medical privacy laws."
It was unclear when the full Senate would begin consideration of the bill, but several sources say a vote could happen before Congress takes a weeklong break to observe Memorial Day.
As an HR professional, there is a responsibility to know what is happening on a state and national level. HRVoice assists you in taking proactive steps in shaping public policy affecting the HR profession. SHRM members, through the HRVoice program, can play an instrumental part in influencing legislation on the national and state levels.
