It was a busy day in “Employment Law Land” on Friday, March 8, 2013! We have three updates for you:

1. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) released a new I-9 Employment Eligibility form, which you can find here: http://www.uscis.gov/i-9. Employers should use the new form right away.

Employers should also look in the bottom, left-hand corner of the form to see which version of the form is currently in use. The USCIS will accept older forms (the ones dated 02/02/09 and 08/07/09) until May 7, 2013. After May 7, 2013, the USCIS will only accept the new form (dated 03/08/13). After this grace period, it is very important that you use the new form. An employer who fails to comply with Form I-9 requirements is subject to a civil fine that ranges between $110 and $1,110 per form.

Should you need additional help in completing the I-9 forms, please do not hesitate to contact your friendly employment lawyer, or the USCIS’s revised I-9 employer handbook, which you can find here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf.

2. The final rule amending the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) that was promulgated on February 6, 2013 took effect on March 8, 2013. The new rule contained several changes, including modifications to military caregiver leave and leave for airline personnel and flight crews.

We can work with you on revising your corresponding employee policies over the next few months, but there is one change ruled by the final FMLA rule that you should have made by March 8:

3. By March 8, all employers (even employers with no eligible employees) are required to display the FMLA poster in a conspicuous place at the work site. You can find the poster here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmla.htm. Even if you missed the March 8 deadline, you should still post the FMLA poster as soon as possible: an employer who willfully fails to comply with the posting requirement is subject to a $110 civil money penalty.