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The new I-9 form was released November 14. It may now be used, although the old form will remain valid through January 21, 2017. After that date, you must use the new form. We recommend you train all employees who are responsible for completing the I-9 and start to use it for new hires as soon as possible.
A few important notes about this new form:
Notable changes to the form itself include the following:
The USCIS has yet to release a new Handbook for Employers (M-274) and advises employers to follow the new form instructions for the most up-to-date information. The updated instructions are also available for download on uscis.gov/i-9.
On November 22, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules, which were slated to go into effect on December 1, 2016. The judge ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) likely overstepped its rulemaking authority by raising the salary threshold as high as it did and by implementing the automatic increase every three years.
What this means now:
The judge has not made a final ruling in the case, but the fact that he issued the injunction suggests that he is leaning in favor of the groups that want to stop the rule changes. It is also possible that his final decision will allow some parts of the rule to stand but not others. The DOL has indicated that in the meantime they are considering their legal options with respect to the preliminary injunction.
Employers are obviously wondering whether they should move forward with the changes they have been planning. Unfortunately, this is a difficult question to answer and ultimately a business decision, which is much harder than a compliance decision.
Although employers are not required to make changes, they may want to consider the following:
At this point, we do not know how long the injunction will be in place or if the rules will be thrown out entirely. We will be keeping an extremely close eye on this case and will issue further alerts when actionable information is made available.
The IRS has extended the deadline for applicable large employers (those with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees) to distribute Form 1095-C to employees from January 31, 2017 to March 2, 2017. The extension also applies to small employers with self-funded plans, who now have until March 2 to distribute Form 1095-B to employees.
The distribution of this form is one part of the reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act for employers who are subject to the Employer Mandate. The additional 30 days gives employers more time to gather the relevant information and prepare the forms.
This extension applies only to the forms distributed to individuals. Employers must still file the 2016 Forms 1094-B and 1095-B (for small employers with self-funded plans) or Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (for applicable large employers) with the IRS by February 28, 2017, for paper filing, or March 31, 2017, if filing electronically. Employers with fewer than 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees are not subject to these reporting requirements or to the ACA mandate itself.
The IRS has also extended “Good Faith Transition Relief” to the 2016 reporting year. Employers who can show they made good faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements will not be penalized for incorrect or incomplete information reported for the 2016 tax year.
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