What Canadian Employers Need to Know to Ring in 2024

In 2023, we helped Canadian employers overcome a host of new challenges across the employment law landscape. Many companies started the year with difficult cost-cutting decisions and hybrid work challenges. We’ve worked hard to keep our clients ahead of the curve on these issues, as well

We are pleased to share with you The Global Employer – Global Immigration & Mobility Quarterly Update, a collection of key updates from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

Click here to view.

In 2023, we helped US employers overcome a host of new challenges across the employment law landscape. Many companies started the year with difficult cost-cutting decisions and hybrid work challenges. More recently, employers faced challenges around intense political discourse boiling over in the workplace. We’ve worked hard to keep our clients ahead of the curve on these

On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued a 63-page Executive Order to define the trajectory of artificial intelligence adoption, governance and usage within the United States government. The Executive Order outlines eight guiding principles and priorities for US federal agencies to adhere to as they adopt, govern and use AI. While safety and security are predictably high on the list, so too is a desire to make America a leader in the AI industry including AI development by the federal government. While executive orders are not a statute or regulation and do not require confirmation by Congress, they are binding and can have the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers.

Instruction to Federal Agencies and Impact on Non-Governmental Entities

The Order directs a majority of federal agencies to address AI’s specific implications for their sectors, setting varied timelines ranging from 30 to 365 days for each applicable agency to implement specific requirements set forth in the Order.

The actions required of the federal agencies will impact non-government entities in a number of ways, because agencies will seek to impose contractual obligations to implement provisions of the Order or invoke statutory powers under the Defense Production Act for the national defense and the protection of critical infrastructure, including: (i) introducing reporting and other obligations for technology providers (both foundational model providers and IaaS providers); (ii) adding requirements for entities that work with the federal government in a contracting capacity; and (iii) influencing overall AI policy development.

Continue Reading Biden’s Wide-Ranging Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence Sets Stage For Regulation, Investment, Oversight and Accountability

With special thanks to co-presenters Daniel UrdiainPamela Mafuz and Ludmilla Maurer.

In our latest Global Immigration and Mobility Video chat, our on-the-ground immigration and mobility attorneys in the US, Mexico, Spain and Germany explore digital nomad visas by providing a brief overview of the requirements, process, tax and social security consequences, what

We are pleased to share with you The Global Employer – Global Immigration & Mobility Quarterly Update, a collection of immigration and mobility alerts from around the world.

Please click here to view.

New guidance from USCIS provides a new alternative, starting August 1, 2023, allowing employers that participate in E-Verify to inspect documents presented for I-9 completion remotely. This update will free qualifying employers from the burden of performing a physical verification.

To qualify, employers must be in good standing with E-Verify. This significant change in USCIS policy provide a pragmatic solution for qualifying employers, particularly those with large remote-working populations. The new guidance is also timely – as it is effective the day after USCIS’ COVID-19 flexible guidance is set to expire.

Continue Reading Update: USCIS Modernizes I-9 Verification Process Allowing for Virtual Verification

With special thanks to co-presenters Pamela Mafuz and Tony Haque.

In our latest Global Immigration and Mobility Video chat, our on-the-ground immigration and mobility attorneys explore the impact of geopolitical changes to immigration and mobility of employees in the EMEA region. 

Click here to watch the video.

The month of July will bring forth two notable changes to immigration compliance requirements: (i) Florida will require that all private employers with at least 25 employees use E-Verify as of July 1; and (ii) the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will end temporary flexibilities on July 31 that permitted certain employers to complete the Form I-9 remotely without inspection of the original documents. Employers–throughout the United States–must be aware of how mandatory E-Verify will or could impact their company and how the end of remote I-9 completion will impact its remote workforce.

Mandatory E-Verify in Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law on May 10, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. The law expands mandatory use of E-Verify to all private employers with 25 or more employees. SB 1718  expands existing State law which requires the use of E-Verify by public employers, private employers which contract with public employers, and private employers which receive state incentives.  The new law aligns Florida with other states with mandatory E-Verify requirements, including Utah, Arizona, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

What is E-Verify?

E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against records available to the US Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment eligibility. The program is additive to and does not replace the I-9 requirement. E-Verify is a meaningful tool that helps employers verify the work authorization of their workforce; it can also serve as evidence of good faith during government investigations relating to I-9 practices. However, employers must meet compliance requirements when using E-Verify, and noncompliance can result in fines and other civil penalties.

Requirements for private employers

The Florida law will require that all private employers with 25 or more employees register for E-Verify and utilize it for new employees hired on or after July 1, 2023. Each employer subject to the new law will be required to retain copies of the E-Verify documentation for at least three years, and will be required to verify compliance on its first return when making contributions to or reimbursing the state’s unemployment compensation or reemployment assistance program. Notably, employers who use E-Verify–whether required or not–will create a rebuttable presumption that they have not knowingly employed an unauthorized worker.

Continue Reading Mandatory E-Verify in Florida and the End of I-9 Flexibility for Remote Workers: Major Changes to Immigration Compliance Landscape on the Horizon