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Question: Can we decrease the number of hours employees work? Answer from Daniel, SHRM-SCP: Yes. Absent an employment contract or other legally binding agreement, you can reduce an employee’s work hours—there is no law that prevents this. Hours are typically reduced for reasons such as a decrease in business needs, the company's productivity has decreased, job restructuring, or reorganization. It's important, however, to make scheduling decisions in a manner that is consistent with legitimate business needs and to ensure that you're being consistent in how you treat employees. Reducing an employee's work schedule can expose you to legal claims if it is perceived to be based on an unlawful reason such as discrimination or retaliation. And of course, there’s also the risk that the affected employee may decide to look for work elsewhere. Daniel has over 12 years of experience in the communications, government relations, political advocacy, and customer service fields. He has a BS in Journalism and Communications. He has run a small business of his own and sat on the Board of Directors of several local non-profits. In his free time he enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, and home brewing. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Did you know you may still be able to verify I-9 documents remotely? But, you’ll need to use the new procedure. Learn more about it below. As we reported earlier, there’s a new I-9 form, and you should be using it for all new hires. When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the new form, it also informed us about new requirements for remote verification of I-9 documents. USCIS has dubbed this the alternative procedure. With workforces having gone remote due to COVID, employers were able to view those documents remotely—temporarily. Now, if you are a qualified employer, you are allowed to conduct Form I-9 remote documentation verification for any employee hired on or after August 1, 2023. Qualified employers are those that are participants in good standing in federal E-Verify. Employers are in good standing if all of the following are true: • They have enrolled in E-Verify for all hiring sites in the United States that use the alternative procedure. • They are compliant with all E-Verify program requirements. • They continue to be enrolled in E-Verify and are in good standing at any time when they use the alternative procedure. Pros and Cons of Using E-Verify E-Verify is the USCIS’s free system that compares information from an employee’s I-9 to data supplied by the federal government to confirm whether the individual is authorized to work in the United States. It’s optional for most employers, though some are required by federal or state law to participate. Notably, most federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use the system if the contract contains the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause. Using the E-Verify system does not replace or alter any of the Form I-9 requirements, except that it now allows for remote verification via the “alternative procedure.” If you’re thinking about using E-Verify so you can continue (or start) to verify I-9 documents remotely, we recommend weighing the pros and cons of E-Verify and considering the required steps of the alternative procedure, which we’ve outlined below. Pros • E-Verify can help employers verify that an employee’s I-9 documents are genuine. The system is designed to reduce the risk of hiring undocumented workers. A primary advantage of using the E-Verify system is that the company may reduce its exposure to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violations and fines. Proper use of E-Verify (assuming it’s based on a compliant I-9 process) acts as evidence that an employer is following employment eligibility laws. • Employers that hire students who have F-1 visas and have received a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields can access a 24-month F-1 STEM extension of the student’s work authorization that is only available to E-Verify employers. More information is available here. • Using E-Verify is a requirement for employers to use the alternative procedure for remote verification of I-9 documents. Cons • Use of the system adds another administrative step to the I-9 verification process with its own compliance requirements. E-Verify requires staff training as part of the enrollment process. • By using E-Verify, employers agree to allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS to perform periodic audits of their hiring records. Using E-Verify also does not decrease the chance of an I-9 audit; it may even increase the likelihood if you have a pattern of noncompliance. • Errors that might go undetected in the I-9 process may be subject to more scrutiny when your hiring data is stored in a government database. Employers should ensure their I-9 processes are compliant and ready to withstand inspection. • E-Verify can’t always detect if an employee is using legitimate documents that belong to another person. That said, the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) states that there won’t be civil or criminal liability for actions taken in good faith based on information provided by E-Verify. Alternative Procedure Steps If you would like to use the alternative procedure, you’ll need to take the following steps within three business days of an employee’s first day of employment: 1. Receive and examine copies of the employee’s Form I-9 documents (or an acceptable receipt) and determine if the documents appear to be genuine. If the documents are two-sided, employers need to examine copies of both the front and back. 2. Conduct a live video meeting with the employee. The employee needs to bring the same documents that they sent to the employer so the employer can ensure that they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee. 3. Check the box on Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) that an “alternative procedure” was used to examine documentation to complete Section 2 or reverification. 4. Retain clear and legible copies of all documents that the employee sent to complete Form I-9, regardless of whether the documents are from List A, List B, or List C. Be advised that you can’t require employees to use the alternative procedure if they don’t want to, and you will need to perform an in-person examination for those unable or unwilling to participate in the remote verification process. This could arise when new employees don’t have access to the necessary technology or are uncomfortable transmitting sensitive personal information electronically, particularly if the employer hasn’t provided a secure way for them to do so. Also, if you offer the alternative procedure at a particular hiring site, it needs to be offered to all employees at that site. If you prefer, you can offer the alternative procedure only to remote employees and do in-person inspection for onsite and hybrid employees. Employers can’t choose when to use remote or in-person verification based on a person’s or group of employees’ citizenship or immigration status, national origin, or any other protected characteristic. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: We recently made a couple of small updates to our employee handbook. Do we need to have employees sign a new handbook for each update? Answer from Shawna, SHRM‐CP: No. For small, minor updates, you don’t need employees to sign off, especially if you simply made an administrative change like updating the name of your employee assistance program provider, correcting a typo, or adding a clarifying statement. A simple communication to all employees to let them know that the change has been made, why, and where to find the change should suffice as notice. Larger changes, like a brand‐new policy or an update with essential changes, would warrant a new employee signature, especially if they could be disciplined for violating the new or updated policy. If you need to discipline an employee related to the new policy or update, their signature will help show that they were made aware of the change. After working in the mental health field for nearly a decade, Shawna became an HR professional and obtained a masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a Society of Human Resources Management certification. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. In her free time, Shawna enjoys hiking with her family, backpacking, running, and reading.  From HR Support Center ‐ Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: What should I know about checking employee references? Answer from Marisa, SPHR: Reference checks help you verify the employment information candidates provide, but they aren’t required, so it’s up to you whether you want to do them. Here are some practices we recommend if you do choose to conduct reference checks: Get permission from candidates to contact references. This should be part of the application process and can be a simple yes/no question. Determine at what point during the hiring process you will perform reference checks. Checking references earlier in the process may help you decide which candidates to interview, but it usually means doing a lot more of them. On the other hand, waiting until after a conditional offer has been made may slow the process down if you find reason to rescind the job offer. Some employers choose the middle ground and do these checks only for final candidates. Decide how much information you want to obtain in the reference check but be prepared for many employers to have a policy of doing no more than confirming the dates the candidate was employed with them. Be consistent. Do the checks at the same time in the process and for all candidates applying for similar positions. Ask objective, job‐related questions. Be aware that some states prohibit inquiring about salary history, though we don’t recommend asking even if it is permissible. Document the responses and keep them with your other recruiting and interviewing materials. Marisa has experience working in a wide variety of HR areas, including payroll, staffing, and training. Having supported HR functions in various industries, Marisa is able to apply her knowledge to each client's particular situation. Marisa earned her B.S. in Business Administration and Communications from the University of Oregon. She loves movies, trying new restaurants, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with her three dogs. From HR Support Center ‐ Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.