Maine Issues FAQs for Paid Family and Medical Leave Program – The Maine Department of Labor has published answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the state’s paid family and medical leave (PFML) program. The department included a caveat at the beginning of the FAQs stating that they are subject to change pending the adoption of forthcoming rules.
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Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it updated its Employment Eligibility Verification form, also known as Form I-9, to extend the form’s expiration date from July 31, 2026, to May 31, 2027. Employers must use the Form I-9 dated “08/01/2023,” which may have an expiration date of either “07/31/2026” or “05/31/2027.” Employers may use either form until its respective expiration date. However, the USCIS website will only include the Form I-9 with the new “05/31/2027” expiration date for downloading.
Background – On Aug. 1, 2023, the USCIS published a new version of the Form I-9 that employers were required to use beginning on Nov. 1, 2023. Some of the most notable changes included the following:
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Employee terminations are often complicated, and if not conducted properly, employers can open themselves up to costly legal challenges and negatively affect their business or reputation. Understanding the legal obligations of employee terminations can help employers ensure this process is conducted in a manner that minimizes legal risks and accounts for various business considerations.
Employers should carefully consider their obligations at each stage of the termination process, including:
“Quiet vacationing” is when employees take vacation days without informing their employer, so it would look like they worked more than they actually did or work from home and do not put in a full day’s worth of work. It’s important that employers understand this new trend and take the appropriate steps to address it.
Why Are Employees Quiet Vacationing? Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers have adapted to hybrid or remote work policies. As a result, management approaches and work styles have changed, potentially contributing to quiet vacationing. Specifically, quiet vacationing in remote work settings might be happening for many reasons:
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently published a report examining employee benefits in the country. The estimates in the report are from the BLS’ National Compensation Survey, which measures costs and trends related to employer-provided benefits.
The survey represents more than 146 million civilian workers in private industry and state and local government. The following article summarizes the main points of the DOL’s Employee Benefits in the United States release and shares information related to what average employers are providing related to:
We recently released our 4th quarter Attraction and Retention Newsletter. This edition of the newsletter includes the following information:
Read the full article here: Attraction & Retention Quarterly Newsletter
Colorado FAMLI Premium Rate to Remain at 0.9% for 2025 – The premium contribution rate for Colorado’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, known as FAMLI, will remain at 0.9% of employee wages for calendar year 2025, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
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On Aug. 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to protect workers from heat injury and illness. If finalized, the new standard would apply to all employers conducting indoor and outdoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agricultural sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, subject to limited exceptions.
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According to a recent survey of employers by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), U.S. employers estimate a median 8% increase in health care costs for 2025. Catastrophic health claims and rising specialty prescription drug prices drive the projected increase. The latest findings are greater than those of the past two annual surveys, which both projected a 7% rise in health care costs.
Analysis of a separate survey from Aon reveals that the average cost of U.S. employer-sponsored health care coverage is estimated to increase by 9% in 2025. “This projected increase, which assumes employers do not implement employee cost-sharing increases and other cost-saving strategies, is higher than the 6.4 percent increase to health care budgets that employers experienced from 2023 to 2024 after cost-savings strategies.”
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As summer comes to an end and fall begins, employees with school-age children may have increased caregiving responsibilities as their kids begin a new academic year. In addition to other day-to-day challenges, parents are now dealing with school pick-up and drop-off, unexpected sick days, and other occurrences that could affect their work-life balance.
Employees may struggle with balancing these responsibilities with work, possibly causing their workplace performance and well-being to suffer. Employers can support employees during the transition into the school year by acknowledging these changes and offering flexibility. This article explores considerations for supporting working parents and caregivers during the back-to-school season.
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