Federal Alerts

President Joe Biden has signed legislation that expands the protections for employees who are pregnant or nursing a child. Some of the changes took effect immediately, whereas others are effective in June.

Effective Dec. 12, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) for lawful permanent residents who have properly filed a Form N-400 Application for Naturalization.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2022-59, which establishes the applicable dollar amount for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023 in relation to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

OSHA’s Recordkeeping Standard, 29 CFR 1904, requires that certain employers maintain annual records of workplace injuries and illnesses. The records are maintained throughout the calendar year on the OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (300 Log) and are summarized on the OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (300A Summary) at the end of each calendar year. The 300A Summary is required to be posted in the workplace every Feb. 1 through April 30 to show records from the previous year’s injuries and illnesses, even if no work-related injuries or illnesses occurred during the previous year.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released an updated poster that federal nondiscrimination laws require employers to display. Covered employers must post the new version as soon as possible.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that employers should continue using the current Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) until further notice. Separately, the DHS announced that employers will be allowed to inspect Form I-9 documents remotely in certain situations related to COVID-19 until July 31, 2023. Prior to the announcement, this temporary policy was set to expire on Oct. 31, 2022.

On Oct. 13, 2022, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the 2023 wage base. The annual wage base limit is the maximum amount of employee wages that are subject to the social security tax for the calendar year.

On Oct. 18, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced via Revenue Procedure 2022-38 the dollar limitation for 2023 on employee salary reductions for contributions to health flexible spending accounts; the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass; and the maximum amount that can be excluded from an employee’s gross income for the amounts paid for qualified adoption expenses furnished pursuant to an adoption assistance program.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has announced increases to the minimum wages that federal contractors covered under Executive Orders (EO) 13658 and 14026 must pay its employees who are performing work on or in connection with certain covered federal contracts.