On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill (SB) No. 731. If enacted into law, SB 731 would have required employers to provide at least 30 calendar days’ advance written notice before requiring employees working from home to return to work in person. In addition, the proposed law would have required
In September 2023, federal trial courts in Wisconsin and Kentucky issued decisions dismissing plaintiffs’ claims related to employers’ COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements. The decisions (1) interpreted “undue hardship” following the Supreme Court of the United States’ Groff v. DeJoy decision; (2) determined whether an objection to testing was based on “religious beliefs” or merely
The Supreme Court of the United States has declined to hear a challenge to a visa program that allows foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities to work in the United States for up to three years. The petitioner in the case opposed the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which provides temporary employment
Shutdown Showdown. Rather than hurtling into a federal government shutdown, this week has been more of a slow, gradual, depressing slide into the shutdown, as it became apparent this week that last-minute measures to keep the government open would not materialize. Although the U.S. Senate has reached an agreement on a bipartisan continuing resolution, a
On September 28, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued updated guidance for employers that have adopted or are considering leave-based programs that allow employees to donate sick, vacation, or personal leave to their employers to make donations to charitable organizations helping those affected by the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the elimination of the $85 biometric services fee for all Form I-539 applications to extend/change nonimmigrant status, beginning October 1, 2023. While prior guidance temporarily suspending biometric services fees applied only to H-4, L-2, and E applicants, USCIS’s elimination of biometric services fees will now extend to
On September 14, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Employee Retention Credit (ERC) guidance placing a moratorium on processing new ERC claims due to a surge in questionable claim submissions. Claims already submitted will continue to be processed, but at a slower rate due to detailed compliance reviews. The guidance included a caution about
The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it is developing the capability to issue digital visa authorizations (DVA) instead of the traditional visas that are printed and placed in applicants’ passports. This development would streamline the travel authorization process by automating the transfer of data from visa application, to airline verification, to border inspection,
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently rejected a school principal’s argument that remote work was a reasonable accommodation for her asthma and restrictive lung disease that she claimed were exacerbated by the poor condition of the school building in which she worked. In Jordan v. School Board of the City
All receipts for payment of Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees issued prior to October 1, 2022, are set to expire on September 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of State recently announced.
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