Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • August 2017 | Page 11

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Mandatory Use of New Form I-9
Begins September 18, 2017
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released another version of the Form
I-9 on July 17, 2017, which includes minor revisions to the Instructions and the Lists of
Acceptable Documents. Beginning Sept. 18, 2017, employers are no longer permitted to
use the prior version of the form revised on Nov. 14, 2016. On the USCIS' Form I-9 website,
employers can find such documents as the new "smart version" that includes error-
checking capabilities, the regular print version, the supplement that must be used where
more than one preparer or translator assist, the Form I-9 Instructions, and the Spanish
versions of the same documents. The M-274 Handbook for Employers, Guidance for
Completing Form I-9 has also been updated.
JDSupra (08/25/17) Chatham, Elizabeth; Ehrlich, Alisa Nickel; Steinle, Renee Mueller
OSHA Reduces Reports of Workplace
Fatalities
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reducing its reporting of
fatalities in the United States as part of an effort by the agency to scale back the amount
of information about workplace accidents made available to the public. During the Obama
administration, OSHA began publishing reports listing the names, locations, employers,
and circumstances of people who were reported to OSHA as having died in apparent
accidents at work. Previously, OSHA had compiled some information about fatalities,
but former OSHA officials said Obama administration officials made the reports more
publicized and included additional information. Last week, OSHA removed links to reports
going back to 2009 from its website, instead posting a more limited set of information
about U.S. workplace fatalities that resulted in citations for companies dating back to the
beginning of the year. The new fatality-data listing respects the privacy of surviving family
members because they do not give out the name of the worker who died, said an OSHA
spokesperson. Among other things, OSHA has reduced the number of press releases it
issues to publicize enforcement actions against employers.
Wall Street Journal (08/28/17) P. B6 Berzon, Alexandra
AUGUST 2017 • DITCHMEN
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