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The month of May is Safe Jobs for Youth Month. Missouri communities benefit greatly by having teens in the workforce. Employment teaches young people important skills, including responsibility, timeliness, honesty, teamwork, resourcefulness, communication skills and confidence.
The Missouri Division of Labor Standards works with employers, parents and school officials to help keep young workers safe and healthy while learning these valuable life lessons. Fast food, grocery stores, general retail, and lawn care are the most popular jobs for teenagers. Missouri law restricts the age, number of hours, and occupations youth can work during the school year and in the summer.
Certificates for Employment
Certificate to Employ a Child 14 or 15 Years of Age - During School Term
Beginning May 1, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending its temporary Form I-9 policy that allows employers to accept List B documents that expired on or after March 1, 2020.
DHS adopted the temporary policy in response to the difficulty of renewing documents during COVID. Since then, document-issuing authorities have reopened or provided alternatives to in-person renewals. Starting May 1, 2022, employers must return to only accepting unexpired List B documents.
Action Item If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, you need to update their Form I-9 by July 31, 2022, as follows:
· If the employee is still employed, they must present an unexpired document from either List A or List B. If presenting a List B document, it could be a renewed version of the document previously provided, or a different List B document. You should enter the document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date in the “Additional Information” field of Section 2, and initial and date the change. USCIS provides an example of how to do this here.
· If the employee is no longer employed, no action is needed.
· If the List B document was auto-extended by the issuing authority so that it was technically unexpired when it was presented, no action is needed.
Remote Form I-9 Document Inspection Flexibility Scheduled to End April 30
In March 2020, DHS began providing flexibility to certain employers who were hiring fully remote workers due to COVID by suspending the in-person Form I-9 document inspection requirement.
This flexibility has been extended several times, most recently through April 30, 2022. While DHS could still announce another extension, given the end of the expired document flexibility described above, we anticipate that this in-person inspection flexibility may also come to an official end.
Action Item
Prepare to resume in-person Form I-9 document examination. You can keep an eye on this page for additional Form I-9 news and can revisit Form I-9 Instructions here.
The following information is provided by Conn Maciel Carey LLP.
OSHA has been quite busy the last few months on the rulemaking front, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Last week, on March 30th, OSHA published a new proposed rule to amend and dramatically expand the requirements of its Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Rule (i.e., the E-Recordkeeping Rule).
OSHA's E-Recordkeeping Rule has had a long and tortured history. In 2016, President Obama’s OSHA enacted the E-Recordkeeping Rule, requiring hundreds of thousands of workplaces to proactively submit injury and illness data to OSHA. Then, in 2019, the Trump Administration rolled back some of the more onerous requirements in an amended E-Recordkeeping Rule that removed the requirement for very large establishments to electronically submit detailed injury information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301. Fast forward to 2022 and the return of a Democratic Administration, and we are seeing Biden’s OSHA push to undo the Trump Administration’s rollbacks. However, the new administration does not seem content to just rollback what Trump’s OSHA changed, but is set on over-compensating – sweeping in thousands more workplaces and collecting more detailed and invasive injury data.
Read our full article here for more information about the history of E-Recordkeeping, the new proposed amendments to the E-Recordkeeping Rule, the implications of the proposed changes, and Conn Maciel Carey’s plans to coordinate with employers and trade groups to advocate for reasonable E-Recordkeeping requirements.
On Tuesday, Congress announced a bipartisan $1.5 trillion agreement to fund the federal government which includes $6 billion for WIC and an extension of the benefit bump for fruits and vegetables through September 30, 2022. Benefit issuance will remain at current levels: $24/month for children, $43/month for pregnant and postpartum participants, and $47/month for breastfeeding participants.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson has joined in the celebration of Missouri's grocery industry, signing this proclamation declaring February 22nd, 2022 as Supermarket Employee Day in Missouri.
Implement Your Celebration - Your Way
Supermarket Employee Day is a time for the food industry to recognize employees at every level for the work they do feeding families and enriching lives.
1. Save the Date and Review Toolkit Resources
2. Plan Your Celebration using templates, graphics and swag
3. Capture the Fun – share photos on social media and share your stories with the MGA!
This week's suggested action item: Use templates to order or make buttons and stickers to promote the day among employees and customers. You can find premade designs on the FMI website.
This week was a busy week in the Missouri Capitol with a presence of the Missouri Grocers Association. On Tuesday, Mike Beal with Balls Foods took to the halls of the Capitol and met with legislators from the Kansas City area.
The US Supreme Court has blocked the Biden Administration from mandating COVID-19 vaccination at businesses with 100 or more employees, while allowing a similar rule for health care facilities to stand. In a 6-3 ruling just released, the court has blocked the federal government from enforcing the vaccine-or-test mandate. To view the court’s opinion, click here.
The Missouri Grocers Association had strongly pushed back against the Biden administration’s plan, working closely with Missouri's Attorney General and our partners at NGA and FMI. Employers should continue to have the right to establish vaccine policies for their own businesses.
Here is a memo from OFW Law with more information on the decision and what it means for you. The MGA will provide additional information as it becomes available.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the MGA at
Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations.
Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. A family of four, for instance, could be reimbursed for up to 32 tests per month. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be fully covered by insurance with no limit.
President Joe Biden faced criticism over the holiday season for a shortage of at-home rapid tests as Americans traveled to see family amid the surge in cases from the more transmissible omicron variant. Now the administration is working to make COVID-19 home tests more accessible, both by increasing supply and bringing down costs. Learn more here.
Kroger is eliminating its two-week emergency leave for unvaccinated workers who contract COVID-19 and adding a $50 surcharge every month for salaried, unvaccinated employees covered under its insurance plan. Vaccinated workers who suffer a breakthrough infection will still get the paid emergency leave, and the health plan surcharge does not apply to hourly or union employees. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal
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The Missouri Grocers Association | 315 N Ken Ave, Springfield, MO 65802 | Phone: 417-831-6667 | Fax: 417-831-3907