Womble Employment Law Blog

Remember to use the new Form I-9!  In case you missed the announcement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published an updated Form I-9 that all employers in the United States must use, effective January 22, 2017.  The prior version is now invalid and should not be used.  While the new Form I-9 looks very similar to the previous version, it does contain several substantive changes as well as “smart features” that were previously unavailable. The new Form I-9 can be found on the USCIS website .   With regard to the content of the new Form I-9, the changes are readily apparent in the instructions, which increased from six pages to fifteen pages.   Within the actual form, employers will see five notable changes in Section 1.   First, the “Other Names Used” field has been replaced with an “Other Last Names Used” field.   Second, employees must now indicate whether an Alien Registration Number (if provided) is a...

By Theresa Sprain, Patricia Heyen, and John E. Pueschel In a significant decision that expands the rights of employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on April 4, 2017 that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College , No. 15-1720 (7th Cir. April 4, 2017).  The Seventh Circuit is the highest court in the United States to hold that sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. Kimberly Hively, a part-time, adjunct professor at Ivy Tech Community College, alleged that she was repeatedly denied consideration for full-time teaching positions and her part-time contract was not renewed due to her sexual orientation.  Hively filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, alleging violations of Title VII. Ivy Tech filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that sexual...