Justice Department Enters into Memorandum of Understanding with National Labor Relations Board

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board, formalizing a collaborative relationship that allows both agencies to share information, refer matters to each other and coordinate investigations as appropriate.  […]

Justice Department Settles Immigration-related Discrimination Claim Against Alabama Employment Agency

The Justice Department today reached an agreement with an Alabama employment agency based in Birmingham, Ala., resolving claims that the employment agency violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The department’s independent investigation was initiated based on evidence uncovered during the investigation of a related retaliation charge filed against the agency.  The […]

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Leading Facility Services Company

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with a leading facility services company resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  The company, with headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, employs approximately 15,000 employees in the United States. The Justice Department’s investigation was initiated […]

DHS Announces Re-designation and 18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Syria

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has re-designated Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and extended the existing TPS designation for the country from Oct. 1, 2013, through March 31, 2015. This allows eligible nationals of Syria to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with a notice published today in the Federal Register. U.S. […]

ICE Goes After Three Restaurants with Little Success at OCAHO

The Office of Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO), which issued three decisions involving restaurants in March 2013 severely reduced ICE’s proposed penalties that is of interest for our clients in the Retail and NRA verticals. A summary of the cases are provided below and is courtesy of ILW  and is  authored by Bruce E. Buchanan, an […]

Montana Passes E-Verify Mandate for All Employers

The Montana Senate passed with amendments House Bill 297, “An Act Making Employment of Unauthorized Aliens Unlawful under State Law”, which will require all employers to verify the work eligibility of new hires through the federal E-Verify system beginning October 1, 2013. Employers would not be required to verify the work eligibility of independent contractors. While […]

USCIS will no longer accept previous versions of Form I-9, Employers must use new I-9

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds employers that beginning today 05/07.2013 they must use the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Revision 03/08/13)N for all new hires and re-verifications. All employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each employee hired to work in the United States. The revision date of […]

Stakeholder Teleconference Invitation – Revised Form I-9

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites interested individuals to participate in a stakeholder teleconference on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern). On March 8, 2013, USCIS published a Federal Register notice addressing revisions to Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 and the form’s instructions. The revisions include: Expanding the form to two pages. […]

I-9 Audits on the Rise

I-9 audits have seen a rapid increase in number along the years with audits scaling from next to none in 2004 to over 3000 in 2012.Employers should pay attention accordingly, as the fines for substantive and procedural violations of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) can add up quickly, Daniel Brown, an attorney with […]