Don’t Permit an I-9 Time Bomb To Explode on August 4, 2023
Approaching the End of the DHS Virtual I-9 Processing Option This post discusses the risks of failing to comply with the Secondary Inspection requirement of the March 2020 DHS/ICE I-9 Flexibility Guidance. Background The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its antecedent, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) interpret the employee verification provisions of…
DOJ & DOL Announce Increased Penalties for IRCA, LCA, and Immigrant Labor Violations
DOJ and DOL have rushed to implement increases in civil money penalties for 2023 worksite immigration enforcement activity based on a 7.7% inflation rate. Effective 1/31/23, the base civil money penalty for I-9 paperwork first offenses will range from $272 to $2701 @ violation while the base penalty for knowingly hiring or continuing to employ…
NDHS Announces Process Enhancements for the Deferred Action Program
NDHS Announces Process Enhancements for the Deferred Action Program Protecting Undocumented Workers from Retaliation for Reporting Labor Law Violations Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action (deportation) against a noncitizen for a certain period of time. Although deferred action does not confer lawful status or excuse any past or future…
Non-Compete Agreements for H-1B Workers at Risk
The FTC has published a proposed rule prohibiting the use of non-compete agreements nationwide, except in connection with the sale of a business. Overly broad non-disclosure clauses are recognized under the rule as constructive non-compete agreements if the effect is to render workers unemployable in their specialty occupation. DOL regulations currently allow for the use…
Meet and Greet with Jon Meacham
So thrilled to get to meet Jon Meacham and have him sign my copy of “Finding the Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle.” If you haven’t read it – you should. Meacham lights the way in these divided times. Three cheers!
Employers Awaiting the Results of an I-9 Audit Initiated After November 2, 2016 May Be in For an Unpleasant Shock
An obscure provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which took effect November 2, 2015, dramatically changed the formula for calculating inflation adjustments to existing federal penalty schedules, including the penalties for knowingly hiring or continuing to employ an undocumented alien worker and for failing to prepare and maintain properly completed USCIS I-9 paperwork forms….
Employer Regulatory Alert
THE NEW DHS 24-MONTH F-1 STEM OPT EXTENSION OPPORTUNITY COMES WITH STRINGS Large technology employers appear pleased as punch with the new DHS final rule published in the Federal Register of March 11, 2016 authorizing an extension of up to 24 months of optional practical training for F-1 student visa holders with STEM degrees. As…
IEEE-USA Launches Petition Campaign Urging DOJ to Investigate US Companies Who Outsource IT Functions to Contractors Employing H-1B Visa Holders
On January 7, 2016, IEEE-USA — the lobbying arm of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — launched an on-line petition drive to place pressure on The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Discrimination to investigate U.S. employers who have outsourced IT functions performed by U.S. workers to foreign workers employed in the U.S….
US Appeals Court Hands DOL a Major Loss in LCA Enforcement Case
For over 20 years, DOL has insisted that it may investigate the whole of an H-1B employer’s LCA compliance practices when it finds reasonable cause to believe a violation has been committed based on the allegations contained in an LCA complaint filed by or on behalf of an aggrieved party or organization — no matter how limited the violation alleged…