"immigration" Blog Tag

Expired I-9 not expired (yet)

August 29th, 2019 by Elizabeth Coonan at BrownWinick

Taking a page from the professional sporting leagues, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decided the call that they made on the expiration date when they last printed the I-9 was in fact not correct.

Therefore, they simply changed the call. Wouldn't life be more agreeable if we could all do that.

Elizabeth Coonan explains.

Employment verification – a simple audit

August 28th, 2019 by David A. Selden, Heidi Nunn-Gilman, Jennifer L. Sellers, Julie A. Pace, Yijee Jeong

The Cavanagh Law Firm P.A.

The following list of questions will provide a snapshot for you to use in determining whether or not you are complying with the employment verification and immigration laws and regulations. 

You should know the answer to every one of these questions. Although a “No” answer does not necessarily mean you are in violation of any laws or regulations, you should understand why the answer is “No.”

Criminal enforcement and I-9 audits

August 20th, 2019 by David A. Selden, Heidi Nunn-Gilman, Jennifer L. Sellers, Julie A. Pace, Yijee Jeong

Trends in criminal enforcement During the Bush Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shifted its enforcement philosophy to emphasize criminal sanctions over fines. Julie L. Myers, then Assistant...

NY Reporting immigration status can be unneighborly . . . at best

July 31st, 2019 by Subhash Viswanathan at Bond, Schoeneck & King

As of October 27, 2019, New York employers will not only be unneighborly if you:

"threaten, penalize, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee by threatening to contact or contacting United States immigration authorities or otherwise reporting or threatening to report the citizenship or suspected immigration status of an employee or an employee's family member in retaliation for an employee's complaints about alleged violations of the New York Labor Law"

you might also go to jail.

And write a check for $10,000. Or $20,000 if you are extremely unneighborly and it is your second "threaten, penalize, discriminate, retaliate" offense.

Oh, and back pay. Did I mention back pay?

No-match letters from the SSA - read and understand, then react

May 22nd, 2019 by Davis Bae, Shanon Stevenson and Jeffrey Winchester at Fisher Phillips

That no-match letter from the Social Security Administration is not them breaking up with you (come on, who else who would date them? and that is no reflection on you - really). 

That letter is to let you know that you have a whole bunch of work in front of you trying to figure out why some of the employee information you sent them doesn't match the employee information they already have.

Don't freak out. Davis Bae, Shanon Stevenson and Jeffrey Winchester have worked out a 7-step guide, including what not to do, that will help you respond, will get the SSA the info they need and might even help you get your HR house in a little better order. The  seven steps:

1. understand
2. gauge the impact
3. review records
4. policies?
5. CAUTION!
6. respond
7. I-9s

I've changed my name – to Optimus Prime

September 21st, 2018 by hrsimple

So say an employee, let's call him, for purposes of this exercise, Scott Edward Nall, walks into your office to let you know he has changed his name to Optimus Prime.  Do you:

1. snicker and ask him if his Laser Axe Hand is really made of energy
2. wonder why he isn't riding a dinosaur
3. fall to your knees and plead fealty
4. start the process of updating Mr. Prime in your HR records.

ICE audits II – FAQs to make you wiser

September 19th, 2018 by Melissa Manna at Ogletree Deakins

If Francis Bacon was right, that a prudent question is one-half of wisdom, then six questions will make you three times wiser, right? And assuming the other half of wisdom is a prudent answer, which would then make you six times wiser, then take a look at Melissa Manna's answers to six FAQs on the audit process.

1. Who can ICE audit?
2. How does an employer know if it is being audited?
3. What is the potential liability?
4. What about criminal sanctions?
5. What types of notices should an employer expect during the audit?
6. What happens at the conclusion of an audit?

Be prepared for ICE raids

October 24th, 2018 by hrsimple

If your first reaction to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid would be "Ice. ICE! Baby." and a slow exhale/shaking head, then read this from our our authors at Fisher Phillips now, which includes:

• background: heat has been turned up in 2018
• what you can do to prepare: 5-step plan
• what to do should the government come calling

then check this breakdown of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby".