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Immigration

Texas town loses final appeal on immigration statute

05/01/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of rulings that declared two of the nation’s most far-reaching anti-­immigrant statutes unconstitutional. The towns of Farmer’s Branch, Texas, and Hazleton, Pa., had adopted ordinances punishing landlords who rented to “illegal immigrants.” The Hazle­­ton ordinance also targeted employers that hired illegals.

Electronic I-9s: Can you pre-populate employee data?

03/21/2014
Employers that use electronic systems to complete I-9 verification forms for new hires sometimes streamline the system by pre-populating employee information on Sec­­tion I of the I-9 with information pulled from the company’s HR software. Is that permissible?

IRCA: Hiring Immigrants

02/22/2014

HR Law 101: Two laws govern U.S. immigration policy: the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which was amended in 1990. For each new employee hired, U.S. employers must complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The I-9 establishes the employee’s identity and legal work status.

Acceptable Documents for I-9

02/20/2014

HR Law 101: Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act, new employees must provide to employers proof of identity and employment eligibility with documents listed on the I-9 Form ….

ICE is back in business: Are your I-9s ready?

10/31/2013
Now that the federal government shutdown has ended, ICE inspectors are back on the job—and they’re looking for employers that don’t properly document their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States.

E-Verify back online following federal government shutdown

10/30/2013
The E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system is back online after service was suspended during the federal government shutdown. However, the timing of the shutdown may have caused delays for some employers that submitted E-Verify data in late September.

What rules must we follow if we must lay off work-visa employees?

10/02/2013
Q. Do we have any duties or obligations if we discharge employees who are in the United States on work visas?

Don’t expect to get away with paying undocumented workers less than law requires

09/16/2013
In a case that shows courts are losing patience with employers that hire undocumented ­workers and then flout wage-and-hour laws, a federal court has zapped an em­­ployer almost $285,000 in unpaid wages and penalties, and another $150,000 to pay the former em­­ployees’ legal fees.

What’s the right way to complete Form I-9?

08/27/2013
Question: How can the company fulfill the I-9 requirement to physically review new hires’ documents when employees work remotely? Can we have a notary review the documents, notarize a copy of them and send that copy to our main office?

Employee verification: Your line-by-line guide to I-9 changes

05/06/2013
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently released the long-awaited revisions to Form I-9, which employers had to begin using by May 7, 2013.