Tag: DOJ

DOJ Settles With Employers for Discriminatory Job Advertisements

Recently, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) Section of The Department of Justice settled with 16 private employers to resolve non-U.S. citizen discrimination claims, requiring the employers to pay civil penalties totaling $832,944. The largest penalties were imposed on KPMG LLP; Keyot LLC; Area-I, Inc.; CapTech; Akuna Capital; and American Express. In… Continue reading DOJ Settles With Employers for Discriminatory Job Advertisements

Company Fined $627,000 for I-9 Anti-Discrimination Provision Violations

The Department of Justice (DOJ) finalized a settlement agreement with Fleetlogix Inc. (Fleetlogix) regarding claims that they discriminated again non-US citizens who were work authorized. Fleetlogix is based in San Diego, California and operates offices nationwide that provide cleaning and transportation services to rental car companies. Specifically, the DOJ alleged that Fleetlogix required these non-US… Continue reading Company Fined $627,000 for I-9 Anti-Discrimination Provision Violations

H-1b Fraud Charged

The Department of Justice has arrested the CEO of Divensi and Azimetry, two Seattle based companies and charged him with H-1b visa fraud. The DOJ alleges, among other charges, that the USCIS filings included forged documents from end clients. We applaud the DOJ for their efforts in preventing visa fraud, protecting H-1b workers and maintaining… Continue reading H-1b Fraud Charged

Employers Seeking H-1B Visas Should Not Discriminate Against US Workers Warns the U.S. Department of Justice

Yesterday, April 3rd was the first day the USCIS began accepting H-1B visa petitions that are subject to the cap for the next fiscal year (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). The H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to employ temporarily foreign workers in specialty occupations including science and technology. The anti-discrimination provisions of the… Continue reading Employers Seeking H-1B Visas Should Not Discriminate Against US Workers Warns the U.S. Department of Justice

INCREASES TO I-9 VIOLATIONS AND OTHER IMMIGRATION RELATED EMPLOYMENT VIOLATIONS

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) increased the possible fines and penalties for employers with I-9 employment eligibility violations including the employment of unauthorized workers and/or employers who have violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). These increases are due to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 which was enacted… Continue reading INCREASES TO I-9 VIOLATIONS AND OTHER IMMIGRATION RELATED EMPLOYMENT VIOLATIONS

Is E-Verify More of a Hassle Than it is Worth?

E-Verify is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. While voluntary for most employers and relatively easy to use for all, registering for and using the E-Verify system, without first performing… Continue reading Is E-Verify More of a Hassle Than it is Worth?

JOINT GUIDANCE ISSUED FOR EMPLOYERS CONDUCTING I-9 INTERNAL AUDITS

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have issued joint guidance intended to help employers properly perform internal Form I-9 audits. While this guidance provides helpful tips aimed at avoiding discrimination in the internal audit process, following this guidance… Continue reading JOINT GUIDANCE ISSUED FOR EMPLOYERS CONDUCTING I-9 INTERNAL AUDITS

Employer Pays $215K to Settle Citizenship Discrimination Case

Louisiana Crane & Construction LLC, which provides oilfield services, has agreed to pay $165,000 in civil penalties and create a $50,000 fund to pay workers who lost wages because of the company’s policy requiring workers who were not U.S. citizens to provide additional documents during the Form I-9 employment verification process. The company will also… Continue reading Employer Pays $215K to Settle Citizenship Discrimination Case

DOJ SECURES LARGEST CIVIL PENALTY FOR DISCRIMINATIN CLAIM

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reached an agreement on May 27th with a farm labor contractor, in Bakersfield, California, Luis Esparza Services, Inc. (LES), which resolved claims that LES discriminated against individuals because of citizenship status in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The agreement involved the largest civil penalty to date that… Continue reading DOJ SECURES LARGEST CIVIL PENALTY FOR DISCRIMINATIN CLAIM

PACKAGING COMPANY FINED THOUSANDS FOR BACKDATING I-9s

OCAHO ordered a California-based Liberty Packaging Inc. to pay $12000 for acting in bad faith by backdating 18 I-9 forms following a NOI (Notice of Inspection). The fine was lowered from $17000 by an Administrative Law Judge because they were a small employer with no previous violations. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement became suspicious because markings… Continue reading PACKAGING COMPANY FINED THOUSANDS FOR BACKDATING I-9s