Vigilant Blog

News, trends and analysis in employment law, HR, safety & workers' comp

Showing posts for: Immigration

Photo of Melinda Robinson
May 21 2020
Immigration  

New Form I-9 Handbook for Employers released

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new version of its Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (publication M-274, revised 4/27/2020). The new Handbook for Employers highlights several updates based on the recently revised Form I-9. It also contains revised guidance, new content, clarifications, and…

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Photo of Kara Craig
Apr 23 2020
COVID-19Immigration  

Homeland Security extends some employment authorizations

The Department of Homeland Security issued a news release to address immigration-related challenges related to the pandemic. As a result, employers may have some leeway when updating expiring Form I-9 documentation of employees who used an I-94 as proof of authorization to work. The DHS indicates if an individual files…

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Photo of Jodi Slavik
Feb 11 2020
HiringImmigration  

New Form I-9 released on January 31, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally updated Form I-9 and its accompanying instructions—both have a “10/21/2019” revision date in the lower left corner, although they weren't released until January 31, 2020. Employers must use the updated version to verify new hires’ identities and employment eligibility no later than April 30, 2020. The changes are…

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Photo of Jon Benson
Jan 28 2020
HiringImmigration  

Q&A: Don’t ask for more documents than I-9 requires

Question: Can our company demand specific documents we want a new hire to produce in order to verify identity and employment eligibility? Answer: No. Demanding that new hires show you specific employment verification documents can expose your company to liability for “documentation abuse.” It’s considered documentation abuse under the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act…

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Oct 19 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringImmigrationLeave LawsWage and Hour

California Governor signs a slew of new legislation in 2017

The 2017 California legislative session has drawn to a close, and Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a slew of new bills affecting private employers. Below are the major employment-related bills that affect most California employers. All of them take effect on January 1, 2018. AB 168: Bans employers from asking job…

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Photo of Sean Brown
Jun 30 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringImmigration  

Requiring new hires to present specific IDs for I-9 costs employer $225,750

An employer in eastern Washington required all green card holders to present their Permanent Resident Cards when completing the Form I-9. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that this employer has now agreed to pay a fine of $225,750 to settle discrimination charges. The employer also agreed to…

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Photo of Jodi Slavik
May 26 2017
HiringImmigration  

A glitch in the system: Are you using the correct Form I-9?

On April 6, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) disclosed on its “what’s new” feed that an early version of the new Form I-9 contained an internal technical error. Then on April 17, the agency alerted the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that some HR professionals are inadvertently using that bad form.…

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Photo of Sean Brown
Mar 07 2017
Q&AImmigration  

Q&A: What to do if ICE contacts your business

Question: Given recent publicity about increased immigration enforcement, what should we do if a representative from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) makes contact with our business?

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Photo of Kandis Sells
Feb 21 2017
HiringImmigration  

Employer fined more than $109,000 for Form I-9 violations

Employment eligibility verification and immigration law: As an employer, have you ever done the following? (1) Stapled a copy of a new hire’s identification documents but didn’t actually fill out the Form I-9; (2) Didn’t complete a Form I-9 within three business days of hire; or (3) Didn’t retain I-9 forms for former employees more than a year. If…

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