U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) highly visible enforcement efforts regarding employment eligibility verification over the last several years have successfully injected the terms “I-9 audits,” “Notices of Inspection (NOIs)” “E-Verify” and “IMAGE best practices” into the everyday vocabulary of business owners and their human resources personnel. Two recent press releases describing settlements between well-known U.S. employers and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (“OSC”) emphasize that the terms “document abuse,” “over-documentation,” and “Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices” must also be part of that lexicon.
On October 19th the OSC announced its settlement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the 8th largest hospital provider in the nation, resolving allegations of discriminatory practices involving CHW’s requirement that non-U.S. citizen and naturalized U.S. citizen new hires present more work authorization documents during the I-9 process than required by federal law while allowing native born U.S. citizens to provide documents of their own choosing. CHW agreed to: (1) Pay $257,000 in civil penalties – the largest amount of civil penalties ever paid to resolve such allegations; (2) Pay $1,000 in back pay to the charging party; and (3) Review its past I-9 practices at all of its 41 facilities in Arizona, California, Nevada to identify and compensate any additional victims of over-documentation who lost wages as a result, as well as implement best practice policies and procedures regarding hiring and employment eligibility verification including training on non-discriminatory practices.
On November 10th the OSC announced its settlement with Hoover Inc., a leading manufacturer of vacuum and carpet cleaners, resolving allegations that Hoover engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination by requiring all permanent residents who presented a permanent resident card (green card) for I-9 purposes to produce a new green card upon the card’s expiration while U.S. citizen workers were not required to present new documents upon expiration of those presented. Like U.S. citizens, permanent residents are always work authorized, regardless of the expiration of their documentation. Hoover agreed to: (1) Pay $10,200 in civil penalties; and (2) Train its human resources personnel about employers’ non-discrimination responsibilities in the I-9 process.
The anti-discrimination provisions of the immigration laws protect work-authorized individuals against discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral for a fee, the employment eligibility verification process and from retaliation. Theses press releases are clearly meant to send a warning message to U.S. employers to ensure that their human resources personnel fully understand and comply with the laws prohibiting discriminatory actions while ensuring a lawful workforce.
For more information, please click the following link:
Justice News – Catholic Healthcare West
Should you wish to receive further information concerning matters discussed in the Immigration Bulletin, please contact:
Sarah Lea Tobocman, Esq.
Chair, Immigration Practice Group
[email protected]
(305) 376-6065
Jay Carmichael, Esq.
Shareholder, Immigration Practice Group
[email protected]
(305) 376-6090
Mariana R. Ribeiro, Esq.
Associate, Immigration Practice Group
[email protected]
(305) 376-6031
This Bulletin is for general information only. It is not legal advice and legal counsel should be contacted before any action is taken which might be influenced by this Bulletin.
About Gunster
Established in 1925, Gunster Yoakley is one of Florida’s oldest and largest full-service law firms. Its substantial and diversified practice serves an extensive client base of international, national and local businesses, institutions, local governments and prominent individuals. The firm maintains a strong presence in Florida with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach, Stuart, Vero Beach, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee. Gunster Yoakley is home to more than 137 attorneys and 329 employees, providing counsel to clients through 10 practice groups including corporate, immigration, employment, technology and emerging companies, tax, banking and financial services, real estate, land use and environmental, business litigation, and private wealth services.
