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The Justice Department recently announced the launch of a live webinar series on avoiding workplace discrimination. The webinars coincide with the 25 th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which created the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).

OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which requires employers to treat all authorized workers in the same manner with respect to hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, regardless of their citizenship status or national origin. The law also prohibits discrimination during the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes.

Participation in the hour-long webinars is free and open to all. A webinar scheduled for 3:00 P.M. EST on Dec. 15, 2011, will advise employers and HR professionals on how to avoid workplace discrimination.

We are excited to add webinars to our toolkit as a means of educating workers about their rights and employers about their responsibilities under the INA, and to reach these audiences nationwide.” said Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. “Federal law prohibits discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process, and the Justice Department is committed to enforcing the law.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration law, call OSC’s worker hotline at: 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for the hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at: 1-800-255-8255 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for the hearing impaired); send e-mail to:  osccrt@usdoj.gov or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc . If you wish to schedule a webinar for a large or specialized group, please contact OSC’s Public Affairs Specialist Terry Scott, at Terence.j.scott@usdoj.gov. For reasonable accommodation requests relating to webinars, contact Lyn Sowdon at Lyn.Sowdon@usdoj.gov.

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General,Medical Professionals |

On December 6, 2011, the Department of Justice announced the filing of a lawsuit against the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, alleging that the medical center discriminated in the employment eligibility verification process against people who are authorized to work in the United States.

The department’s independent investigation revealed that the medical center engaged in a pattern or practice of subjecting newly hired non-U.S. citizens to excessive demands for documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security in order to verify and re-verify their employment eligibility, but did not require U.S. citizens to show any specific documentation. The Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from placing additional documentaryburdens on work-authorized employees during the hiring and employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status or national origin.

“All workers who are authorized to work in the United States have the right to work without encountering discrimination because of their immigration status or national origin,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to vigorously protecting authorized workers from discrimination in the hiring process and ensuring that employers uphold their obligations under the law.”

The complaint seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the respondent, monetary damages for any individuals harmed by the respondent’s actions, and civil penalties.

The Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work-authorized individuals against discrimination in hiring, firing and recruitment or referral for a fee on the basis of citizenship status and national origin. The INA also protects all work-authorized individuals from discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process and from retaliation.

-From the Department of Justice

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |

Categories: Blogroll,Employer Compliance,Employment Immigration,General |