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Immigration-Related Violations
Employers have two connected but different concerns in mind when they consider immigration-related violations and avoiding committing them. One is related to alleged discrimination against foreign nationals who can legally be hired and should be treated the same during this process as United States citizens are. The other is the illegal hiring of foreign nationals who should not be appointed to those positions. Our law firm handles both of these types of cases.
Discriminatory Hiring
It is against the law to discriminate against someone as it relates to recruiting, hiring or firing based on a person’s citizenship or immigration status as long as they may be legally hired and retained. This is thanks to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Exceptions are allowed, however, if “required to do so by law, regulation or government contract,” according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The best way to avoid being accused of this type of discrimination is to have clearly outlined policies and procedures that communicate it not being allowed by the company and ensuring that they are adhered to, through training and other means. Of course, if this has not been done and legal proceedings have been brought forth against a company, a solid legal defense can still be made. It will just be necessary for that defense to be backed by other pieces of evidence and information.
Undocumented Employees
The hiring of undocumented workers who are not eligible to engage in employment in the United States is a violation of federal law. As a result, organizations that are alleged to have engaged in this, whether purposefully or carelessly, are subject to lawsuits from those who were legally eligible to be hired or promoted instead and to proceedings that may be brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or related agencies.
The liability that faces companies when employees or prospective employees allege that they were not fairly considered for these reasons has the potential to be significant.
Meanwhile, proceedings that governmental agencies bring forth have often been sparked by employees voicing their related complaints. In other cases, what causes this to be an issue is I-9 form non-compliance catching the attention of employees at these federal organizations.
Penalties can be particularly harsh if a company is found to have brought aliens into the U.S. or to have concealed or harbored them once they are in the country regardless of how they had arrived there.
A company’s I-9 form non-compliance can also be discovered after a prospective or current employee has brought forth a related case against the organization.
Defense
If your company is the recipient of immigration-related proceedings, it is important to consult a law firm that has the resources and knowledge necessary to defend your organization against both federal agencies and disgruntled employees and prospective employees, focuses that need very different skill sets. Our lawyers offer you that diverse know-how, including understanding all of the nuances that go into handling cases on the federal level as well as understanding how to best handle various types of civil litigation.
In many cases, we will get cases dismissed prior to trial, have a case result in a summary judgement that will save considerably on your money and your time and procure other favorable out-of-court outcomes, generally of a confidential nature to ensure that your organization does not receive negative media coverage as a result of this. We also help keep civil proceedings from being criminal ones.