Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

We are pleased to announce that the Labor and Employment Team at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has been recognized as practice leaders in Immigration and Labor and Employment by the 2024 Legal 500 US Guide. Thirteen individual lawyers on HuntonAK’s Labor and Employment and Immigration Team also were acknowledged.

As reported on the Hunton Andrews Kurth Business Immigration Insights blog, as employers throughout the United States increasingly move to remote work arrangements for employees, they are confronted with challenges in completing Form I-9.  An employer must inspect an e employee’s original identity and employment authorization documents in the physical presence of the employee within 3 business days after employment begins.  For remote hires, and for reverification of current employees working remotely, government agencies have relaxed some I-9 requirements ...

As reported on the Business Immigration Insights blog, employers, already dealing with a chaos of urgent-action items caused by COVID-19, must not overlook the stringent posting requirements under US Department of Labor (DOL) regulations for employees in H‑1B, H-1B1, and E-3 status, and for all employees, regardless of status, who are being sponsored for green cards through labor certification (“PERM”).

Read more here.

As reported on Hunton’s Business Immigration Insights Blog, employers face many urgent issues in responding to the US outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID‑19.  Employers should remain aware that extraordinary workplace actions can have a special impact on foreign employees with work-authorized visas and can trigger additional employer obligations under US immigration law.

Read more here.

If 2017 is any indication, the new year will bring a fresh cascade of changes – both announced and unannounced, anticipated and unanticipated – in the business immigration landscape.  Few, if any, of these changes are expected to be good news for U.S. businesses and the foreign workers they employ.

There has been a flurry of activity and uncertainty related to immigration issues since President Trump took office. Hunton & Williams partners Adam Rosser and Emily Burkhardt Vicente discuss the concerns faced by the business community and the future of the H-1B visa program in the US. View the 5-minute video here.

President Trump has signed an Executive Order to temporarily restrict the admission of all refugees and persons from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.  The administration’s failure to provide clear guidance to its own agencies on how to implement the order is resulting in inconsistent applications, which are unacceptable to the hundreds of thousands of individuals and U.S. businesses potentially affected by this travel ban.

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Donald Trump's election took many by surprise. Companies must now quickly determine his likely impact on their operations and workforces.

Trump will be the first US president with no government or military experience. He voiced extreme views during his campaign on immigration and discrimination, but he has played it close to the vest when it comes to other labor and employment law issues. What is clear is that Trump will have the backing of a GOP-controlled House and Senate. Does this mean employers will see radical changes in policy? Will the change to a Republican administration ...

Under a new California law that took effect on January 1, 2016, California employers may face civil penalties of up to $10,000 for misusing E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system some employers use to verify employment eligibility of newly hired employees.

The new E-Verify law makes it more difficult for some California employers to comply with both federal and state laws relating to workers’ employment eligibility.

Hunton & Williams is pleased to announce the release of its newly designed and mobile-responsive Immigration and Nationality Law Blog, www.huntonimmigrationlawblog.com. “Our immigration law blog has been a valuable resource for US employers,” said Ian Band, who heads the firm’s immigration and nationality practice. “This new version of the immigration law blog offers our readers easier and instant access to information in real time, more interactive features and the opportunity for greater analysis and comment on developments in US immigration law.”

Hunton & Williams is pleased to announce the release of its newly designed and mobile-responsive Immigration and Nationality Law Blog, www.huntonimmigrationlawblog.com. “Our immigration law blog has been a valuable resource for US employers,” said Ian Band, who heads the firm’s immigration and nationality practice. “This new version of the immigration law blog offers our readers easier and instant access to information in real time, more interactive features and the opportunity for greater analysis and comment on developments in US immigration law.”

The EEOC and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently signed a National Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The purpose of the MOU, according to an EEOC press release, is to strengthen the collaborative efforts of the United States and Mexico to inform immigrant, migrant and Mexican workers of their rights under the EEOC’s non-discrimination laws. The MOU is also directed at employers, aiming to provide guidance on their responsibilities under the same laws.  The MOU was signed in both English and Spanish by EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien and Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora, at the EEOC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

On March 8, 2013, USCIS issued a major revision of its Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form, pursuant to a Federal Register announcement.

The newly revised Form I-9 adds data fields, including the employee’s foreign passport information, telephone and email address; improves and expands the form's instructions (now six pages); and revises the form layout to two pages, one for the employee and one for the employer.
 
Employers should begin using the new Form I-9 immediately, but are required to use it beginning May 7, 2013.  On that date, all prior versions of Form I-9 – ...

Federal law requires employers to only employ individuals who are eligible to work in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the U.S. Social Security Administration, has implemented an “E-Verify” system that allows participating employers to verify eligibility in a quick and cost-efficient manner. E-Verify is a free, federal database that compares information submitted by employees to Social Security and Homeland Security records. Employers who use E-Verify can quickly identify and reject persons who are ineligible to work in the United States.  Once employers hire workers, they process their information through the E-Verify database. If the submitted records match, the new employees are eligible to work. If the records do not match, the database notifies the employers, who must then give the worker eight days to provide sufficient proof of eligibility.

On December 24, 2009, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued a revised version of its Case Handling Manual (Part One).  For those inside the NLRB, the Manual provides guidance on various internal policies and procedures for enforcement proceedings.  For those outside the NLRB, the Manual not only states how the agency is likely to deal with issues that arise during such proceedings, but also provides insight into the agency’s enforcement priorities.  Part One (the part recently revised) covers unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges, but also includes sections that apply to representation elections and compliance proceedings as well.