|
December
29, 2011
US Department of
Justice Fines Employer for Discrimination
On December 13, 2011, the US Department o=
f Justice announced
that it had reached a settlement agreement with Sernak
Farms of Pennsylvania. The settlement agreement is based on
allegations that the company had engaged in discrimination on the
basis of citizenship status by preferring to hire temporary visa
holders over US citizen applicants and adversely treating its US
citizen employees. The DOJ findings indicated that the company had
hired three foreign national workers under the H-2A
visa program without considering hiring three of the eight U.S. c=
itizens
because of the belief that H-2A visa
holders are more diligent than U.S. workers. The Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA) generally prohibits employers from hiring or
terminating employees because of their citizenship status. Under =
the
terms of the settlement, Sernak has a=
greed
to pay $30,000 in back pay to the eight injured parties, who are =
U.S.
citizens residing in Puerto Rico. The company also agreed to prov=
ide
its employees training on the anti-discrimination requirements of=
the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and adopt nondiscrimination
policies with respect to recruitment and hiring.
US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) Updates
Below are summaries of recent efforts by the US Immi=
gration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they enforce laws related to
employment of persons not authorized to work in the US. While the=
re
were many actions that took place recently, below are a few of the
highlights.
San Diego Bakery Owners Sentenced
On December 22, 2011, ICE announced that&=
nbsp;a
La Jolla, California bakery, along with its owner and manager, we=
re
sentenced on charges stemming from a four-year probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that the business hired unauthorized a=
lien
workers. The company was ordered to forfeit $109,200 in illicit
proceeds gained from the illegal hiring practices and pay $277,375
because of the felony conviction of employing more than 10
unauthorized alien workers in a 12-month period. The company owner
and president was sentenced to five years of supervised probation
after pleading guilty earlier this year to knowingly employing
numerous unauthorized alien workers over an extended period of ti=
me.
The owner was also held liable to pay the total financial penalty=
of
$396,575. In addition, the bakery's manager who had also pleaded
guilty to hiring unauthorized alien workers was sentenced to three
years of supervised probation and fined $2,500 for his role in
knowingly employing more than 10 undocumented aliens in a one-year
period.
Detroit Area Manager Charged Criminally with Hiring
Unauthorized Workers<=
/p>
On November 29, 2011, ICE announced that&=
nbsp;a
manager at a box manufacturing company in Detroit was arrested on
criminal charges of knowingly accepting false documentation in the
course of hiring undocumented workers. The arrest is the culminat=
ion
of an investigation that began in February when an ICE HSI audit of the company's hiring records
identified 35 employees who used suspected counterfeit documents =
to
obtain their jobs. The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to t=
en
years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Visa Priority Dates=
-
January Visa Bulletin<=
/p>
The January Visa Bulletin has been posted=
. Visas
for employment based second and third preference cases have moved
forward, including those born in India and China. For a summary of
priority dates, retrogression, and how these dates impact US green
card processing, please visit the Clark Hill website.<=
o:p>
|
![3D"Description:](3D"https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/btn_twit_160.png")