Best Practices for Employers in Managing USCIS Administrative Onsite Inspections, ICE Raids, and Form I-9 Audits

By Denise Gavica Perez on January 23, 2025 Posted in Immigration Planning & Compliance

In today’s increasingly complex immigration enforcement setting, employers face multiple challenges, including unannounced USCIS Administrative site visits (also known as onsite inspections), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace raids, and Form I-9 audits. While these processes all aim to ensure compliance with federal laws, they have distinct purposes and require different strategies to effectively address. ICE raids primarily target unauthorized workers and enforce immigration laws, often causing significant disruptions and legal consequences for businesses. USCIS onsite inspections, on the other hand, are conducted to verify that the terms outlined in H-1B, and other Nonimmigrant Worker visa petitions, are being followed, as far as employee duties, compensation, and work location. Finally, I-9 audits carried out by the federal government focus on ensuring that all employees are properly documented and that employers maintain accurate records.

Understanding how to manage these three processes is crucial for maintaining compliance and protecting businesses from potential fines, penalties, and reputational damage. In this blog, we’ll provide practical steps to handle USCIS onsite inspections, ICE raids, and Form I-9 audits, helping employers stay prepared and confident in managing obligations under federal law.

The Potential Impacts of President Trump’s Administration on DACA and Temporary Protected Status

By Anthony El-Hashem on January 21, 2025 Posted in Immigration Planning & Compliance

President Donald Trump has indicated a strong intention to eliminate both the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs, which allow foreign nationals to temporarily live and work in the United States without the fear of deportation. In light of these anticipated measures, employers should take proactive steps to support the welfare of affected employees who may need to find viable alternatives, as well as to ensure the continued stability of their workforce.

Paid Prenatal Leave for Pregnant New Yorkers Has Arrived

By Megan Coughlin on January 14, 2025 Posted in Employee Benefits, Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Medical & Other Leaves

New York is the first state in the U.S. to pass a law entitling workers to paid prenatal leave. The law, which took effect on January 1, 2025, requires private sector employers, regardless of size, to provide their New York-based employees with 20 hours of paid leave for prenatal healthcare services during their pregnancy, or related to their pregnancy, during any 52-week calendar period. Regarding the first-of-its-kind law, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul stated, “No pregnant woman in New York should be forced to choose between a paycheck and a check-up — and that’s why I pushed to create the nation’s first paid prenatal leave policy.”

Year-End Watch List: Possible Simplification to Employer Group Health Plan Reporting

By Blog Admin, Gregg Moran and Beth Alcalde on December 26, 2024 Posted in Employee Benefits

2024 might almost be over, but the Senate recently passed two bills that are intended to ease at least some employer burdens under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) moving forward. The bills, both of which are pending signature by President Biden, are:

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (H.R. 3797)
The Employer Reporting Improvement Act (H.R. 3801)

Should these laws be enacted, they would together simplify ACA compliance in numerous ways, including the following:

What Employers Need to Know — Final Rule by the Department of Homeland Security Updating the H-1B Nonimmigrant Worker Visa Program

By Denise Gavica Perez on December 19, 2024 Posted in Immigration Planning & Compliance

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a final rule aimed at modernizing the H-1B nonimmigrant worker visa program, with significant and favorable changes set to take effect on January 17, 2025. These updates provide much-needed clarity and support for U.S. employers seeking talented and professional employees. Following is a breakdown of the most impactful changes and what these changes mean for employers.

DOL Proposes End of Program Allowing Employers to Pay Disabled Employees Subminimum Wage

By Colby Berman on December 17, 2024 Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Wage & Hour

As part of a program dating back to 1938, the little-spoken-about Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) includes a provision that allows employers to obtain certificates from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) authorizing them to pay subminimum wage to workers with disabilities that impair the worker’s productivity for the work being performed. Now, on the heels of mounting state legislation prohibiting the use of these certificates, the DOL is proposing to end the program altogether in its new Proposed Rule, Employment of Workers with Disabilities Under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read on to understand the implications of this rulemaking, particularly with a new incoming presidential administration.

Employer Alert! The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Announces Permanent 540-Day Automatic Extension Period of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Renewals Timely Filed By Qualified Applicants

By Denise Gavica Perez on December 11, 2024 Posted in Immigration Planning & Compliance

In a significant update for employers and human resource teams, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made the 540-day auto-extension period for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewals a permanent benefit. In May 2022, DHS extended the EAD auto-extension to up to 540 days to mitigate the risk of a work authorization gap for those renewing their EADs. At that time, this temporary rule applied to individuals with renewal applications pending as of May 22, 2022, or those who filed renewal applications between May 4, 2022, and October 26, 2023. Later, the DHS extended the auto-extension for EAD renewal applicants who filed on or after October 27, 2023, with an eligibility window extending through September 30, 2025.

The Time for Certain Foreign National Workers to Stop Traveling Abroad is NOW, Not After the Inauguration

By Adam S. Mocciolo on December 10, 2024 Posted in Immigration Planning & Compliance

One of the simplest but most important steps that employers should take to minimize the workforce disruptions associated with the upcoming change in presidential administrations is to avoid international travel by certain foreign national workers starting now, and to bring at-risk employees who are currently outside the country back into the U.S. as soon as possible. Unpredictable and swift immigration policy changes over the next several months could make return extremely difficult for foreign national employees caught outside the country at the moment an unfavorable new rule or procedure is put into place. And in many cases, those caught in such circumstances will have no resort to U.S. courts, nor any other appeal rights. Even a person who leaves the U.S. now and expects to return before the presidential handover, such as for a family visit at the holidays, is taking a risk that unrelated delays or complications while away — a natural disaster or a lost passport — could subject the return trip to new, unexpected legal treatment under the next administration.

Employers should proactively review their workers’ individual situations, and should not only forego assignments that include international work travel for those at risk, but also warn at-risk employees against personal travel. Managers and human resources executives should not assume that workers themselves will understand or be aware of these risks. Even in periods when underlying immigration policies are relatively stable, examples abound of well-meaning, unguided employees who become unavailable for work or upend their and their employers’ intricate immigration planning because of incautious travel.

Worker Classification in the Gig Economy: Legal Wins and Strategic Considerations for Employers

By M. Adil Yaqoob on December 5, 2024 Posted in Employment Litigation, Labor Relations, Wage & Hour

The gig economy continues to prosper, fueled by some recent legal wins, which have been delivered at a crucial juncture for businesses reliant on the flexibility and cost efficiencies that come with classifying workers as independent contractors. These victories are not merely legal milestones — they are critical indicators of how companies can strategically navigate the complex area of worker classification to sustain their competitive edge amidst ongoing regulatory pressures and an anticipated paradigm shift due to the incoming Trump administration.

Duties Not Dollars: Texas Court Invalidates DOL’s Overtime Rule Before Anticipated January 1, 2025 Salary Level Increase

By Debra M. Leder on November 18, 2024 Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Non-Compete & Trade Secret Litigation, Wage & Hour

With the upcoming change in administration, we expected that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2024 Overtime Rule ultimately would be cast aside, but the timing of the January 1, 2025 salary level increase before Inauguration Day was slated to be a potential headache for employers. A federal court in Texas has just invalidated the rule, sparing employers across the country the logistical challenge of being caught in the disequilibrium. In striking down the DOL Overtime Rule, the court found that the rule improperly focuses on “dollars” not “duties,” in contravention to Congressional intent and authority relegated to the DOL under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court’s ruling sets aside the DOL’s Overtime Rule on a nationwide basis, with its impact reverberating well beyond the parties involved in that litigation. With the 2024 Overtime Rule vacated and remanded to the DOL, the agency will have to start over. This legal development will render unnecessary the reclassification of exempt workers to nonexempt status for nearly three million workers, which was expected by the new year.