Arnall Golden Gregory LLP is pleased to provide you with the Compliance News Flash. This weekly update is your source for timely background screening and immigration-related news that is important to your organization.

1. Worksite enforcement operations continue to make news. As I have mentioned before, now is a good time to consider an internal audit of your employment eligibility verification forms (aka “the Form I-9”) with immigration counsel. Landscaping and meat processing plants seems a favorite target although from my experience other industries are also getting caught up in the crosshairs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Not only is ICE proceeding with workplace investigations of Forms I-9 (remember, employers must have on file a Form I-9 for any employee hired post-November 1986) but they are also arresting workers. The latter is not only bad for employee morale but also can represent an unplanned reduction in workforce. Click here to learn about the latest raid in Ohio where 146 employees were subject to arrest for immigration violations. The investigation focused on the hiring of undocumented workers and use of potentially fraudulent documents for purposes of completing the Form I-9.
2. Speaking of worksite enforcement and compliance with the Form I-9 and E-Verify requirements, if you’re attending the 2018 AILA Employer Compliance and Worksite Enforcement Conference in Boston on August 10-11 please join me for my panel. I will be speaking alongside two great speakers, Marketa Lindt and Bruce Buchanan, on Navigating E-Verify. Click here to read more about the conference. 
3. For those who didn’t hear the news, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. All eyes will be on (sounds like a will.i.am /Britney Spears song) who the President nominates for the bench…
4. Looking for a quick read on background screening for your company and questions to ask about employment screening? Check out Roy Maurer’s recent article, 7 HR Questions (and Answers) About Employment Screening. For example, speak to your background screening vendor and understand what type of searches you are running when considering job applicants. Make sure you aren’t relying solely on database searches for criminal history information. Make sure your screening company is confirming any “hits” that come up during a national criminal database search. While they may be cheaper, they aren’t necessarily better and you may be missing out on information or setting the company up for litigation. Roy is an Online News Manager and Editor with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Disclaimer – I am quoted in the article. Click here to read the article.
5. Concerned about discrimination in hiring? So is the Department of Justice. They have been on a recent tear announcing three settlements for immigration-related discrimination claims alleging hiring discrimination against non-U.S. citizens protected under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision. For instance, unless required by law your company cannot have a policy of hiring only U.S. citizens. By the same token, a company cannot only hire temporary, non-immigrant workers to the exclusion of other protected categories of employees. An employer is also prohibited from requesting specific types of immigration documents from certain workers during the Form I-9 process. Click here, here and here to read the settlement announcements.