When asked about labor, employers are often seen in the shadows. In the real world, becoming an employer can be twice harder than being an employee. By definition, an employer can be any entity that has any trade, business or activity that requires services of another person under his terms and conditions outside government-control. Employers can be subcategorized to various types; whether it is household, industrial, charitable, and the likes, it can also be divided into domestic and foreign. These divisions have different rules and regulations to follow secondary to the scope of the employment. In specific, foreign employers should be familiar with the Immigration Law. Here are some of the essential must-knows about this law for employers for those who belong to the population:
Legality of the Employees
Being an employer comes with great societal position and with power comes great responsibility. This is why it is mandatory that employers should know whether the employees they opt to hire are filtered – having legal documents.
How To Verify the Employees?
In the United States, a must-find is a certification through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Employers use Form I-9 to determine the applicant’s identity and employment authorization that he or she is allowed to be employed in the state.
Form I-9 must be appropriately completed by the individual that is applying for the employer. This form consists of three categories and are grouped as List A, List B, and List C. In each list, the applicant or employee must provide a valid document to prove his eligibility. This way, the employer holds assurance that the employee is legally documented to work abroad.
How To Verify Employees Amidst the Pandemic?
Now that COVID-19 has unfortunately extended its stay around the globe, some applicants think it is impossible to apply for a job overseas given the safety precautions and international flight bans. Even if this is the truth, applicants or new hires can still prove their eligibility through an online process.
Employers may use the E-Verify system to distinguish employment identity and legality. To be able to use this method, employers must be enrolled and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration. Employees need to be able to complete their Form I-9 and the employers would have to sign into a DHS website and put in worker’s names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and demographics. This may request the employees to contact SSA or DHS to provide further information or may just provide a notification of authorization.
What’s Next after DOL Approval?
Once approved by DOL, this does not guarantee a visa issuance. Therefore, the employer must appeal to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a visa. Applicants are also required to provide proof that they are allowed to work outside their country under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Declining an Applicant
Under the Immigration Law, employers are not allowed to decline an applicant secondary to social class and demographic discrimination.
Counterfeit Documents
An employer may reject an applicant if the document presented seemed forged or simulated. The documents passed to the employer must only contain nothing but the truth about the worker’s identity and citizenship status. When the documents are rejected, the applicant can produce an alternative (that provides eligibility).
When the employer refuses to reconsider employment despite presented alternate documents, he or she may be charged to discrimination charges.
In conclusion, the Immigration law provides both protection towards the employer as well and not just the employee alone. An employer must be well aware of this law before heading towards employment to be able to prevent misfortunate hiring and any trouble between DOL and USCIS. Know more about this with an immigration lawyer.