Fowler White - Employment & Immigration eNews

University Fined $115,000 for Discriminatory I-9 Practices

Last December, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit against The University of California San Diego Medical Center (UCSD) for an alleged pattern or practice of requesting excessive I-9 documentation. UCSD has now agreed to pay a civil penalty of $115,000 to settle the lawsuit. The University will also be required to conduct supplemental training of its human resources personnel on their responsibilities to avoid discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process, as well as work with the DOJ to ensure compliance with I-9 processes across all its campuses, medical centers, and facilities.

The DOJ investigation preceding the settlement revealed that the UCSD had a policy of requiring all non-citizen new hires to present a List A document, when in fact they should have been given the option to present either a List A document or a document from each of Lists B and C. The University had also been re-verifying the work authorization of lawful permanent residents, which is a violation of the I-9 laws.

I-9 anti-discrimination settlement agreements in the six figures are becoming more and more common. It is with this in mind that employers are reminded to be conscious of possible discriminatory work verification practices. As the I-9 requirements are complicated and confusing to most employers, many find themselves trying to be extra careful in the hiring and verification process. However, employers should proceed with caution, as efforts that are too careful may turn out to be discriminatory, even if only unintentionally. Additionally, healthcare employers in general are particularly prone to I-9 issues, given the relative size of the industry and the diversity of the workforce and job arrangements. Following the I-9 rules across such a diverse entity can be challenging, which is why healthcare employers in particular should pay close attention to their current I-9 practices and evaluate whether changes are needed.

For more information, please contact Melissa Dearing in the Jacksonville office.

Foreign Assets: New IRS Disclosure Requirements


Richard Jacobson	Mitch Horowitz	Jason Liu

It’s certainly legal to have foreign bank accounts and other investments outside the US. In some cases, it’s expected: as in the case of foreign families moving to the United States or US persons doing business overseas. But beginning in 2012, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires US taxpayers to disclose certain foreign assets with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000. For married individuals filing jointly, this threshold increases to $100,000 on the last day of the year or $150,000 at any time during the year. Higher thresholds apply to individuals residing outside the US. See IRS Form 8938 (currently in draft). This is in addition to Form 8621 which requires information from US shareholders of passive foreign investment companies (PFIC). Both these Forms are filed with a taxpayer’s income tax return and are in addition to the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) filed with Treasury. For more information contact Richard Jacobson (813-222-1150, jacobson@fowlerwhite.com), Mitch Horowitz (813-222-1105, mhorowitz@fowlerwhite.com) or Jason Liu (813-222-1163, jason.liu@fowlerwhite.com).

NBI Seminar - Employment Laws Made Simple

Fowler White Boggs Employment attorney, Vanessa Hodgerson, will be presenting at a National Business Institute seminar, Employment Laws Made Simple, on Tuesday, February 14, at the Jacksonville Marriott. The seminar will cover topics to ensure compliance with critical employment laws. She will be speaking on, "New Hires - Getting It Right From the Start," and "If You're Prepared To Be Sued, You're Less Likely to Be Sued." Click here for registration and conference details.

High Court Refuses to Hear Case on Tipped Workers, Minimum Wage

Employers of workers who earn part of their pay in tips could face expanding payrolls in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling on an employee wage lawsuit. CFOs of such companies will also need to reconsider their record-keeping practices and their employment strategies as a result of the High Court's refusal to consider an appeal by Applebee's.
Read full story at CFO.com.

Job Discrimination Complaints Reached Record in 2011

Job discrimination complaints in the United States rose to an all-time high last year, led by an increase in bias charges based on religion and national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received nearly 100,000 charges of discrimination during the 2011 fiscal year, the most in its 46-year history, a slight increase over the previous year, which had 25 fewer complaints.
Read full story at USA Today (free reg. req'd).

High Court Religious Worker Ruling Confuses Many

The high court ruled that religious workers can't sue for job discrimination, but didn't describe what constitutes a religious employee -- putting many people employed by churches, synagogues or other religious organizations in limbo over their rights.
Read full story at Chicago Tribune (free reg. req'd.).

More Companies Using Lockouts to Pressure Unions

America's unionized workers, buffeted by layoffs and stagnating wages, face another phenomenon that is increasingly throwing them on the defensive: lockouts. From the Cooper Tire factory in Findlay, Ohio, to a country club in Southern California and sugar beet processing plants in North Dakota, employers are turning to lockouts to press their unionized workers to grant concessions after contract negotiations deadlock.
Read full story at The New York Times.

Florida Workers, Businesses Work Together on Wage Theft Bill

There's been a significant hatchet-burying in Tallahassee, where advocates for low-wage workers and the business community are working together on a wage theft bill. Florida employers were backing a bill that would repeal Miami-Dade County's wage theft ordinance and forbid any other city or county from adopting one of its own.
Read full story at Miami Herald (free reg. req'd).

Fewer Workers Seeing Workplace Misconduct, but More Reporting

Fewer U.S. workers admit to seeing violations of the law or ethics in the workplace, but more of them are reporting the wrongdoing when they do notice it. That's the conclusion of the National Business Ethics Survey conducted every two years by the Ethics Resource Center.
Read full story at The Orange County Register.

401(k) Providers Offering More Affordable Options

As employers prepare for new federal rules requiring them to explain how fees affect 401(k) returns, industry providers are rolling out better, lower-cost plans. The new plans are aimed at helping small and midsize employers, which in the past have been unable to offer their workers the lowest-cost plans.
Read full story at USA Today (free reg. req'd).

States Try to Ban Firms from Discriminating Against Unemployed

A random search of online job listings last year by the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit advocacy group, found 150 ads nationwide that excluded applicants based on employment status. New Jersey has passed a law banning such advertisements, federal legislation is pending, and a newly proposed California bill, Assembly Bill 1450, would prohibit discriminating against the jobless in hiring.
Read full story at Miami Herald (free reg. req'd).

Court Reverses $1 Million Age Bias Award for Television Reporter

A Florida court reversed a jury ruling that awarded $1 million to a former TV health reporter who claimed she was fired for being too old. The Third District Court of Appeals in Miami reversed the 2010 jury finding that Sunbeam Television Corp., the owner of WSVN-Fox 7, had fired reporter Marilyn Mitzel three years earlier because she was too old for television.
Read full story at United Press International.

Lawsuit Contends Steve Jobs' Anti-Poaching Move was Illegal

In the summer of 2007, Apple's Steve Jobs received a note from then-Palm chief executive Ed Colligan, according to correspondence revealed in a lawsuit over employee poaching. "Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual's desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal," Colligan wrote to the now-deceased Apple chief.
Read full story at Reuters.