The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices of the U.S. Department of Justice—Civil Rights Division is accepting comments as it prepares to develop guidelines on the topic of employer self-audits of I-9 forms. Comments can be submitted by email to: Osc.Engagement@usdoj.gov, and must be received by Friday, November 9, 2012.

The Dolores Street Community Services, Impact Fund, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Project, National Employment Law Project, National Immigration Law Center, and Women’s Employment Law Clinic of Golden Gate University School of Law encourage advocates for low-wage immigrant workers to timely submit comments to the OSC. Read more for key points to raise....

FILED UNDER: I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Retaliation

Immigrant Workers at La Boulange May Lose Job to I-9 Reverification [SF CBS] 

Latino Supermarket Sparks Outrage After Joining E-Verify [Fox News]

Mi Pueblo Markets Came Under US Immigration Audit [San Jose Mercury News]

Supermarket That Joined E-Verify Part of Immigration Probe [LA Times]

Anti-Immigrant Group Launches Racist Ad Campaign to Pit African-Americans Against Immigrants [ThinkProgress]

FILED UNDER: E-Verify | I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Retaliation

“No Justice, No Piece”: Pizza Company Accused of Targeting Immigrant Strikers, Threatening Reverification [InTheseTimes]

Home Care Workers Can’t Wait [Sacramento Bee] 

Central California Growers Struggle With Farmworker Shortage [Newobserver.com] 

CA Department of Industrial Relations Partners with Watsonville Law Center to Provide Medical Services to Low-Wage Workers with Job Injuries [MarketWatch] 

Employers in South Say That AZ-Style Immigration Laws Threaten Their Industries [Journal.us] 

FILED UNDER: Caregivers | I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | State Departments of Labor

Most Alabama Companies Miss E-Verify Registration Deadline [AP] 

NYC Comptroller Recovers $1.2 Million From Building Contractors for Cheated Workers [NY Realestaterama] 

Over 3100 Undocumented Immigrants Held in Nationwide ICE Raid [msnbc.com] [Washington Post] 

Mississippi Immigration Enforcement Bill Killed [CNBC] 

State Dept. Confirms Criticism of Student Guestworker Program: It’s About Work, not Culture [In These Times]

Day Laborer Supporters Rally in Pomona [Daily Bulletin] 

FILED UNDER: E-Verify | Guestworkers | I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Immigration Reform | Organizing | Wage Theft

In late 2011, more than 200 workers of the Pacific Steel Casting plant in Berkeley, CA were subject to a forced layoff resulting from a “silent raid,” or an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) I-9 audit. These audits require an employer to provide ICE with employee I-9 form documents to verify U.S. government authorization to work in this country.

Despite attempts by Local 164B of the Glass, Molders, and Pottery Union to halt the layoff of workers, Pacific Steel terminated workers caught in the I-9 audit. Former workers, the majority of whom had five to twenty years of seniority, now lack income and have lost access to their health insurance benefits. Workers have organized a mutual support committee and will hold a public march on Friday, February 17, 2012 in Berkeley, California.

FILED UNDER: I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Labor | Local Campaigns | Organizing | Unions