How to Start a Business

employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. Within three days of hiring a new employee, you must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form, commonly referred to as an I-9 form. This requires examining acceptable forms of the employee’s documentation to confirm his or her citizenship or eligibility to work in the United States. You can only request documentation specified on the I-9 form. Employers who ask for other types of documentation not listed on the I-9 form may be subject to discrimination lawsuits. You do not file the I-9 with the federal government. Rather, you are required to keep an I-9 form on file for three (3) years after the date of hire or one (1) year after the date the employee’s employment ends, whichever is later. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducts routine workplace audits to ensure that employers are properly completing and retaining I-9 forms, and that employee information on I-9 forms matches government records. For complete information about using, understanding and keeping up to date with the Form I-9, visit I-9 Central. You can use information taken from the Form I-9 to verify electronically the employment eligibility of newly hired employees through E-Verify. To get started, register with E-Verify to virtually eliminate Social Security mismatch letters, improve the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, protect jobs for authorized workers and help maintain a legal workforce. • Labor Laws and Foreign Workers – www. dol.gov Foreign labor certification programs, administered in part by the U.S. Department of Labor, that permit U.S. employers to hire foreign workers, temporarily or permanently, to fill jobs essential to the U.S. economy. These programs are generally designed to ensure that allowing foreign workers into the United States on a permanent or temporary basis will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. • Foreign Labor Certification – www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor Provides information on the foreign labor certification process and how employers can apply to bring Hiring and Employment

foreign workers into the U.S. for employment.

• Visit www.doleta.gov – Describes the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifications issued for permanent and temporary employment. • Wages Under Foreign Labor Certification – The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or permanent basis to perform certain types of work. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration generally certifies employers to obtain special visas to hire foreign workers when there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers available and willing to work at wages that meet or exceed the current wage paid for that occupation. The INA includes provisions that protect U.S. citizens and certain work-authorized individuals from employment discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status. The INA protects all work-authorized individuals from national origin discrimination, unfair documentary practices relating to the employment eligibility verification process and from retaliation. The U.S. Department of Justice enforces the INA’s non-discrimination provisions, and provides the following guidance to help small businesses understand these provisions: • Business Guide to Fair Employment – Visit www.usdoj.gov Employer obligations under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti discrimination provision. • Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices FAQs – Information about anti discrimination provisions in the INA, and the role of the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices in enforcing anti discrimination cases. • Verify the Employment Eligibility of Your Employees without Committing Unlawful Discrimination Fair Employment Practices (Non-Discrimination)

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