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Immigration

Workers’ lawsuit says hotel owners enslaved them

05/13/2008
Four Filipino immigrants have filed a federal lawsuit accusing a pair of Oacoma, S.D., hotel owners of subjecting them to conditions of slavery, forced labor, trafficking in persons and peonage—essentially indentured servitude …

Staffing company owes $3 million to guest workers

05/07/2008
 The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has directed Advanced Professional Marketing Inc. (APMI), a medical staffing company based in New York City, to pay almost $3 million in back wages to more than 150 H-1B guest workers …

Farmers advocating for state temporary worker bill

05/01/2008
A bill to help farmers apply to the federal H-2A guest worker program has hit a snag in the Legislature. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Callhan, would help farmers complete the application process in exchange for a fee of about $200 …

Immigration woes a lot of rot, says soon-To-Be ex-Tomato grower

04/25/2008
Fourth-generation farmer Keith Eckel, owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms in Clarks Summit, has said he will no longer grow tomatoes because he can’t find enough workers to harvest them. Eckel, Pennsylvania’s largest grower of fresh-to-market tomatoes, hired mostly Mexican laborers to bring in past harvests …

Feds target immigration raids at smaller firms

04/24/2008
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grabbed headlines in the past year with large-scale immigration raids at big companies. But now that ICE has more trained officers and better coordination with other agencies, it’s targeting smaller businesses too …

Cleaning executives get prison time

04/14/2008
Three executives of Rosenbaum-Cunningham International (RCI), a Palm Beach firm that provided cleaning services to restaurant chains including Hard Rock Cafe, Dave & Busters, House of Blues and Planet Hollywood, will serve jail time and pay $48.9 million in restitution for employing illegal immigrants and evading taxes …

Cleaning executives get prison time

04/10/2008
Three executives of Rosenbaum-Cunningham International, a Florida firm that provided cleaning services to restaurant chains including the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, will serve jail time and pay $48.9 million in restitution for employing illegal immigrants and evading taxes …

Dairy protests ads allegedly aimed at Congressional candidate

04/09/2008
Joe Oberweis, president of Oberweis Dairy of North Aurora, has filed an injunction to stop the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from airing ads accusing the company of employing illegal immigrants. Oberweis believes the ads are aimed at his father, Jim Oberweis, the Republican congressional candidate …

Feds increase fines for immigration, I-9 violations

04/01/2008
Employers that run afoul of federal immigration laws face stiffer civil fines starting March 27. The increases average about 25% and are triggered by a mandatory inflation adjustment …

Hiring employees through visa programs? Make sure you consider both sexes

04/01/2008
Recruiting foreign workers who come to the United States via work visa programs requires carefully adhering to Title VII and other discrimination laws, just as if you were recruiting U.S. workers. Make sure you (or your representative) aren’t pushing foreign workers into different visa programs based on sex or some other protected characteristic …