News & Information

 

FEATURED PRODUCT

U.S. Master™ Wage-Hour Guide, 2009 Edition
Presents a first approach to the broad and complex controls under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other statutes regulating employee wages and hours.

Learn More »

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW — 10/09/09

Conferees approve FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, would extend E-Verify for three years

On October 7, 2009, legislators approved the conference report for the $42.8 billion FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which includes various immigration measures, among them a three-year extension of the federal government’s E-Verify program. The conferees also agreed to $137 million to operate the program and further improve its accuracy and compliance rates. E-Verify is the free, voluntary, web-based program operated by the Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees ( i.e., it compares information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against federal government databases to verify workers’ employment eligibility).

On June 24, the House approved a two-year extension of E-Verify when it passed the FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill in a 389-37 vote. As part of passing its version of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, on July 9, the Senate passed amendments that would permanently reauthorize the program, require employers to use the program to verify not just new hires, but current employees and require federal contractors and subcontractors to use the program in order to verify that all new hires and existing employees directly performing work under the terms of the contract be authorized to work in the United States. Conferees dropped all of these provisions in favor of the three-year extension.

The conferees also agreed to extend the Special Immigrant Nonmininster Religious Worker Visa Program, the Conrad 30 J-1 program and the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program for three years.

The Special Immigrant Nonmininster Religious Worker Visa Program provides up to 5,000 visas special immigrant religious workers in professional or non-professional capacity within a religious vocation or occupation. Under the “Conrad 30 J1” program, each state health department may submit a request directly to the State Department (DOS) to initiate the waiver process for a J-1 medical doctor. This request enables J-1 doctors to obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement, if DOS submits a favorable recommendation. Once the waiver is granted, J-1 doctors must practice medicine for at least three years in a medically underserved shortage area or areas. The Department of Health and Human Services designates the medical shortage areas. The EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program, which allows qualifying foreign investors and their families to obtain green cards if the investor (among other things) invests $1 million or $500,000 (if certain criteria are met) in a commercial enterprise that will benefit the US economy and provides 10 direct or indirect jobs to US workers.

The bill now heads to both chambers for final passage.

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.

Visit our News Library to read more news stories.