Legal Risk Management: Managing Immigration "I-9" Compliance and Avoiding Anti-Discrimination Claims

5 Major Mistakes Businesses Owners Make that Expose Themselves and Their Businesses to Huge Legal Risk, Severe Financial Loss, and Bad Publicity! Presentation by Ann Massey Badmus and Angela M. Lopez, Shareholders, Cowles & Thompson, PC discusses the major mistake of lacking a comprehensive written immigration compliance plan to avoid costly I-9 violations and anti-discrimination claims. Failing to meet rules and requirements for company recordkeeping, reporting, and governance and proper planning for business transitions Failing to properly negotiate and manage contracts to protect company interests All employers must abide by two sets of immigration rules, even if all employees are U.S. citizens or legal residents. First, employers must verify employment authorization of all employees within very prescribed requirements of the I-9 rules. Second, an employer must not overstep bounds and discriminate against legal immigrants in its effort to verify employment authorization. Otherwise, the employer might violate the anti-discrimination rules under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Ann Massey Badmus is a shareholder and chair of the Immigration Section of Cowles & Thompson and a nationally recognized immigration lawyer who has been featured prominently in numerous business publications. Her practice consists primarily of employment and business related immigration matters, representing employers and their employees before various state and federal agencies with immigration oversight. Ms. Badmus has extensive experience with employment-related temporary worker petitions for H-1B professional worker visas, L-1 transfer visas, E-1/E-2 treaty investor and trader visas, O-1 extraordinary ability visas, and others. Ms. Badmus also assists employers seeking to insure compliance with state and federal immigration rules regarding employment eligibility verification (I-9) and anti-discrimination. Angela M. Lopez is a shareholder and serves in the Immigration Section of the firm. Ms. Lopez has been practicing exclusively in the field of immigration law since 2002 and has developed a large national practice representing numerous foreign nationals and their employers in obtaining temporary employment nonimmigrant visas and permanent residence. Ms. Lopez extensive experience includes H-1B professional worker visas, O-1 extraordinary ability visas, E-1/E-2 treaty investor, L-1 transfer visas, TN temporary work visa for citizens of Canada & Mexico, E-3 professional worker visas for Australian nationals, and permanent residence applications based upon labor certification, extraordinary ability aliens, national interest waivers, multinational managers and executives, and EB5 investor immigrant visas. Mrs. Lopez also assists employers with federal immigration rules regarding employment eligibility verification (I-9) compliance. This seminar and course materials do not create an attorney-client relationship and are offered for educational purposes only. For specific advice and questions about our services for your business, you are invited to contact us at [email protected] 214-672-2689. Follow Cowles & Thompson: WEBSITE: http://www.CowlesThompson.com FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/20Mv8lT TWITTER: http://bit.ly/18TaoSw YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/1FuCqSx LINKEDIN: http://linkd.in/1LOFjS7 GOOGLE PLUS: http://bit.ly/19L3YGb Cowles & Thompson provides high-quality representation in a timely, client-focused & cost-effective manner.