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Keith Covington practices labor and employment, immigration, and construction law in the firm’s Birmingham office. He counsels employers on a wide variety of topics, including labor relations, union avoidance, equal employment opportunity, OSHA compliance, disability accommodation, non-compete agreements, and issues relating to employee discipline and termination. His immigration practice includes worksite compliance and obtaining employer-based non-immigrant and immigrant visas for foreign national employees.

i9 form

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an interim final rule that increases significantly the monetary fines assessed against employers for violations of federal immigration law.

Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), employers are prohibited from:

  • Knowingly hiring or employing unauthorized workers;
  • Failing to properly complete employee Form I-9s; and

Form I-9 Compliance: Tips for Employers to Avoid LiabilityEmployers are required under federal immigration law to verify the employment eligibility of new employees by reviewing acceptable documents provided by the employee—to establish the employee’s identity and work authorization—and then completing an Employment Eligibility Verification, commonly known as Form I-9.

The employer must first provide the Form I-9, which consists of three sections, to

The Form I-9 Has “Expired” What’s an Employer to DoFederal law requires employers to verify the work authorization of new employees by reviewing acceptable documentation provided by the employee and then completing an Employment Eligibility Verification (commonly known as Form I-9). The employer must do this by no later than the third business day of employment.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) periodically

So Nice, You’re Considered Employed Twice: DOL on Joint EmploymentOn January 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued an Administrator’s Interpretation that provides fresh guidance for determining when two or more entities will be considered joint employers for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This new guidance follows last year’s DOL Administrator’s Interpretation on the misclassification

Department of Homeland Security Regulation Benefitting STEM Employers Thrown into QuestionA federal district judge recently issued a 37-page decision vacating a 2008 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation that has helped thousands of U.S. companies hire and retain foreign students holding U.S. degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This decision, issued in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department

Employees vs. Independent Contractors: The DOL Weighs in on Worker MisclassificationYesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Administrator’s Interpretation that provides some important new guidance on the standard for classifying workers—as employees or independent contractors—under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). And make no mistake: This guidance clearly intends to make it more difficult than ever for employers to classify their workers

Continuing a trend we’ve reported on in previous blog posts, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently handed down yet another decision expanding the protections afforded to employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

In Sabo, Inc., 362 NLRB No. 81, the NLRB held that Sabo, a vending-machine servicing company, illegally terminated

Religious Discrimination Suit over Muslim Job Applicant’s Hijab; Supreme Court Rules against Abercrombie & FitchIn a ruling handed down yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a religious discrimination case against the popular clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (Abercrombie). The Supreme Court’s ruling overturns a 2013 Tenth Circuit summary judgment decision in Abercrombie’s favor. The Supreme Court found that