DOL Aggressively Enforcing Immigration Laws
Immigration is one of the hottest topics in employment law these days, both legally and politically. As a sign of the times, the Department of Labor has been taking a very aggressive enforcement position with respect to many employers, and even with respect to certain law firms who routinely assist their employer clients gain authorization to work in the United States through the PERM labor certification process, a process by which an employer obtains authorization to employ a foreign citizen on a permanent basis following a demonstrated inability to recruit U.S. citizens or others already authorized to work in the U.S. to the available position. In one case, the DOL has gone so far as to demand the audit of every application submitted by a particular immigration law firm over the past several years. Immigration expert Angelo Paparelli has written a series of articles on the DOL's aggressive enforcement efforts. For those employers who employ workers through the PERM labor certification process, I commend Angelo's articles to you. They are both enlightening and frightening.