Employment Relations

Employment Law Documents

Part 541 Regulations Alert (changes to overtime regulations)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

The Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that enforces the nation's immigration and work authorization laws. The most important statutes enforced by the USCIS are:

• Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)
• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)

Most employers know that the USCIS enforces the I-9 requirements. Employers are required to fill out a Form I-9 for all newly-hired employees within three business days of hire. As part of the  I-9 process, employers must review documents from the new hires that establish both the identity of the workers and their authorization to work in the United States. However, it is not as well known that there are also provisions of IRCA that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of either U.S. citizenship or national origin, and that those prohibitions extend to employers with as few as four employees.

The USCIS has made some useful basic information available to employers over its Web site in an effort to promote understanding of the laws it enforces and compliance with those same laws. As a convenience to employers, TABCC has made the same information available on this site. Employers can access this information simply by clicking on the name of the article or brochure in question from the list below:

• Information for Employers
• Professionals Under the North American Free Trade Agreement
• USCIS Forms, Fees and Filings Locations Chart

Information from the US Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is the federal agency that enforces the major federal wage and hour and workplace safety laws. The most important statutes enforced by the DOL are:

• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988
• Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

The FLSA provides for minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor protection, and equal pay for men and women who do the same job at the same levels of skill, duties, and responsibility  (although the equal pay laws are actually enforced by the EEOC). OSHA sets minimum standards for safety in the workplace. The PPA makes it extremely difficult for employers to use polygraph testing as a means of evaluating or investigating employees. The FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave to covered employees who need to be absent for certain medical or family reasons.

The DOL has made much useful basic information available to employers over its Web site in an effort to promote understanding of the laws it enforces and compliance with those same laws. As a  convenience to employers, TAB has made the same information available on this site. Employers can access this information simply by clicking on the name of the article or brochure in question from the list below:

• Department of Labor FAQ
• THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938, AS AMENDED
• Text of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses (elaws)
• DOL's Employment Law Guide

DOL Posters

• Poster Advisor
• FLSA Poster
• OSHA Poster
• Polygraph Protection Act Poster (Spanish)
• FMLA Poster (Spanish)
• Davis-Bacon Act Poster
• Service-Contract Act Poster
• Migrant & Seasonal Workers Protection Act Poster(English/Spanish)
• Notice to Workers with Disabilities Poster

Direct Links

• U.S. Department of Labor Home Page
• OSHA Home Page