Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

With 2025 around the corner and a (new) presidential administration pending, employers should be aware of the potential agency actions. Please join Hunton Andrews Kurth employment, labor, and immigration attorneys to review what is currently pending, what might change, and what to watch.

Please join Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Immigration attorneys as they address the shifting political landscape and explore how the upcoming Trump presidency may reshape immigration policy in the United States.

HuntonAK Immigration Senior Attorney Shaena Rowland was recently named as a 2023 Immigration Law Trailblazers by The National Law Journal.

As reported on the Business Immigration Insights blog, employers, already dealing with a chaos of urgent-action items caused by COVID-19, must not overlook the stringent posting requirements under US Department of Labor (DOL) regulations for employees in H‑1B, H-1B1, and E-3 status, and for all employees, regardless of status, who are being sponsored for green cards through labor certification (“PERM”).

Read more here.

As reported on Hunton’s Business Immigration Insights Blog, employers face many urgent issues in responding to the US outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID‑19.  Employers should remain aware that extraordinary workplace actions can have a special impact on foreign employees with work-authorized visas and can trigger additional employer obligations under US immigration law.

Read more here.

New regulations addressing national origin discrimination under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) go into effect on July 1, 2018 – are you ready?  The regulations expand the definition of “national origin,” make language restrictions presumptively unlawful, and limit an employer’s ability to verify immigration status, among other significant changes.

The new year brings new laws for California employers to grapple with. Below we highlight the most significant new employment laws affecting California employers as of January 1, 2018.  Companies based in California or with operations in California are encouraged to review their policies and procedures in light of these developments.

If 2017 is any indication, the new year will bring a fresh cascade of changes – both announced and unannounced, anticipated and unanticipated – in the business immigration landscape.  Few, if any, of these changes are expected to be good news for U.S. businesses and the foreign workers they employ.

Donald Trump's election took many by surprise. Companies must now quickly determine his likely impact on their operations and workforces.

Trump will be the first US president with no government or military experience. He voiced extreme views during his campaign on immigration and discrimination, but he has played it close to the vest when it comes to other labor and employment law issues. What is clear is that Trump will have the backing of a GOP-controlled House and Senate. Does this mean employers will see radical changes in policy? Will the change to a Republican administration ...

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that discrimination on the basis of immigration status is not covered under Title VII.  In Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co., No. 11-1631, the facts involved spouses Kristi and Javier Cortezano.  Javier was an unauthorized immigrant from Mexico, while his wife Kristi was employed as a sales manager at Salin Bank. When Kristi’s supervisor discovered Javier’s unauthorized immigrant status, the bank initiated a process that ultimately led to Kristi’s termination.  Kristi filed suit against Salin Bank alleging, among other things, employment discrimination under Title VII.  The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted Salin Bank’s motion for summary judgment.