Reactions have been pouring in to the latest iteration of the No Match Rule, which Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff introduced last week. Chertoff hopes the changes in the rule will be enough to get a federal judge to lift an injunction and allow enforcement. Articles of note on the subject include the following: Associated […]
Supplemental No Match Rule issued
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The Department of Homeland Security issued a Supplemental No Match Rule yesterday (press release | PDF warning: 100 pages). DHS officials hope the new language will clarify questions that prompted a U.S. District Court judge to issue an injunction against enforcement last year. “The additional information in this supplemental rule addresses the specific items raised […]
You asked about the minimum wage
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When we posted news that the Washington and Oregon minimum wage are going up Jan. 1, 2009 due to automatic increases in both of those states, a reader asked if there is any chance agricultural employers could see legislative relief from this requirement. We asked Oregon Association of Nurseries Government Affairs Director Jeff Stone and […]
Business group calls Oklahoma law unconstituional
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The battle over HB 1804 continues. The Oklahoma law, which punishes state contractors if they are found to have unauthorized workers, has been in legal limbo since June 4. U.S. District Court Judge Robin J. Cauthron issued a court order stating the law is probably unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce […]
OSHA offers free safety and health workshops
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Next Thursday, Oct. 23, Oregon OSHA is offering four workshops pertaining to occupational safety and health at the Salem National Guard Armory, 2310 17th St. N.E. (map/directons), Salem, Ore. They include Safety Committee Basic Training, 8 a.m.-noon; Safety for Small Business: Back Safety, 1-2 p.m.; Safety for Small Business: Personal Protective Equipment, 2:15-3:15 p.m.; and […]
Smart strategies for survival
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It’s distressing, if not alarming, to watch the current state of the stock market and the global economy. But there are strategies one can employ to make sure their business weathers the storm better than most, as nursery consultant Don Richards shared with OAN members today. We believe this is essential reading, so go check […]
More where that came from?
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Should employers get ready for a thicket of state immigration laws that don’t offer comprehensive solutions, but instead burden and punish employers? Maybe, according to an analysis by the respected public affairs, communications and research firm Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick: A federal court rebuffed a legal challenge of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, which employers and […]
Legal worker caught up in Arizona crackdown
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Landscape worker Sergio Martinez-Villaman, 32, had identification in spades. A H-2B work visa. A Mexican passport. Even an Arizona identification card issued by the DMV. But a sheriff’s detective in Maricopa County, Ariz., arrested him anyway for lack of identification or driver’s license following a June 27 traffic stop, the Arizona Republic reported: The afternoon […]
Staying out of trouble with proper I-9 procedures
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Jordan Schrader Ramis PC attorney Ron Guerra will present a lunchtime seminar, “Playing with Fire: Employment Eligibility and Verification (I-9),” from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the firm’s office, 2 Centerpointe Drive, 6th Floor, Lake Oswego, Ore. Guerra will discuss ways that employers can make sure they are properly completing, auditing and retaining I-9 […]
Undocumented immigrant population declines
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The number of undocumented immigrants in the United States dropped by 500,000 last year, and for the first time in years, the inflow of undocumented immigrants fell below the inflow of legal, permanent residents, according to a report issued Oct. 1 by the Pew Hispanic Center: “The Pew Hispanic Center also estimates that inflows of […]