The United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has announced the launch of a free monthly webinar series covering the anti-discrimination provisions of U.S. immigration law. The webinars are intended for workers, worker advocates, employers, and human resources representatives. Topics will include workers’ rights and employer compliance strategies to avoid citizenship or national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment, as well as best practices during the employment eligibility verification process, including the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes. A list of events and additional information about the webinars is available here. (read more)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the E-Verify Self Check Program is now available to residents of all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The E-Verify Self Check program allows individuals to verify the accuracy of their work authorization information in the government’s E-Verify database, which accesses records from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. (read more)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the January issue of its "E-Verify Connection” newsletter. The new issue announces that E-Verify has reached the one million worksite milestone and provides additional guidance for completing Forms I-9 for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau. The January issue also contains links to a new Employee Rights and Responsibilities video and the recently expanded E-Verify Self Check Media Tool Kit. (read more)

On January 1, 2012, new laws took effect in five (5) states, requiring employers to register for and use the otherwise voluntary federal E-Verify system. Many of these laws were passed following the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2011 decision upholding Arizona’s right to mandate the use of E-Verify, an online employment authorization verification tool administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the Social Security Administration. (read more)

After November 27, 2011, employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will no longer be able to use Form I-9 CNMI. Form I-9 CNMI was a version of Form I-9, valid only in the CNMI, that contained additional List A documents issued by the CNMI government. Employers must use the standard Form I-9 to verify the work authorization of employees hired in the CNMI on or after November 28, 2011. (read more)