Labor Commissioner provides new notice template under Immigrant Worker Protection Act

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In our 2018 New Laws publication, we reported on the new Immigrant Worker Protection Act (Labor Code Section 90.2) that went into effect on January 1, 2018. This new Act in part requires employers to post a written notice to employees of an upcoming inspection by immigration enforcement authorities of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records, within 72 hours of receiving notice of the inspection. The posted notice must contain the following information:

  1. The name of the immigration agency conducting the inspections of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records.
  2. The date that the employer received notice of the inspection.
  3. The nature of the inspection, to the extent known.
  4. A copy of the Notice of Inspection of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms for the inspection to be conducted.

The notice must be provided in the language(s) ordinarily used by the employer to communicate employment-related information to employees. The Labor Commissioner has now released a notice template form that employers may (but are not required to) use that contains the necessary information. The notice form can be filled-out electronically and is accessible here. There is also a Spanish notice form that can be accessed here.

Employers should note that the Act requires a separate written notice directly to employees who are specifically affected by an inspection that identifies the employees as potentially lacking current and valid work authorization documents or having deficiencies in their I-9 documents. The Labor Commissioner’s new template does not satisfy the obligations for this post-inspection targeted notice and employers should consult with counsel if facing an inspection by an immigration enforcement agency.