Office of Special Counsel Announces 2002-03 Grantees

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

IRCA Employment Verification and
Antidiscrimination Protections

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL ANNOUNCES 2002-03 GRANTEES
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 7, November 22, 2002

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the U.S. Dept. of Justice's Civil Rights Division has awarded close to $900,000 in grants to 15 nonprofit groups serving communities throughout the country, to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about immigration-related job discrimination under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, the grants will fund grantees' efforts to assist workers who believe they have been discriminated against as a result of their citizenship status or national origin, or due to document-related abuse committed by employers in administering the I-9 employment eligibility verification process. Grantees will assist workers in filing claims with the OSC; conduct trainings for workers, employers and, immigration service providers; distribute educational materials in various languages; and place advertisements in local communities through both mainstream and ethnic media.

The recipients of the OSC grants for the period from Oct. 1, 2002, through Sept. 30, 2003, are the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALCR) in the Washington, D.C., metro area; Catholic Charities of Dallas; Catholic Charities of Galveston/Houston; City of New York's Commission on Human Rights; City of Seattle's Office for Civil Rights; Coalition of Florida Farm Worker Organizations; Employers Association of New Jersey; Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Hogar Hispano/Catholic Charities, based in Arlington, Texas; International Rescue Committee, based in San Diego, California; Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, located in Flint, Michigan; Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota; North Carolina Justice & Community Development Center, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina; University of Nevada/Small Business Development Center; and the National Immigration Law Center.

Under its OSC grant, NILC will continue providing technical assistance to immigrant workers' advocates, service providers, and pro bono attorneys throughout the country on immigration-related employment issues such as citizenship status discrimination, the I-9 process, document abuse and reverification, SSA no-match letters, and other issues affecting low-wage immigrants. NILC will provide educational materials on these issues and conduct four regional seminars in the West, Southwest, Northwest, and Midwest.

Workers or advocates who have questions about potential immigration-related job discrimination can contact the OSC at their employee hotline (800-255-7688 or 202-616-5594) or via e-mail at osc.crt@usdoj.gov. Businesses can reach the OSC through the employer hotline at 800-255-8155.

The OSC's press release regarding the new grantees and links to each of the organizations can be found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/.