Grants Awarded For Training On Prevention Of Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

IRCA Employment Verification and
Antidiscrimination Protections

GRANTS AWARDED FOR TRAINING ON PREVENTION OF IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 18, No. 5, August 9, 2004

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) announced recently that it has awarded $745,000 in grants to thirteen nonprofit groups across the United States for the purpose of conducting public education programs for workers and employers on the topic of immigration-related job discrimination. These projects are funded from Oct. 1, 2004, through Sept. 30, 2005. The OSC is part of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

The grantees will assist discrimination victims in filing charges; conduct seminars 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 organizations that received the OSC grants include the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, in partnership with the Asian Law Caucus; the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in Los Angeles; James Madison University; Catholic Charities of St. Petersburg, Florida; Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, in partnership with the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Workers Issues; the New York City Commission on Human Rights, in partnership with the New York Immigration Coalition; the Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York; Legal Aid Services of Oregon, in partnership with the Oregon Legal Center; Catholic Charities of Dallas; Catholic Charities of Houston; the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); and the AFL-CIO’s Working for America Institute.

NILC also was awarded a grant for a project that focuses on conducting trainings to service providers that serve low-income immigrants, technical assistance to service providers on issues related to the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and policy analysis and advocacy on these issues and others affecting low-wage immigrant workers.

For more information about protections against employment discrimination based upon citizenship, immigration status, and national origin, the OSC can be contacted at any of the following toll-free phone numbers: employers call 1‑800-255-8155 (or TDD for hearing impaired: 1-800-362-2735); workers call 1‑800-255-7688 (or TDD for hearing impaired: 1-800-237-2515). Or visit the OSC’s website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc.