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[if !supportEmptyParas]> [endif]>- General     Information
- Regulations Subpoena Form
Cumulative Topical Index of Published and     Indexed Decisions Volumes 1 - 9

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**General Information**-Background

-How to file an Unfair Immigration-related EmploymentPractices Complaint**Background**

The Office ofthe Chief Administrative Hearing Officer has jurisdiction over three types ofcases arising under the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended (INA),including those involving allegations of: (1) knowingly hiring, recruiting orreferring for a fee or the continued employment of unauthorized aliens andfailure to comply with employment verification requirements in violation ofsection 274A of the INA (employer sanctions); (2) immigration-relatedunfair employment practices in violation of section 274B of the INA; and (3) immigration-related document fraud inviolation of section 274C of the INA. OCAHO is headed by a Chief AdministrativeHearing Officer (CAHO) who provides overall program direction, articulatespolicies and procedures, establishes priorities and administers the hearingprocess presided over by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs).
The ALJs hold hearings and related administrativeproceedings and render decisions on cases assigned to them concerning the threeareas listed above. The ALJs may impose sanctions and penalties as prescribedby law, issue cease and desist orders, award attorney's fees and, in the caseof immigration-related unfair employment practices, award back pay. The CAHOconducts administrative review of ALJs' decisions in the areas of employersanctions and document fraud, and may modify or vacate those ALJ decisions. TheAttorney General also may review ALJ or CAHO decisions in employer sanctionsand document fraud cases. The CAHO also certifies, as having received therequisite training in employment discrimination matters, ALJs who hear casesregarding the imposition of penalties against employers who discriminateagainst any individual--other than an unauthorized alien--in employment-relatedsituations because of that individual's national origin or citizenship status.
The provisions of section 274A ofthe INA apply to all employers in the United States with regard to allemployees hired, recruited or referred after November 6, 1986, the date ofenactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).
If an investigation by the Bureauof Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), indicates aviolation of section 274A, the DHS may issue a Notice of Intent to Fine (NIF)to the employer detailing the nature of the violation and the proposed fine.The employer must choose either to pay the fine or to request a hearing. If theemployer opts for a hearing, the DHS can decide to pursue the matter by filinga complaint with OCAHO. OCAHO reviews the complaint, assigns the case to anALJ, and sends all parties a copy of a Notice of Hearing and Complaint, thussetting the adjudicative process in motion.
The Notice of Hearing spells outthe procedural requirements for answering the complaint and the potentialconsequences of failure to file a timely answer. Many employer sanctions casesnever reach the evidentiary hearing stage because the parties either reach asettlement, subject to the approval of the ALJ, or the ALJ reaches a decision onthe merits through dispositive prehearing rulings. Once a final agency orderhas been issued, either by the ALJ or the CAHO, the employer has 45 days tofile an appeal with the appropriate Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Section 274B of the INA prohibitsemployment discrimination on the basis of citizenship status or nationalorigin. Specifically, any employer, recruiter or referrer for a fee who employsmore than three persons may not discharge or refuse to hire, recruit or refer aU.S. citizen or an alien authorized to work in the United States on the basisof citizenship status. The same prohibitions apply to discrimination on thebasis of national origin, if the employer has more than three but less thanfifteen employees (the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has jurisdiction over employers of fifteen or moreindividuals). Moreover, the statute prohibits retaliation or intimidation by anemployer against an employee seeking to exercise his or her rights under thissection. Finally, the statute prohibits "document abuse" on the partof the employer, which occurs when the employer asks an employee for more ordifferent documents than those required by the employment eligibilityverification system in section 274A, with the intent of discriminating againstthe employee in violation of section 274B. Congress included section 274B inIRCA out of a concern that employers might overreact to the threat of employersanctions penalties by refusing to hire anyone who appears "foreign"or who speaks with an accent.

Individuals who believe that theyhave suffered discrimination in violation of section 274B may file a chargewith the Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel forImmigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC). The OSC then has 120 days to determinewhether to file a complaint with OCAHO on behalf of the individual chargingparty. If the OSC chooses not to file a complaint, the individual may then filea "their own complaint" directly with OCAHO.

The Chief Administrative HearingOfficer assigns section 274B cases to ALJs who have been specifically trainedand designated to hear discrimination complaints. Once the ALJ has rendered aformal decision, a party has 60 days to file an appeal with the appropriateFederal Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Immigration Act of 1990 added section 274C to the INA. Section 274Cprohibits the knowing creation, use, acceptance, forging, altering,counterfeiting and false making of any document for the purpose of satisfying arequirement of, or obtaining a benefit under, the INA. In addition, section274C forbids any individual to prepare, file or assist in the preparation orfiling of any INA application or document with knowledge or in recklessdisregard of the fact that such document or application was falsely made. It isalso a violation of section 274C for someone to fail to present the same set ofdocuments upon arrival by common carrier in the United States that he or sheused to board the common carrier. Section 274C was principally added to the INAin order to deter the manufacture and use of false documents that underminesthe efficacy of the employer sanctions provisions, although the breadth of itslanguage makes it applicable to a wide range of immigration-related documentfraud.

The procedures for adjudicating documentfraud cases are the same as those that apply to employer sanctions. Oneimportant and unique aspect of document fraud cases, however, is that thedetermination that an alien has committed document fraud can be a ground forremoval of that alien from the United States.[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]>[endif]>

**Regulations**

• 28 CFR Part 68Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative Hearings BeforeAdministrative Law Judges in Cases Involving Allegations of Unlawful Employmentof Aliens, Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices and Document FraudCases.

• 28 CFR Part 44Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices.

• 8 CFR Part 274aControl of Employment of Aliens.

• 8 CFR Part 270Penalties for Document Fraud.
• Administrative Procedure ActPublic information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, andproceedings
**Administrative Decisions**

OCAHO decisions that may be cited, used, or relied upon asprecedents in future adjudications are available electronically under theheading Published Decisions. Unpublished decisions or other information coveredby the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) may be requested from EOIR's FOIA Contact.
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**Published Decisions**

The Office ofthe Chief Administrative Hearing Officer publishes decisions that have beenselected for and may be used as precedent pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 5 U.S.C.section 552(a)(2). Each decision has been given an OCAHO Reference Number forpublication purposes.
Decisions areavailable in bound volumes, entitled *Administrative Decisions UnderEmployer Sanctions, Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices and CivilPenalty Document Fraud Laws of the United States*. The bound volumes andthe looseleaf volume of the most recent decisions are available hereelectronically through the links below. Decisions in the looseleaf volume,which are not yet published in the form of a bound volume, may be citednevertheless as part of their respective volume. (See Citation Format.)
In employer sanctions and document fraud cases, a modificationor vacation order by the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (CAHO) is thefinal agency order (unless modified or vacated by the Attorney General). CAHOorders have their own OCAHO Reference Number and, for informational purposes,the original Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) order, labeled "modified"or "vacated" as appropriate, will appear immediately after the CAHO'sorder.[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]>[endif]>

**Published Decisions and Orders by Volume**

Bound Volume 1

Bound Volume 2

Bound Volume 3

Bound Volume 4

Bound Volume 5

Bound Volume 6

Bound Volume 7

Bound Volume 8

Looseleaf Volume 9

Looseleaf Volume 10

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