Earlier this month, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices ("Justice Department CRD") and the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") formally recognizing that the agencies will share information with each other. The Justice Department CRD enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act and anti-discrimination in employment-related immigration practices, such as the collection of information through Form I-9 and E-Verify. The NLRB enforces the National Labor Relations Act, which guarantees employees the right to engage in concerted action in the workplace.
Under the MOU, the Justice Department CRD and the NLRB can refer
matters to each other without the express authority of individuals
who complained about their employer. Agents of the Justice
Department CRD and NLRB are expected to work together on
investigations, where appropriate. The MOU provides that agents at
the Justice Department CRD and NLRB will be cross-trained so that
they can recognize matters that fall within the other's
jurisdiction and take appropriate action.
Prior to entering into this MOU, the Justice Department CRD had
partnerships with 50 federal, state and local agencies. The MOU
widens the net for both agencies even further and could potentially
lead to one matter creating multiple enforcement actions from
different agencies.
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