Conducting an employment check is necessary for any type of job and especially important for positions that allow time alone with your child.  We’ve all heard the national headlines of countless teachers who have mentally, physically, and sexually abused our children and got away with it for years.  Some of these people were able to remain in the school system even though they had a record.

How could this possibly happen?  Well, the background screening was insufficient.  Up until recently, many states have simply required a background check from the police department over the span of five years.  Other places may have done a more thorough background check within state’s records and vital statistics offices, but the check only covered that state.

Perhaps even more mind-blowing, employers don’t require the current employees to have continual employment checks, so someone who has worked at a school or recreational place may go without a screening for years.  Furthermore, employment-screening guidelines were virtually nonexistent 20 years ago compared to the type of national records databases available on the Internet today.

States like Florida have mandated strict criteria for anyone that encounters public schools under the Jessica Lunsford Act of 2005.  Laws were designed to severely punish sex offenders.  Since then, over 42 states have followed Florida’s footsteps with strict regulations for sex offenders.  The act includes guidelines for volunteering and employment screening in public schools.  Even if you are just refilling the vending machines, you must pass a thorough employment check and register it with the school board in order to be allowed on the school grounds.

However, what about the afterschool activities?  Is your little league coach or cheerleading coach screened for inappropriate behavior?  Sadly, this is not always the case.  Take the most recent allegations of swim coach Andy King in San Jose, California.  King was charged with inappropriate behavior on June of 2009 going all the way back to the 1970s.

What do you do to protect your child?  You ask the organization what kind of employment check they do on their employees and volunteers.  Find out if they have a policy about one adult left alone with the children.  See when they started doing background screenings and if they extend this to current employees.

If you don’t feel that the screening is good enough look somewhere else.  Otherwise, your best bet is to conduct your own employment check.

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Do Afterschool Recreational Activities Conduct an Employment Check on their Employees?

Volunteers & the law: Volunteers & Employment Rights

Immigration Amnesty Law – Green Card

The last time we had a law that many considered amnesty was in 2000.  On December 21, 2000, President Clinton signed The Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act of 2000 (LIFE Act) into law.  This law, commonly referred to as the LIFE Act or 245(i), allowed certain persons who had an immigrant visa immediately available but entered without inspection (without documents) or otherwise violated their status and thus are ineligible to apply for adjustment of status in the United States, to apply if they pay a $1,000 penalty.

“If a new amnesty law is passed that is the same as the old law, what are the criteria?â€

To be eligible under the old amnesty law, you must have been:

1.                  The beneficiary of a Form I-130 immigrant visa petition (“Petition for Alien Relative”), or Form I-140 immigrant visa petition (“Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker”), or Form I-360 ["Petition for an Amerasian Widow(er), or Special Immigrant], or Form I-526 (“Petition for an Alien Entrepreneur”) or

2.                  The beneficiary of an application for labor certification filed with the Department of Labor (DOL) and

3.                  Been physically present in the United States during a certain time frame. 

“Was there a deadline for filing under the old amnesty law?

Yes.  You must have filed during a very short window of opportunity.  All petitions and applications had to be properly filed and approvable when filed.

“Was there a penalty or fine for applying under the amnesty law?â€

Yes.  everyone who filed for adjustment of status using Section 245(i) had to pay a $1,000 penalty fee.

“Were there other special requirements?â€

One of the main requirements was proving that the applicant was physically present in the U.S. during certain periods of time.  Therefore, in anticipation of a new amnesty law, you should gather documentation to prove your physical presence in the U.S.   Such documentation may include, but is not limited to, State driver’s license; State identification card; hospital record; school transcript; Income tax records; property tax records; religious records; utility bills; rental receipts; bank statements; employment records; etc. 

“Can I travel outside the United States?â€

If you are in the country without documentation or otherwise out of status, travelling out of the United States will trigger an unlawful presence bar which would most likely result in denial of any future immigration application.  Under current law, anyone who has been in the U.S. illegally for a year or more and then leaves, is barred from returning for 10 years.

“How can I learn more about the immigration laws?

You may contact our office through www.cundyandmartin.com and add your information to our mailing list to be informed of immigration updates.

Vincent Martin heads the Immigration Law section of Cundy & Martin, LLC, a law office in Bloomington, Minnesota – a suburb of Minneapolis.  Vincent may be reached at www.cundyandmartin.com , vmartin@cundyandmartin.com or (952) 746-4111.

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Work Visas/Temporary Work Visas
Labor Certification
H-1B
H-3 Trainee Visa
L-1 Employee Transfer Visa
Family Immigration
Fiance/K-1 Visas
Citizenship
Asylum
Why Visas Are Denied
Green Card Abandonment
How to Avoid Application Mistakes
Investor Visas
Stop Deportation

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Immigration Amnesty Law – Green Card

St. Louis Park Employment Labor Law Attorney Minnesota Lawyer