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Brenda Eckert practices in the areas of civil litigation, civil rights, employment law litigation, and employment-based immigration law before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. She has successfully defended public and private sector employers against employment law claims, including contract claims, discrimination claims and related state tort claims.

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is a terrific option for U.S. employers seeking to overcome challenges in filling open positions that require a Bachelor’s or higher-level degree in a field of study related to the job. However, the lottery by which the winners of the 85,000 H-1B visas available as of each October 1st are selected

Most U.S. Employers are currently struggling with a common plight: finding workers to fill open and mission-critical positions. In addition to using traditional recruiting and staffing measures, employers should also consider utilizing the H-1B visa program as a way to recruit and retain skilled foreign professionals to fill out their staff ranks. With the open

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has made it very challenging for U.S. employers in timely need of temporary foreign workers on nonimmigrant visas to run their businesses and for U.S. educational institutions seeking to educate international students and employ temporary international faculty members.  On December 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”), in consultation with

Foreign nationals seeking to become lawful U.S. permanent residents have long been required to submit to an immigration medical examination conducted by a designated U.S. civil surgeon in order to prove they do not have any health conditions that would make them inadmissible to the U.S. for health-related grounds.  When applying for a U.S. immigrant

As of March 19, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) temporarily relaxed the Form I-9 compliance rule requiring U.S. employers to complete Section 2 of the Form I-9 in the new hire’s physical presence.  The relaxation of the physical presence rule also applies to the re-verification

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ”) of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently ruled that an employer had to bargain with its union over efforts to correct I-9 deficiencies and to enroll in E-Verify. After undertaking an internal audit of its I-9 forms, a company found substantial noncompliance with I-9 form completion requirements.  Therefore, the

At 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on April 23, the Presidential Proclamation entitled “Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak (the ‘Proclamation’)” became effective for an initial period of 60 days.  The Proclamation may be extended beyond this initial 60-day period or otherwise modified upon

Tips for U.S. Employers of H-1B Employees:

  • H-1B employees must be afforded the same opportunity to work remotely as other similarly situated employees.
  • Employers of H-1B visa employees who are allowing their employees to work remotely should check the Labor Condition Application (“LCA”) on file for each H-1B employee. [Click here for additional information

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Sexual Harassment Prevention Training is required by October 1, 2020 for all Connecticut employers.

The recently passed Connecticut Time’s Up Act requires every Connecticut employer with three or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training by October 1, 2020 to all supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel.

This program will

On March 1, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will be implementing a new electronic registration process as part of its annual H-1B Cap Lottery. Given that the upcoming Fiscal Year 2021 (“FY2021”) H-1B Cap Lottery will be the first to be conducted using this new registration process, U. S. employers seeking to