FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OSC

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1998

(202) 616-2765

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON WORKERS' RIGHTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an effort to educate community groups and workers about legal protections against employment discrimination related to immigration, the Justice Department's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), along with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. , the Latino Civil Rights Center and other federal agencies and partners in metropolitan Washington, D.C., will sponsor an educational session on Saturday, September 19, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Stella Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, 3^rd Floor Hearing Room, Rockville, Maryland.

People with potential discrimination claims will hear from attorneys from OSC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor about the rights and the remedies available to them under law.

Since 1986, when it became illegal to knowingly hire undocumented workers, employers have been required to check the employment eligibility of all new hires--citizens and non--citizens alike. However, in an effort to comply with this requirement, some employers go beyond what is required and single out individuals because of their accent, their appearance, their name or their citizenship status.

"This conduct violates the law," said Special Counsel John Trasviña, "and our office works to enforce the law and to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities."

The workshop is the eighth in a national series sponsored by OSC. It follows successful partnerships in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, New York and Miami which brought together government anti-discrimination agencies and community organizations to assist U.S. citizens and legally authorized workers who had discrimination complaints.

"It is essential," says Trasviña, "that workers, their representatives, community organizations and the public understand both their rights and what is expected of them under the law."

For more information about the workshop, please call Anne Marie Gibbons at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. at (202) 635-5828 or Jill Moschak with the OSC at (202) 514-2637.

For more information about protections against discrimination under the immigration laws, call, toll-free 1-800-255-7688, or 202-616-5594 or write to:

Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practice Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice P.O. Box 27728 Washington, D.C. 20038-7728

Email: osc.crt@justice.usdoj.gov www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc

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