Remuneration and Eligibility for Employment Pay, Benefits, Terms and Conditions of Employment, Background Checks, References, and Verifying Employment Eligibility
Question One: References
The issue of references is contentious when it comes to employment practices. On the one hand, an employer risks facing legal liability for negligible hiring if they fail to check references, particularly those containing information about an employee’s wrongdoing in their previous workplace. However, former employers who provide information about their former employees have the most to worry about regarding the legal risk of the practice: Remuneration and Eligibility for Employment Pay, Benefits, Terms and Conditions of Employment, Background Checks, References, and Verifying Employment Eligibility.
The primary legal concern facing former employers is the possibility of being sued for providing information that defames their former employees (Walsh, 2023). Another legal concern is the possibility of being sued for negligently providing positive references that do not reflect the true character of their former employees.
It is worth noting that defamation is only possible if the information provided by the former employer is substantially false. Whether an affected employee thinks that some statements are harsh or negative does not matter as long as they are positive. An employee can sue their former employer for defamation whenever they feel the information provided is defamatory, but it is incumbent upon them to prove that such information does not reflect their true character (Walsh, 2023). However, this is not enough to prevent former employers from providing substantive references to current or potential employers.
An employer responding to requests for references must ensure that they provide information that is as accurate and objective as possible. One of the actions that may be implemented to avoid the possibility of being sued for defamation is basing responses to requests for information on documents rather than human memory. Also, employers should stick to facts and avoid speculation and attempts to make impressions. Finally, former employers should create a team of specialized individuals with experience in writing references to draft reference letters.
Question Two: I-9 Forms and the E-Verify program
Filling I-9 forms is critical for employers because it ensures that the company complies with employment and immigration laws. Three days after hiring employees, a company must verify if the employees are eligible to work in the US, and this happens for all employees, including those whose eligibility to work in the US is not in doubt (Nadell, 2007). To prevent mistakes that often come out following an audit of I-9 forms, employers must ensure that they conduct proper documentation.
To that end, the employer should only accept documents that are classified as acceptable under I-9 forms. For instance, employers must ensure that the documents presented are valid and not yet expired. In case an employee’s documents fail to meet this requirement, the employer should turn down the documents and proceed to terminate the employment.
Moreover, timely and complete record-keeping is crucial. If the organization hires an employee, it should maintain the employee’s documents until three years after the day of hire. On the other hand, if an employee is terminated, their documents should be kept by the employee until the end of the first year following their termination. Therefore, the minimum period for retaining employees’ documents is three years.
Following best practices in the management of documents goes a long way to ensure that documents reflect the true picture of the status of an organization’s current employees. In the same breath, it is recommended that employers store documents in an organized way to make them easily retrievable during the auditing process.
Also, regular internal audits will go a long way to avert mistakes. By conducting regular internal audits of I-9 forms, employers will ensure that all information is correctly filled out. Besides, the checks will ensure that the documents supporting information provided by employees are correctly documented.
Wherever employers are not required to voluntarily fill out the I-9 forms, they may leverage databases to verify employment eligibility. For instance, the E-Verify platform provides employers with an opportunity to verify employability in the United States. Notably, the use of E-Verify is voluntary for most employers.
However, a 2008 federal government directive made it mandatory for government contractors, and the federal government’s order was later reinforced by court approval (Walsh, 2023). One of the reasons why employers should adopt the E-Verify program is because most states have enacted laws requiring the utilization of E-Verify, leading to widespread usage that has made it possible for the program to contain significant and reliable information.
Comparing the Cayman Labour Act with the US Model
The Labour Act, 2021 (Revision) for the Cayman Islands differs significantly from the US model due to legal and environmental factors. One of the differences is based on employment terminability. According to CCRIF SPC (2021), the Cayman Labour law requires the issuance of notices and severance pay following termination. On the other hand, the US model aligns with the at-will doctrine, whereby either an employer or employee may terminate employment at will as long as it is not based on discrimination.
Another difference is in safety and health regulations. In the Cayman Islands, the responsibility of maintaining workplace safety is placed on the employer (CCRIF SPC, 2021). However, in the US, maintaining health and safety is regulated by a state agency, OSHA. There are additional state-level regulations that impact safety regulations at the workplace in the US.
References
CCRIF SPC. (2021, November). Labor management procedures. Second Central America and Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Project (P175616). https://www.ccrif.org/sites/default/files/SCACCRIP/Revised-CCRIFSPC-LaborManagementProcedures-November2021.pdf
Nadell, B. J. (2007, June). I-9 forms, legislation, and eSolutions. In ASSE Professional Development Conference and Exposition (pp. ASSE-07). ASSE. https://aeasseincludes.assp.org/proceedings/2007/docs/652.pdf
Walsh, D. J. (2023). Employment law for human resource practice (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
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Question 
Read the chapters in your e-book related to
- Pay, Benefits, Terms and Conditions of Employment—Wages, Hours, and Pay Equity
- Background Checks, References, and Verifying Employment Eligibility
in your groups, respond to the following questions:
- In light of the many legal concerns surrounding references, should employers provide substantive references or only verification of job titles and dates of employment?
- What should employers do to make it less likely that an audit of their I-9 forms will reveal problems Would you recommend that employers that are not legally required to do so voluntarily participate in the E-Verify program? Why or Why not?
Remuneration and Eligibility for Employment Pay, Benefits, Terms and Conditions of Employment, Background Checks, References, and Verifying Employment Eligibility
Textbook:
Client’s Notes:
- Please answer question 1 and 2
- Compare the US model with the Fundamentals of the Labour Act, 2021 (Revision) for the Cayman Islands