The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will be open from 12pm EST on March 7, 2025, through 12pm EST on March 24, 2025.

H-1B status allows foreign nationals to temporarily work for U.S. employers in a position that requires a bachelor’s degree or above. Congress has set a mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas per year, with 20,000 additional H-1B visas for professionals who have obtained a master’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution. Due to the limited number of visas, USCIS has implemented an annual H-1B registration process to randomly select beneficiaries who may then file a new H-1B cap-subject petition if selected. Employers must submit an H-1B registration for any foreign national workers they wish to sponsor for H-1B status. The registration process is simple and relatively inexpensive, requiring basic information from both the employer and the foreign national worker.

Continue Reading USCIS Announced FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Period

Immigration has been a central focus of the new presidential administration since taking office and is expected to remain a top priority. Workplace raids soared during the early years of the Trump administration’s first term, they have signaled that aggressive enforcement actions like workplace raids will factor into their immigration plans going forward. Consequently, employers should prepare for the possible arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at their door.

What Is an ICE Raid?

An ICE raid, or “workplace raid,” is when ICE agents show up at a place of business without warning to question workers and detain those they believe are unlawfully in the U.S. ICE agents will demand employers produce information, documentation, and/or individuals. Without a sufficient plan in place, this can create a chaotic atmosphere and disorder.

In the past, ICE raids targeted industries with a large share of immigrant labor like construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and hospitality. Under the first Trump administration, other businesses are also subject to workplace raids. More recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rescinded protections that prevented these types of actions from occurring at hospitals, schools, and churches.  It’s clear that under the current state of the law almost any business or place can be the target of an ICE raid.

How to Prepare for an ICE Raid

Below are five steps proactive businesses can take to ensure they’re ready for more aggressive immigration enforcement.

1. Have a Plan

Develop a written response plan detailing how to respond during a visit from ICE. A response plan should outline whom to contact in the event of an ICE visit (for example, senior management or legal counsel), how staff should behave during the visit, and how to manage interactions with customers, clients, or patients. Many plans also identify public and private areas—ICE agents cannot enter private areas without consent or a warrant unless there are compelling circumstances.

2. Establish an ICE Manager/Executive

It’s common for businesses to designate a point of contact for ICE agents during a workplace raid. This person should be someone who is familiar with the protocol for an ICE raid, manages the response, reduces confusion, and ensures minimal disruption to operations.

3. Understand What ICE Can and Can’t Do

ICE agents don’t have carte blanche to do as they please during a workplace raid. For example, private areas of your business are off-limits to ICE agents without a warning. That said, they can enter public areas of a business, like a lobby or waiting room, without permission. Employers are not required to turn over any records without a warrant. Similarly, employees are not obligated to answer questions about their immigration status or personal details and should insist on speaking with an immigration attorney before answering any questions.

4. Train Staff

A plan is only as good as its execution. Review your written response plan and your employees’ rights to ensure everyone knows what to do and how to behave during an ICE raid. As a bonus, many workforces find having a plan in place and regularly reviewing it eases some of the anxiety created by the threat of ICE visits.

5. Ensure I-9 Compliance

Maintaining accurate I-9s is one strategy to steer clear of both ICE raids and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) audits. Establish best practices to make certain that I-9s are completed correctly, stored properly, and retained for the appropriate period of time. Conducting internal audits is a smart strategy for identifying any issues in advance of an enforcement action. It’s also vital that personnel stay up to date with changes to Form I-9 and its requirements.

It’s often beneficial to work with an immigration attorney. The immigration attorneys of McLane Middleton can be a valuable resource for businesses striving to remain I-9 compliant, offering services that include comprehensive I-9 audits, educational staff trainings, and seminars.

Best Practices for Navigating an ICE Visit

Having an established plan for an ICE raid is a great step toward a trouble-free visit. Here are a few other considerations for what to do when ICE arrives at your business.

  • Stay calm and professional: Maintain a professional demeanor and keep your composure—losing your cool adds tension to an already anxious situation. Do not hide or help employees leave the premises, provide false information, or dispose of documents.
  • Call counsel: Inform ICE your company has legal representation and you’re contacting them. Your attorney can guide you through the process—either over the phone or in person.
  • Review warrants: Look at the warrant to confirm it’s been signed by a judge, states the address of your business, and is being executed during the correct time period. Limit ICE agents’ access to areas and materials explicitly mentioned in the warrant.
  • Care for employees: Although you cannot instruct your staff to remain silent, you can inform them that they’re not required to speak with ICE agents and that they may request their lawyer. ICE raids can last hours; alert agents to any potential issues—from medical to family—to try and accommodate pressing needs.
  • Document the visit: Keep a record of ICE agents on the premises and their contact information, what areas were searched, and what items or documents were seized—agents are required to provide an inventory of seized materials.

Protect Your Business from ICE Raids

Between costly fines, negative press, and disruption to your workforce and customers, ICE raids can be expensive and unsettling. Partnering with an experienced immigration attorney is one of the best strategies a business can pursue to protect themselves from increased worksite enforcement—they can help your business form a response plan, assist with an inspection, and ensure compliance with employment and identity regulations.

If your business is concerned about the increase in immigration enforcement, McLane Middleton can help you prepare for, develop a plan, and respond to such an event.

The United States Supreme Court just issued a unanimous decision settling a dispute in the lower courts about what standard of proof applies in cases where an employee’s exemption from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime rules is at issue.

Continue Reading SCOTUS Rules on Standard of Proof in FLSA Exemption Cases

On Friday, November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the federal Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) final rule (“Final Rule”) raising the minimum salary thresholds for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) white collar overtime exemptions.  Although it is a decision of a trial level court, and therefore subject to appeal, the decision presently applies nationwide.  This means that the pre-July 1, 2024 white-collar exempt salary thresholds have been reinstated and, unless the legal landscape changes, the January 1, 2025 salary increases to the salary exempt thresholds will not take effect. 

Continue Reading U.S. District Court Vacates DOL’s Rule Increasing Salary Levels for Exempt Employees

By Andrea Hellrigel, Law Clerk

The Massachusetts Department of Family & Medical Leave (DFML) has announced the rates for the Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program for 2025, which will take effect on January 1, 2025.

For employers with 25 or more employees, the overall maximum PFML contribution for 2025 will remain unchanged at 0.88% of eligible wages. This includes a Family Leave contribution of 0.18% and a Medical Leave contribution of 0.70%. Employers are required to cover a minimum of 60% of the Medical Leave contribution but can deduct up to 40% of this contribution from employees’ wages. Additionally, employers can deduct 100% of the Family Leave contribution from employees’ wages.

Continue Reading 2025 Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave Rate Increases

As we have previously written, on August 20, 2024, a Texas federal district court issued an order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) sweeping proposed rule that would ban and render unenforceable most non-compete clauses in employment agreements.  The FTC is now appealing that district court order.  Specifically, on October 18, 2024, the FTC filed its notice of appeal, such that this suit will be heading before the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further litigation regarding the validity of the FTC’s proposed rule.  The appeal will likely play out in the coming months, and our attorneys will continue to monitor and provide updates as the proceedings unfold.

If you would like to learn more about the FTC’s proposed rule, visit our website for resources, articles, and recent announcements. Click here.

Massachusetts Governor, Maura Healey, recently signed into law a new statute under broader legislation titled “An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options” that entitles Massachusetts employees to earned sick time if the employee suffers a pregnancy loss or experiences a failed adoption, assisted reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization, or surrogacy.

Continue Reading Massachusetts Implements New Law that Expands Covered Sick Time to Include Pregnancy Loss and Failed Adoption, Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy

The highest state court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), recently declared that the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”), General Laws c. 175M, does not require an employer to guarantee the accrual of vacation and sick time during an employee’s PFMLA leave. Among other things, PFMLA gives eligible employees the right to take paid leave to bond with their child during the first year after the child’s birth, adoption, or placement in foster care.

Continue Reading Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Finds that the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act Does Not Require an Employer Guarantee the Accrual of Vacation and Sick Time While the Employee is on Leave  

The Massachusetts Appellate Division of the District Court – North District recently issued a decision regarding whether retention bonuses constitute wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). In the matter of Nunez v. Syncsort Incorporated, NO. 23-ADCV-63NO, the court ruled that retention bonuses are not wages under the Wage Act and not subject to strict liability or treble damages under the Wage Act for failure to be timely paid.

Continue Reading Court Rules Retention Bonuses Are Not Wages Under Massachusetts Wage Act

The IRS recently issued a new fact sheet to answer certain FAQs about the rules in SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”) that give special rights under certain qualified retirement plans and IRAs to individuals impacted by major disasters that occur or occurred on or after January 26, 2021. The Act was enacted in December 2022 and amended certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”).

These FAQs provide guidance on what the relief consists of, who may claim such relief, and when such relief may be claimed. Relief of this nature has previously been provided on a disaster-by-disaster basis. These amendments make such relief permanent. The FAQs may be found here.

Continue Reading IRS Releases Guidance on Disaster Relief Under Qualified Plans and IRAs