News: December 13, 2019
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Welcoming Secretary Scalia
Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella, and Judge Laurence Silberman spoke at an event welcoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia to the U.S. Department of Labor this week. Secretary Scalia highlighted several recent agency achievements and spoke about his commitment to the Department's mission and providing certainty to workers and employers through compliance assistance and the regulatory process.
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For the first time in more than 50 years, the Department is updating the regulations for calculating the regular rate of pay for overtime. The final rule allows employers to more easily offer perks and benefits to their workers.
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At the White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave, Women's Bureau Director Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith led panel discussions on the importance of paid family leave to support working families.
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Secretary Scalia announced a Veterans’ Employment Challenge competition aimed at developing a new tool to help transitioning service members in their job searches.
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Assistant Secretary and incoming Chair John Pallasch hosted the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, discussing the importance of securing good jobs in ending homelessness.
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A California blueberry grower and two related companies must pay $3.5 million in back wages and penalties to resolve visa and seasonal worker violations.
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A South Carolina vegetable farm and packing facility has paid $101,572 in back wages to 408 workers for overtime violations.
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OSHA has cited a Cleveland steel plant for exposing workers to fall hazards following a worker injury, and proposed $222,579 in penalties.
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After an investigation into Hurricane Irma rebuilding efforts, a Florida roofing contractor paid 43 workers $60,098 in back wages and damages.
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Stat of the Week
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There were more than 250,000 new apprentices in fiscal year 2019, a record high, according to the Department's Employment and Training Administration.
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Compliance Assistance Highlight
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The Wage and Hour Division's restaurant employment toolkit answers common questions about wage and hour laws in the restaurant industry.
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Balancing Privacy and Accuracy
The 2020 Census data products will be the first ever protected using a modernized privacy protection system – a Disclosure Avoidance System – that allows the Census Bureau to safeguard respondent information while producing relevant, high-quality data.
To better understand the disclosure avoidance system for the 2020 Census and its impact on data quality and protection, the Census Bureau recently released demonstration data products. This set of data products demonstrate the current computational capabilities of the 2020 Disclosure Avoidance System.
We encourage data users and data scientists to examine these products and provide feedback as the Census Bureau continues to develop and fine-tune the disclosure avoidance system. Please send feedback to dcmd.2010.demonstration.data.
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 2020 Census Paid Media Strategy
In January, paid advertising for the 2020 Census will begin running across multiple platforms, including print and digital outlets, television and radio, billboards, and at transit stations, grocery stores and movie theaters throughout the United States and Puerto Rico—reaching 99 percent of all households, particularly in multicultural and hard-to-count populations.
The Census Bureau is conducting a comprehensive integrated communications campaign to maximize self-response and encourage participation in the 2020 Census, which will shape how federal funding is distributed throughout the United States. One cornerstone of the operation is a paid advertising campaign customized to reach a wide range of audiences.
Learn MoreNew 2020 Census Outreach Materials
We continue to post new materials to support your 2020 Census outreach in several languages. See some of the newest resources available below.
Help us spread the word about the 2020 Census. Share this on social media or forward it to a friend.
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About Census Partnerships
From corporations to policymakers, foundations and non-profits to software developers, the U.S. Census Bureau partners across sectors and industries to help America work better through data. Together we harness the power of our data, support each other’s missions, and co-create solutions to increase data use and participation in Census Bureau surveys and programs, including the upcoming 2020 Census. Connect with the Census Partnerships Team at census.partners@census.gov to learn more.
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USCIS Expands Guidance Related to Naturalization Requirement of Good Moral Character
WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services expanded its policy guidance regarding unlawful acts that may prevent an applicant from meeting the good moral character (GMC) requirement for naturalization. The commission of, or conviction or imprisonment for, an unlawful act, during the statutory period for naturalization, may render an applicant ineligible for naturalization should the act be found to adversely reflect on moral character.
Previously, the USCIS Policy Manual did not include extensive information on unlawful acts. This update to the Policy Manual provides additional examples of unlawful acts and instructions to ensure USCIS adjudicators make uniform and fair determinations, and further identifies unlawful acts that may affect GMC based on judicial precedent. This update does not change the impact of an unlawful act on USCIS’ analysis of whether an applicant can demonstrate GMC. Adjudicators in the field receive extensive training to apply the law on GMC and unlawful acts regulation. They are aware of which unlawful acts could bar an applicant from naturalization and are not limited by the examples listed in the Policy Manual.
On Dec. 10, USCIS issued separate policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual about how two or more convictions for driving under the influence or post-sentencing changes to criminal sentencing might affect GMC determinations.
“In the Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress determined that good moral character is a requirement for naturalization,” said USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans. “USCIS is committed to faithfully administering our nation’s lawful immigration system, and this update helps to ensure that our agency’s adjudicators make uniform and fair decisions concerning the consideration of unlawful acts on good moral character when determining eligibility for U.S. citizenship.”
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an applicant for naturalization must establish GMC. Although the INA does not directly define GMC, it does describe certain acts that bar establishing GMC of an applicant. Examples of unlawful acts recognized by case law as barring GMC include, but are not limited to, the following:
- bail jumping;
- bank fraud;
- conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance;
- failure to file or pay taxes;
- false claim to U.S. citizenship;
- falsification of records;
- forgery uttering;
- insurance fraud;
- obstruction of justice;
- sexual assault;
- Social Security fraud;
- unlawful harassment;
- unlawful registration to vote;
- unlawful voting; and
- violation of a U.S. embargo.
In general, applicants must show they have been, and continue to be, people of GMC during the statutory period before filing for naturalization and up until they take the Oath of Allegiance. The statutory period is generally five years for permanent residents of the United States, three years for applicants married to a U.S. citizen, and one year for certain applicants applying on the basis of qualifying U.S. military service.
USCIS officers must continue to perform a case-by-case analysis to determine whether an act is unlawful and adversely reflects on an applicant's good moral character. They must also determine whether there are extenuating circumstances. An extenuating circumstance must pertain to the unlawful act and must precede or be contemporaneous with the commission of the unlawful act. Training for adjudicators will be updated to reflect this expanded guidance.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis).
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The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of December 2 - 6, 2019 is now available on the NLRB’s website. The summary can be accessed by clicking the links below.
