Business groups, universities sue to stop enforcement of recent DHS, DOL regulations

Leading business organizations, universities and immigration groups filed lawsuits Monday challenging Trump administration regulations that amend H-1B eligibility criteria and wage requirements for the H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 categories and permanent labor certifications (PERM).

Key Points:

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the National Retail Federation, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Stanford University and other organizations and universities sued in federal court in California to stop the administration from enforcing both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) H-1B eligibility regulation and the Department of Labor (DOL) wage regulation.
• The University of Michigan, Purdue University, the Information Technology Industry Council and other universities and organizations, led by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), sued in federal court in Washington, DC, Monday to stop the administration from enforcing the DOL wage regulation.

Additional Information: Both the DHS and DOL rules were published Oct. 8, with the DOL rule taking effect immediately and the DHS rule set to take effect Dec. 7, 60 days from publication. In a separate lawsuit, a group of IT and computer-service companies sued on Friday in federal court in New Jersey to stop enforcement of the DOL regulation.

BAL Analysis: Both the DOL and DHS rules are now subject to litigation, and the challengers are seeking injunctions to block the government from enforcing them while the litigation proceeds. The rules will remain in effect unless a judge grants an injunction. BAL is closely monitoring the progress of these lawsuits and will provide updates on important developments.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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