The United States Justice Department has announced the launch of a live webinar series on avoiding workplace discrimination. The webinars coincide with the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which created the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).

OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which requires employers to treat all authorized workers in the same manner with respect to hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, regardless of their citizenship status or national origin. The law also prohibits discrimination during the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes.

Participation in the hour-long webinars is free and open to all. The first webinar in the series will advise workers and their advocates of the protections against workplace discrimination. The webinars will begin on Dec. 6, 2011, at 3:00 P.M. EST. A webinar scheduled for 3:00 P.M. EST on Dec. 15, 2011, will advise employers and HR professionals on how to avoid workplace discrimination.

“We are excited to add webinars to our toolkit as a means of educating workers about their rights and employers about their responsibilities under the INA, and to reach these audiences nationwide.” said Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. “Federal law prohibits discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process, and the Justice Department is committed to enforcing the law.”

To participate in a webinar, sign up online at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration law, call OSC’s worker hotline at: 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for the hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at: 1-800-255-8255 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for the hearing impaired); send e-mail to: osccrt@usdoj.gov; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc. If you wish to schedule a webinar for a large or specialized group, please contact OSC’s Public Affairs Specialist Terry Scott, at Terence.j.scott@usdoj.gov. For reasonable accommodation requests relating to webinars, contact Lyn Sowdon at Lyn.Sowdon@usdoj.gov.