Form I-9 Spring Cleaning

The days are longer, the nights are warmer, and the tulips and daffodils are poking up their little heads. Spring has sprung and for many of us that means it’s time for some good old fashioned spring cleaning.  Many of us will spend time sweeping away dust and cleaning out the junk drawer.  If you are a business owner or human resource professional, I’d like to encourage you to take a good hard look at your employee hiring process.  It may be time for a little sprucing up when it comes to I-9 compliance.

Which Version of the Form I-9 is Acceptable?

All employers are required by law to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their employees using the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  Most of you already know this.  However, many times when we go into a business to conduct a Form I-9 review, we find the employer using expired I-9 forms for their new hires.  An employer must always use the most current version of the Form I-9.  The most current version of the Form I-9 was revised 8/7/09 and has an expiration date of 8/31/12.  No other I-9 form is considered valid for new hires to complete.  During your spring cleaning, go through your blank forms and discard any expired I-9 forms.

What’s Your Company Form I-9 Retention Policy?

It may be time to go through your terminated employees’ I-9 forms and destroy those that have exceeded the retention requirements.  Remember, you are required to keep an I-9 form for the entire term of employment, plus 1 year after the date of termination or 3 years after the date of hire, whichever is a longer period of time.  If you do not have a company policy or procedure in place for dealing with archived I-9 forms, spring is the perfect time to develop one.

Many States have passed their own Form I-9 and/or E-Verify regulations.  Check with your state’s Department of Labor to be sure you are complying with all state imposed laws.

Conducting an independent 3^rd party review is an excellent way to make a clean sweep of issues, errors, and omissions that will be costly if your company is selected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a worksite inspection.  Often times, an independent auditor will identify an issue that is a simple fix and will ultimately save an employer thousands of dollars and many headaches.

Summer will be here before you know it and won’t it be nice to relax on the beach somewhere without worrying about your company’s I-9 forms!

Form I-9 Webinar…Important for Every Employer

The Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification appears to be a simple 1 page document, yet employers are suffering huge fines and penalties for failing to comply with the requirements of the I-9 process. Failure to execute the I-9 properly, inspect the correct documents, store the form, and re-verify when necessary, will cost an employer thousands of dollars in fines and penalties.

As a part of many contracts, sub-contractors must provide the general contractor with proof of I 9 compliance before workers are allowed on the job site. This workshop will help you get your I-9 forms in order so they are approved the first time they are submitted to the 3rd party auditor.

I 9 Compliance Boot Camp and Basic Training

Three dates to choose from:

Date: March 11, 2010
Time: 12:00 MST
Cost: $89.00 Spring Special (Regularly $149.00)

Date: March 16, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM MST
Cost: $89.00 Spring Special (Regularly $149.00)

Date: March 24, 2010
Time: 11:00 am MST
Cost: $89.00 Spring Special (Regularly $149.00)

Register today and take this opportunity to put your company on the right track when it comes to Form I-9 compliance.

3rd Party I-9 Verification Audit – Will You Need One?

As the immigration debate rattles on and businesses are becoming more keenly aware of the government’s commitment to hold employers accountable for hiring only legal workers, many employers are discovering additional requirements appearing in contracts.

The Federal government and many states have started a trend by adding language concerning immigration compliance into their contracts.  Many companies are following suit, trying to protect themselves from the liability of having illegal workers employed by sub-contractors working on their job-sites.

The Form I-9 Requirement Clause

Many employers have been caught off guard upon discovering an “immigration clause” or “Form I-9 requirement clause” in a new contract.  These clauses often require either a statement from the sub-contractor attesting to their adherence to the immigration laws of the United States as it pertains to hiring legal workers, or a 3^rd party audit verification from a qualified auditor.

In some cases, a sub-contractor may be required to present their employees’ I 9 forms to an auditor for pre-approval before the employee is allowed to work on the job-site.  Some sub-contractors find themselves unable to comply with the requirements of the contract and consequently lose the job.

A 3^rd Party Audit Helps Satisfy the Requirements of a Contract

I-9 Okay is often called on to conduct a 3^rd party audit and verify employment eligibility when an employer needs to meet the requirements of a new contract.  It is most often a “mad dash” to get all of the forms in order, correct the errors and omissions on the I 9 forms, and verify the processes the employer is using.  Many times, the employer has failed to address the importance of the Form I-9 prior to signing the contract.

Our best advice is to review your Form I-9 processes regularly, schedule an annual review of your I 9 forms, and maintain a storage method that allows quick and accurate access to records.  Immigration requirements within contracts are becoming more and more common place and it is likely that your company will be required to have a 3^rd party audit in the near future.

E-Verify Can’t Detect All Illegal Workers – What a Surprise…

The New York Times reported last week that E-Verify cannot detect a person using documents belonging to someone else.  There was an immediate outcry from the usual suspects about the travesty of E-Verify. Anyone who is familiar with E-Verify and has any ability to use reason shouldn’t be shocked.  The system has limitations, it has always had limitations, and going into the future, I’m sure it will continue to have certain limitations.

It should be fairly obvious if a person has stolen the identity of someone who is authorized to work in the United States and has altered the documents to appear as though they belong to the person being hired, E-Verify will not be able to detect the error unless the photo-match feature is activated.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to use documents that won’t trigger the photo-match tool in E-Verify.

The question is, should we throw out the baby with the bath water and scrap the whole E-Verify system?  The truth is that E-Verify is still the best tool currently available to help employers verify the identity and work eligibility of the people they are hiring.  It is required for most employers who have contracts with the Federal government.  Many states also require its use.

Work Eligibility and Document Verification

Employers must understand that the law requires they make a good faith effort to verify the identity and the work eligibility of every person they hire – period.  The law does not require an employer be a forensic document expert so as to be able to identify any fraudulent document no matter how the document appears when presented by the employee.  In fact, when the employer signs the certification on the Form I-9, he/she is attesting that “…the document(s) appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee named….”

As an employer, the very best way to develop a good faith defense concerning I 9 compliance is to accurately complete the Form I-9 for every person hired.  As part of the Form I-9 process, the employer must inspect the documents presented by the employee, record the document information in the lists in Section 2 of the I-9 form, and sign the certification attesting to the inspection of those documents.

At this time, there is no one good source for viewing “sample” documents so that an employer may compare what they are accepting with what a “real document” looks like.  There are a few resources available however, there have been so many versions of documents issued, it is unreasonable to believe most hiring managers would be able to spot a sophisticated fake document.

A Good Faith Defense in Case of an I 9 Audit

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts an I 9 audit, the employer must be able to prove they took the necessary steps to fulfill their responsibility to verify the identity and work eligibility of every person they hire.  If an employer can prove they have done that, they should have a good faith defense against penalties for hiring undocumented workers.

The very best way to prove a good faith defense is to complete the entire Form I-9 process completely.  Unfortunately, most employers fall well short of I 9 compliance and will not be able to enjoy the good faith defense allowed under the law.

I 9 Audit Results in $500,000 Fine – Are You Next?

On February 12, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a statement confirming that a Cincinnati company, Koch Foods paid $536,046 fine for administrative violations of U.S. Immigration laws.

The ICE Office of Investigations in Cincinnati conducted a worksite investigation of Koch Foods after receiving information from a concerned citizen alleging the company was employing illegal aliens at their poultry processing facility in the Cincinnati area.  In addition to other actions at the plant, ICE executed a search warrant at Koch’s corporate offices in Chicago, seizing relevant documents.

Now, you may be thinking, this doesn’t apply to my business; “I run a small company”, or “I don’t employ foreign workers”, or “ICE only goes after big companies with deep pockets”.   The reality is that every day, in every city in America, ICE agents are visiting employers and conducting I 9 audits.  In almost every case, employers are paying fines for administrative violations, even when they have never hired an illegal worker.

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification for each individual they hire – this means EVERY PERSON YOU HIRE!  The Form I-9 must be completed regardless of an employee’s nationality.  Proper Form I 9 compliance requires the employer to verify every new hire’s identity and employment eligibility by reviewing certain documents.

“Employers have a responsibility to hire men and women who are authorized to work in the United States and fines are an important component of ensuring their compliance,” said Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Office of Investigations in Michigan and Ohio.  “The significant fines leveled here represent ICE’s firm commitment to holding employers accountable”.

In April 2009, ICE implemented a new comprehensive strategy focusing its resources on I 9 audits and the investigation of employers’ employment eligibility verification procedures.  No employer is immune from this type of investigation and most will suffer devastating fines for errors and omissions that could be avoided with proper focus on I 9 compliance and the requirements of the Form I-9.