As the first quarter of 2012 kicks off, this is a time for many companies to look back at 2011 to celebrate success, access opportunities, set goals and make plans for the next fiscal year.  Opportunities may include new markets, new products, increases in advertising or research, reorganization and budgeting. For some employees it will be business as usual while others will take an active role in moving the business forward.

It is reasonable to assume most companies make decisions about the future by first looking to the past. Time is spent reviewing reports, looking at sales history, identifying trends and making plans to improve.   Audits are performed to check compliance with government regulations.  Industry standards are scrutinized and procedures are fine tuned to ensure goals are met.  The past will help pave the path to the future for many organizations.

At this time of reflection and planning many businesses are assessing their hiring practices.  History shows us the last 3 years were years of change for government enforcement of employment eligibility verification requirements.  Since 2009, employers large and small have been targeted for document investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and most are found to be out of compliance with the requirements of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

Form I-9 Violations are Costly

Non-compliance with Form I-9 requirements cost employers on average $900 per employee.  Many companies have paid fines well over $100,000! In addition to civil money penalties assessed by the government, the companies audited spent hundreds of man-hours, paid huge legal fees and suffered the public relations nightmare of being the target of an immigration investigation.

What is very important for employers to know about this government enforcement strategy is ICE is performing document inspections – not work site raids. During the ICE investigation each one of your employee’s Forms I-9 will be scrutinized and ANY ERROR, no matter how seemingly insignificant, will be penalized with a fine.  Most of the companies audited and fined last year did not knowingly employ illegal workers; they had simply made mistakes while completing the Form I-9. Their fines were simply for I-9 errors!

Even more infuriating is that most of the I-9 mistakes made could have been avoided with proper training and attention to detail.  I-9 rules allow you to repair many mistakes prior to a government inspection but you must be cautious about making the corrections within the rules.

Form I-9 Compliance Action Steps

As you make plans for 2012 it is prudent to put I-9 compliance toward the top of the list.  Schedule an independent I-9 audit, get professional training from a qualified Form I-9 expert, carefully make corrections before your business is audited by ICE, and develop an I-9 compliance plan as a measure of your company’s good faith attempt to comply with the requirements of employment eligibility verification and the Form I-9.

If you have questions about an independent Form I-9 audit, contact I-9 Okay today…before its too late.

ICE served another round of inspections notices on November 4th. According to a statement released by the ICE department of public affairs:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to various employers on Friday, Nov. 4. These inspections are designed to determine whether or not the businesses are violating U.S. employment laws by hiring unauthorized workers. The names and locations of the businesses will not be released at this time due to the ongoing nature of the inspections.”

This type of action by ICE has become a last quarter tradition.  It seems every year as the leaves fall off the trees and people begin thinking of turkey and cranberry sauce, ICE crashes the party by issuing inspection notices to hundreds of employers.  These Notices of Inspection are demands for I-9 document records and give an employer a measly 3 days to collect and turn-over all of their current employees’ records as well as all of the employees who have been terminated within the last 3 years.

Once ICE receives the Form I-9 records from the employer, the entire audit process can take a year or more to complete and culminate in a Notice of Intent to Fine which outlines every error and omission discovered by ICE during the review of the documents.  Each error that cannot be corrected by the employer will be assigned a fine amount.  Fines often total tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes employers pay in the millions!

This is a cautionary tale.  If your business did not receive a Notice of Inspection this month, count yourself lucky…but it is no time to relax!

If history is any indicator, ICE will be back in the spring, issuing more notices and your business may very well be on their list.  Taking a proactive approach to managing your I-9 compliance includes conducting a comprehensive audit.  An experienced independent auditor can help you identify areas of non-compliance and assist you in developing a plan to repair the costly mistakes that are inevitable in most organizations.  Statistically, when ICE investigates, they find errors on over 50% of the I-9s they audit and each one of those errors costs you money.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you are immune from a worksite  inspection because you are not hiring undocumented workers.  Remember, ICE will inspect your I-9 process to be sure you are complying with the rules and regulations when you complete the I-9 form for each new hire.  The inspection focuses on Form I-9 compliance, not on looking for illegal workers.

You can help protect your business from the huge fines associated with an I-9 inspection by conducting an internal audit of your own I99 records BEFORE you are visited by government agents.  Put this on your “To-Do List” and move it to the top.  Spring will be here before you know it and the next round of Notices of Inspection will be issued.  Will you be prepared or will you be sorry?

As an I-9 Audit Specialist, I remain constantly flabbergasted at the complete lack of attention HR professionals give the Form I-9.  Every day I speak to HR managers who tell me in no uncertain terms that their I-9s are fine and they have nothing to worry about.

My response -  you have a false sense of security and your confidence bubble will likely burst when your company is audited by ICE agents and fined thousands of dollars for non-compliance!

How will you explain non-compliance to your boss?  Will you keep your job?  How will you answer the inevitable questions about your lack of attention to this very important matter?  Is “I didn’t know” going to save your company from bankruptcy and you from losing your job?

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out why companies are so resistant to seeking help with their I-9 procedures.

Form I-9 Excuses:

1. We only hire US citizens so we don’t have to worry about an immigration audit
2. We did our own I-9 audit 2 years ago and everything was fine then
3. We use E-verify so we are protected
4. I’ve been in HR for 20 years – I know what I am doing and don’t need your help!

If you hear your voice in any of these answers, here is the reality:

1. We only hire US citizens – The first thing to note is that unless you are a very small employer with less than 4 employees, you may be accused of discrimination.  It is unlawful for you to deny employment to an individual who is authorized to work in this country based on their citizenship or nationality.  It is important to remember that although the Form I-9 is regulated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it is required for every person you hire, regardless of nationality, and as such even companies that never hire immigrant workers are subject to the same fines and penalties as companies that do.  The I-9 is NOT an immigration form; it is an employment form that must be completed correctly and completely for EVERY PERSON YOU HIRE.
2. If you have audited your own I-9s you get an “A” for effort but the unfortunate reality is you may have made matters worse.  ICE estimates employers who conduct their own internal audits actually create more issues and problems than if they had not done the audit at all. The problem is most companies that perform their own audit do it with no additional training or advice concerning correct completion of the form or allowable corrections to the form.  Also, it is often the same person or department that originally completed the form checking their own work, therefore perpetuating mistakes they don’t even realize to be mistakes.  Kind of like the fox watching the hen house.
3. E-Verify is NOT a substitute for a correctly completed Form I-9.  In fact, during an audit, you may face additional scrutiny to be sure you are utilizing E-Verify correctly and following the rules.  E-Verify is giving employers a false sense of security when it comes to I-9 compliance.
4. The Form I-9 was developed in 1986 and has gone through many variations to end up with the form used today.  The list of acceptable documents has changed, the attestation of work eligibility has changed, the rules governing expired documents, acceptance of document receipts has changed, and many other changes have occurred over the last 25 years. It is rare that I meet someone who has taken any continuing education or formal training concerning the Form I-9.  As with employment law, tax law, OSHA, HIPPA, and other regulations, it is imperative to stay current and seek up-to-date education and training concerning I-9 requirements.  Resting on what you learned 20 years ago is a recipe for disaster.

The Form I-9 should not be this complicated.  It is a one page form that on the surface appears to be easy to complete and just one more thing to do during the on-boarding process.  Unfortunately, because it appears so simple it is rarely given the attention it requires.

Hiring managers are rarely given any formal training to complete the form, and more often than not when a company’s compliance is audited by Federal agents, huge fines are accessed for simple, avoidable errors and omissions.

Just this past week, ICE released information concerning Form I-9 audits conducted in Maine.  Read the news story about this blueberry farm that paid $118,000 in fines for failing to record the hire date on the I-9. This is a very common clerical mistake we find on at least 50% of the forms we inspect during an independent audit.  Can you imagine being penalized over $100,000 for failing to write down a date? It is happening all over this country during ICE I-9 document inspections.

Action to Take to get Form I-9 Compliant

First and foremost, enlist the help of an I-9 specialist to assist you in getting the right training and performing a comprehensive I-9 internal audit.  At I-9 Okay we help companies everyday discover what true compliance means, develop company policies for managing the I-9 process, provide expert training, and conduct comprehensive Form I-9 audits to assess current compliance and move forward toward 100% I-9 compliance.

Stop living with a false sense of security and take action to improve your company’s I-9 compliance today!

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visits your business and audits your compliance with the requirements of the Form I-9, will they think you acted in good faith to fulfill your responsibility to only hire workers who are eligible to work in the U.S.?

You’re probably thinking “Yes – of course we have acted in good faith to only hire legal workers”.  But will the government think so?  Probably not!   You may feel you are taking all of the steps required to be sure you are verifying the work eligibility of the people you hire, however, during an ICE investigation most employers discover their efforts are not sufficient.

The Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification is only one piece of the compliance puzzle.  And as I have discussed many times previously, the I-9 is a mine field of problems.  Simple errors, omissions, and mistakes cost employer tens of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for what ICE considers “technical/procedural violations”.

Yet time and time again, HR managers refuse to address these issues.  They ignore the importance of an independent Form I-9 audit to correct problems before an ICE audit.  Perhaps they feel an internal audit is part of their job…therefore ordering an independent 3rd party audit reflects poorly on their job performance.  The reality is, an independent and objective set of eyes often find errors and omissions that are easily overlooked.

An independent audit is a great first step in addressing I-9 compliance but it is only ONE step.  When the government asks the following questions, how will you answer?

• Do you only allow personnel with formal I-9 training to complete the form?
• Can you provide your written Company Compliance Plan?
• Can we see your Employment Eligibility Verification Policy?
• How do you avoid discriminatory hiring practices?
• How do you handle:
  1.  SS No Match Letters?
  2.  E-Verify?
  3.  SSNVS?

If you do not have the answers to these questions, it is likely the government will not think you have acted in good faith to fulfill your responsibility to hire only eligible workers.  It is time to take I-9 compliance seriously and get your compliance plan in place before ICE visits.  Visit www.I-9okay.com and download our FREE  Report with 10 Tips for Employer Compliance.  Get started today. Learn how to achieve good faith compliance in your business.

As an employer, do you need to train your hiring managers to complete the Form I-9 correctly?  The answer is a resounding “YES“!

Errors and omissions during the I-9 process are so common that employers who believe they are completing the I-9 correctly are surprised to discover they are at great risk of fines when audited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a document inspection.  The time to discover these mistakes is BEFORE a government audit, NOT during!

The Form I-9 may appear to be a simple one page document that shouldn’t require a lot of training to complete.  You need to be aware this “simple form” carries with it a minefield of possible mistakes, omissions, and offenses – some punishable by FELONY charges!

It is an unfortunate fact of doing business that many hiring managers who are responsible for completing the I-9 have never received any formal training.  This lack of formal training leads hiring managers to perpetually make the same mistakes over and over – never realizing they are not completing the Form I-9 correctly.

Often, under pressure to be sure they are not hiring undocumented workers, managers take additional steps not allowed under the law to “be sure” they are hiring legal workers…only to be accused of discriminatory hiring practices!  To make matters worse the Form I-9, Lists of Acceptable Documents contains immigration documents most employers have never seen.  How do you know if a document is genuine if you’ve never seen it before?  How do you know if someone is authorized to work in the U.S.?

The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) lists “training” as one of its top 10 best practices for employers to ensure complete Form I-9 compliance. Yet over and over again I meet employers who don’t offer formal I-9 training.  Hiring managers are assigned this extremely important piece of compliance without the correct skills to complete the task correctly.

Are you providing your staff with the tools they need to be the most effective? Is the Form I-9 process protecting your business or is it putting you at greater risk?  If you are not offering the best training available, your company is at risk.

How Do You Know?

• What if your hiring managers aren’t taking the Form I-9 seriously?
• What if the I-9 is just one more thing on their “to do” list?
• Worse yet, what if they are purposefully circumventing the I-9 process in order to hire illegal workers?

When Will You Find Out?

If you are like Howard Industries, a manufacturing company in Mississippi, you find out when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigates your business and you ultimately pay $2.5 million dollars in fines as a result of the actions of one human resources manager.

According to court records this one “rogue” HR manager routinely hired unauthorized workers who presented fake documents and completed the Form I-9 with the false information. The same HR manager was also accused of ignoring notices from the Social Security Administration that SS numbers submitted for some employees were invalid.

ICE claimed the HR manager regularly instructed employees to obtain fake IDs. He plead guilty and faces a maximum of 5 years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge and on each employee verification fraud count. He also faces a minimum of 2 years of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft charge and a possible fine up to $250,000.

As a result of the actions of this one “rogue” employee, Howard Industries was charged with knowingly and willfully conspiring to encourage and induce undocumented workers to reside in the U.S. and knowingly conspiring to conceal, harbor and shield from detection such workers. The company agreed to plead guilty to the one-count felony of “Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States” which called for a term of not less than one and not more than 5 years of probation and a fine of up to $500,000. The fine was substantially enhanced to $2.5 million due to the nature of the crime, the number of workers involved and the size of the company.

What’s the Message Here?

Failure to comply with Form I-9 requirements can lead to huge fines, criminal indictments, and even prison sentences! The impact on your company’s image due to negative press as well as the enormous legal cost of defending yourself must also be considered.

To protect your business I urge you to order a full 3rd party audit of your I-9 records by a qualified expert. Sure you can audit your own I-9 forms, but an in-house audit is a case of “the fox watching the hen house” and offers little if any protection against I-9 abuse.

You should also develop a comprehensive Form I-9 policy and procedure plan to address such issues as document fraud. Order training for all your hiring managers so they fully understand the entire I-9 process and the risk of non-compliance.

ICE investigations continue to increase by the day. Now is the time to take a good look at your Form I-9 compliance program and get the help you need to protect your business from financial ruin.

Your company’s image is one of your most important assets. It is likely you have spent years and tens of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions, developing your brand. It is likely that you have a marketing plan and budget.  It is likely you spend a lot of time and energy developing your products and services to exceed your customer’s expectations.

What if It All Comes Crashing Down?

What if one day, it all goes terribly wrong? Ask Toyota. Their marketing plan shifted suddenly from promoting their products to damage control due to a very public defect in their cars was discovered. Hundreds of millions of dollars later, their reputation as “the” quality car maker has been irreparably damaged. They are now on a mission to repair the consumer’s trust it took them decades to earn.

What Does this Have to do with Form I-9 and Immigration Compliance?

Ask Chipotle. In the wake of an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) I-9 document inspection in Chipotle Mexican restaurants in Minneapolis, the restaurant chain fired hundreds of workers. The firings prompted protests in 9 states where protesters chained themselves together in restaurants and carried signs. According to Fox News9 in Minneapolis, 8 people were arrested during the protest in the Minneapolis restaurant.

As the immigration debate rages on and ICE continues its aggressive I-9 enforcement strategies, employers are at greater risk of this kind of negative publicity. The importance of 100% Form I-9 compliance is illustrated over and over again. The employer is responsible for completing the Form I-9 timely and accurately, updating the form when required, and retaining the form in accordance with the law.

The very sad fact is most companies get it wrong…even the ones who believe they are complying with Form I-9 requirements are not. If you haven’t had a qualified expert review your I-9 process, I can almost guarantee your company is at risk. Are you willing to bet your reputation on it?

Independent 3rd Party Form I-9 Audit

ICE considers an expert 3rd party Form I-9 audit a “Best Practice” in an employer’s effort to achieve full compliance. Failing to plan is planning to fail. What will happen if you “fail” an ICE inspection? Perhaps Chipotle’s mistakes will be the catalyst that drives you to seriously focus on your company’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification compliance and hire the right expert to assess your compliance efforts.

To discuss your particular situation with a Form I-9 professional, take advantage of I-9 Okay’s FREE 15 minute consultation.  Call 1-866-580-9390 today.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced they are ramping up their existing crackdowns on employers who hire illegal workers by creating a new employment compliance inspection center in Virginia. The new office will scrutinize Form I-9 employee data from employers selected for I-9 audits and immigration investigations.

During the past fiscal year, ICE conducted audits of more than 2,740 companies — nearly twice as many as it completed the year before. In the wake of these audits, Immigration officials handed companies a record-breaking $7 million in civil fines. According to ICE officials, Form I-9 audits are “one of the most powerful tools the federal government has to ensure that businesses are complying” with the law.

“Ultimately, it is in a company’s best financial interest to proactively comply with the law now rather than to face potential fines or criminal prosecution for noncompliance in the future,” an ICE spokeswoman said.

The Virginia center is expected to have 15 auditors who will support ICE’s immigration enforcement strategy field audits. According to John Morton, chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the new center will “address a need to conduct audits even of the largest employers with a very large number of employees.”

Learn why it is a good strategy to have an independent 3rd party audit of your Forms I-9 procedures and policies before ICE comes knocking at your door.

Since January 2009, under the directive of the current administration, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has audited more than 3,200 employers, debarred 225 companies and individuals, and imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions – more than the total amount of audits and debarrments issued during the entire previous administration. There is no doubt ICE will continue aggressive enforcement activities against employers in 2011.

The focus of this enforcement activity is concentrated on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and whether or not an employer has properly completed the I-9 for each employee hired. This aggressive strategy puts every employer at risk of a government inspection and the potential to pay thousands of dollars in fines and penalties, regardless of the immigration status of their employees. Employers must be crystal clear – this is NOT about finding illegal workers, this enforcement is about auditing an employer’s compliance with the requirements of the Form I-9.

Think Your Business is Form I-9 Compliant?

The simple fact is most employers are not fully compliant with Form I-9 requirements and upon government inspection will be fined, on average over $800 per employee! You are probably thinking – this could never happen to my company. We have reviewed our Forms I-9 and have even conducted our own internal audit.

Unfortunately, this strategy is rarely sufficient. According to ICE, companies that audit their own Forms I-9 are not significantly reducing their potential fines and many times may make matters worse, because much of this audit work is performed by the same HR managers that made the previous errors.

External Form I-9 Audits are Recommended by ICE

Internal audits often reveal significant errors made by hiring managers and it’s only natural to want to hide or minimize these mistakes in order to save face and retain one’s job. Unfortunately, ICE typically regards these cover-ups as serious matters which may lead to charges of falsification, perjury, and document tampering. ICE representatives have made it clear that self-audits typically result in more difficult situations for the employer than if an audit is done by a qualified, experienced independent auditor.

Performing an internal self audit of the Form I-9 may very well increase your risk, rather than decrease the potential for penalties and fines. ICE advises it is a best practice to complete an annual audit of your I-9s using an experienced independent auditor. Any other type of audit may leave an organization at risk or in worse condition than before the audit.

Make 2011 the year you reduce your company’s liability. Start with a Form I-9 audit performed by a qualified expert and develop an Employment Eligibility Verification compliance plan to ensure 100% compliance going forward. Remember, ICE isn’t looking for illegal workers, they are looking at your Form I-9 paperwork and even small, “innocent” mistakes will cost you!

The U.S. Department of Justice announced  they reached a $257,000 settlement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations the company engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination during the process of hiring new employees.

During the investigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) determined there was reasonable cause to believe CHW required non-U.S. citizens and naturalized U.S. citizens to present more work authorization documents than required by the Form I-9. The anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality prohibits treating individuals differently based on national origin or citizenship status.

What Is the Risk to My Company?

You need to know the Department of Justice is aggressively enforcing anti-discrimination provisions utilizing high-profile investigations against employers such as Macy’s, Morton’s Steakhouse, and other employers.

Many employers do not fully understand the law and may find themselves at risk when they fully believe they are just trying to protect themselves from hiring illegal workers.

There are important steps every employer must take to insure they are not only complying with the requirements of the I-9 process but are also not overstepping the antidiscrimination provisions of the law.

What Your Company Must Do Today to Avoid I-9 Compliance Fines

1. Order an independent review of your company’s I-9 process and procedures.  A qualified I-9 consultant will identify areas of concern and recommend best practices to protect your business.
2. Establish a training program for your hiring staff.
3. Appoint a Compliance Manager in your company who is responsible for monitoring the entire Form I-9 process.
4. Use the most secure Form I-9 electronic completion and storage product.
5. Utilize the expertise of a qualified advisor.  An incomplete or incorrect Form I-9 process is putting your company at risk.  Giving the Form I-9 t the attention it deserves can give you the peace of mind to focus on your business and not your I-9 compliance issues.

Take action today…don’t be complacent!