Take a look at our very informative Update and review of the regulation and resources for your tool box. If you’re not signed up to receive our poddcasts and NewsFLASHES please do so.
We are always available for consultation. If you are seeking competent immigration counsel for your compliance matters, contact us
The date is just about upon us, subject to the US District Court’s ruling on US Chamber of Commerce v. Napolitano, in which a coalition of business groups is suing the government to enjoin implementing a regulation that would require certain federal contractors and their subcontractors to use E-Verify. The Judge is expected to issue his ruling in the case in approximately 1 week.
So, what will be expected if these requirements are implemented? Federal contracts will begin to use new language requiring the use of E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires, as well as existing employees who work on the federal contract. This will apply to contractors with a performance period longer than 120 days and a value over $100,000. Service or construction subcontracts of a covered contract would also be required to include the E-Verify clause, if the value of the subcontract is over $3,000.
The Senate approved an amendment to the FY 2010 DHS Appropriations Bill that codifies a federal contractor’s obligation to use E-Verify, but without the above-mentioned parameters and exemptions. If the amendment becomes law, it would limit DHS’ ability to implement the federal contractor E-Verify rule as it now exists. Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to meet in September to agree on a final package. We are not sure if the E-Verify amendment will be included or not at this time.
Immigration Solutions will continue to monitor the FAR developments. If you have any questions about this or any other compliance issues, please contact us for more information at info@immigrationsolution.net or 1 562.612.3996. Here is a link to our compliance services and solutions.
In a Wall Street Journal article from August 18th, the new ICE Chief, John Morton, said that the agency is set to increase the number of companies it will audit and systematically impose fines on violators. Violations could also lead to criminal charges, he said.
On July 1, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced an audit of employers to verify whether their employees were eligible to work. Mr. Morton said that 654 companies are currently being audited and that many more employers will be notified soon that they also will be under scrutiny by the government.
“You are going to see audits regularly and on a larger scale,” Mr. Morton said during a two-day visit to southern California, his first since being appointed four months ago. “You will see the resuscitation of…civil fines.”
If you have not addressed your I-9 issues, we would strongly urge you to do so. Our Employer Compliance Unit is up to speed on the law, can develop a compliance program that is tailored to your needs and your industry; we can perform onsite or offsite audits and training and can recommend electronic I-9 compliance and reporting systems with optional E-Verify interface if you’re ready to go paperless.
We link to our solutions and services.
Michigan to consider E-Verify bills on August 19th that would require employers in Michigan to use E-Verify. H.R. 4355 would require contractors and sub-contractors to utilize the E-Verify system to confirm the employment eligibility of new employees. H.R. 4969 would prohibit employment agencies from referring candidates to public agencies without first verifyig the candidate’s employment eligibility through E-Verify.
Two Michigan counties have already approved mandates for local contractors.
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Colorado to adopt employment verification regulations: HB 06S-1017) requires that all public and private employers who transact business in Colorado affirm, in written or electronic copy, that it has (1) examined the legal work status of the new employee; (2) retained file copies of the employee’s identification and work authorization documents; (3) not altered or falsified the documents presented by the employee; and (4) not knowingly hired an unauthorized foreign worker. The employer must make the affirmation within 20 days after hiring the new employee. The proposed rules include all of the provisions listed above while also defining in detail various audit procedures and applicable fines for noncompliance.
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DHS to publish a proposal to rescind Social Security No-Match: In tomorrow’s proposal, DHS outlines the basis for its policy change, including a detailed description of E-Verify improvements, new worksite enforcement and community outreach efforts that it will be implementing in the near future. In particular, DHS’s worksite enforcement strategy now includes a restructured process for worksite administrative fines, a debarment policy that prevents employers from receiving Federal contracts when they are in violation of worksite laws, and a Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces (DBFTF) cooperative to combat the vulnerabilities exploited by identity and document fraud organizations. We link to the Federal Register rule. Comments are accepted for 30 days.
Shipley Do-Nut Flour and Supply Company Inc. was sentenced Friday to be under court supervision for a period of three years, pay a criminal fine of $250,000 and forfeit $1.334 million to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for harboring illegal aliens. ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton and U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson made the announcement.
We link to the News Release
Momentum appears to be growing for legislation that would require all employers, not just federal contractors, to use the E-Verify system to confirm that their employees are eligible to work in the United States.
E-Verify is a Web-based system that allows employers to check the Social Security and visa numbers submitted by workers against government databases. More than 137,000 employers now use the system, which approves 97 percent of workers in a few seconds.
Beginning Sept. 8, federal contractors will be required to use E-Verify to confirm that new hires and current employees working on federal contracts are authorized to work in the U.S. The requirement also will apply to most subcontractors.
Many members of Congress want to expand E-Verify to all employers, as a way to end the “jobs magnet” for illegal immigration. This “could open up thousands of American jobs to workers with legal status,” said Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.
We link to the Business Weekly article.
USCIS has received significant funding for a substantially increased volume of random site visits to employer locations. Over the coming year, many thousands more employers will have USCIS knocking on their doors.
The FDNS (Fraud Detection and National Security Unit) of USCIS is expanding its manpower and its site visits to employers that hire foreign nationals. Sometimes the employer is called in advance – and sometimes they are unannounced visits. Also, many of these site visits can occur after the petition is approved.
FDNS visits are to verify the existence of the employer, discuss the information that the employer has provided to USCIS in their petition(s) and whether the foreign national(s) are working in compliance with the terms of their admission to the USA. This information can also be used to determine whether or not a petition will be approved. Typically, the FDNS officer will wish to speak with the HR representative, may want to also speak with the sponsored worker; the officer could have a copy of the petition and will endeavor to verify the information contained in the petition.
What’s the “take away” on this for employers: It is important that you contact your designated immigration professional should you receive notification of a site visit… AND… make sure that you are working with well-informed immigration counsel that have experience in employer compliance issues. Immigration Solutions does, and we link to our Employer Compliance page on our website.
We link to one employer’s experience (as posted on AILA Infonet).
For those of you who did not participate in our July 29th audio conference, we link to an MP3 recording of this very informative event.
Guest Speakers: Thomas J. Joy, Supervising Attorney, Immigration Solutions Business Unit and Employer Compliance Division
Dan Siciliano, Co-Founder LawLogix, I-9 and E-Verify Electronic Compliance Systems
We link to this for your reference. The American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA) is requesting that certain provisions in the handbook be clarified or corrected.
And want to remind you of our Audio Conference on July 29th concerning electronic maintenance of I-9s and how to defend yourself in an Audit.
DHS announced today that it supports the FAR E-Verify regulation for federal contractors to enroll in E-Verify as of 9/8/09. This means that most federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to enroll in E-Verify. Secretary Napolitano also announced DHS’ intention to rescind the Social Security No-Match regulation that would have sent “no-match” letters to 140,000 US employers. The notices would have warned companies to resolve discrepancies or fire workers within 90 days or face criminal charges.