Our November Special Edition Newsletter on Employer Compliance is now available. We reference what employers need to be aware of in light of the results of the mid-term elections, the increase in enforcement that is predicted to continue and how best to protect yourself in this business climate.
Check out our new I-9 website and take the free Survey.
The president of a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., furniture manufacturing business was charged Monday with criminal violations stemming from a probe by ICE ‘s Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) into allegations the company hired unauthorized alien workers.
The president and principal shareholder of Brownwood Furniture, Rick Vartanian, is charged in a criminal action with one count of obstruction of justice and one misdemeanor count of continuing to employ unauthorized workers. Court documents from November 2009 indicate that Vartanian told ICE that unauthorized workers identified during an earlier HSI audit were no longer employed by the company, when, in fact, the company continued to employ 18 of those workers and had taken steps to shield them from detection by HSI. HSI agents executed a search warrant at the company in December 2009 and discovered the 18 unauthorized employees still working there. Vartanian, who has already agreed to pay a $10,000 fine, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 66 months in prison.
This action comes not more than 3 weeks following previous action taken against Brownwood Furniture’s vice-president, Michael Eberly, charged in a criminal case filed Oct. 12th with one count of continuing employment of unauthorized workers, a misdemeanor. Eberly is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Nov. 19th. According to the charging document, Eberly knew that many of the furniture company’s workers were unauthorized and continued to employ them. Eberly, who has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine, also faces a maximum sentence up to six months in prison.
The investigation was a result of an anonymous tip that resulted in an investigation in July 2009 where it was discovered that 61 of the firm’s 73 employees had submitted invalid documents to obtain their jobs. After HSI notified the company about the discrepancies, the executives told investigators the unauthorized workers had been terminated. However, when HSI agents executed a search warrant at the business in Dec. 2009, they encountered 30 unauthorized workers, 18 of whom had purportedly been terminated following the July audit.
We refer to the ICE Press Release
LONG BEACH, CA, October 22, 2010. Immigration Solutions, a leading full service consulting, immigration, and employer compliance organization, announces its new I-9 Employer Resource Center that is uniquely designed to assist businesses in developing and maintaining compliant employment practices.
Reputable industry leaders are being audited, as employer compliance becomes more complex and enforcement (investigations and audits) increase. In order to effectively deal with these issues and avoid the very severe consequences of fines and penalties for non-compliance, employers must take the time to develop a strategy and be prepared in advance with a Compliance Program.
Many companies struggle with determining who to turn to for their I-9 compliance needs. Immigration Solutions approaches its Employer Compliance practice with the same exceptional service level clients have experienced from their other practice areas. Their talented and experienced team offers onsite or offsite in-depth I-9 audits, compliance training, assistance with the development of training manuals and compliance policies and procedures, and on-call consulting services. They additionally assist their clients in responding to government Notices of Inspection and audit requests.
With pricing that is cost-efficient and tailored to the needs of their clients, Immigration Solutions is positioned to offer high touch services and solutions to their clients at affordable prices.
Websites: www.I-9Audits.com
www.immigrationsolution.net
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Immigration Solutions provides US and Canadian immigration services to individuals and employers throughout the USA and abroad. They specialize in business immigration and have a depth of experience in the IT, health care, arts & entertainment, and sports industries, amongst others. Their services include complex business visas for investors, multinational managers, skilled professionals and outstanding individuals in science, business, education, athletics and entertainment. They additionally provide employer compliance consulting services on proper I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) auditing, training, and work with their clients to develop compliant immigration policies and procedures. They offer these services, as well, to government contractors and advise on FAR E-Verify enrollment and compliance issues.
The Justice Dept announced today that it reached a settlement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern of citizenship discrimination by imposing discriminatory hurdles to employment for work-authorized individuals by requesting that non-US citizen and naturalized US citizens present more work authorization than required by law. CHW is the 8th largest hospital provider in the nation, operating facilities in California, Nevada and Arizona. CHW agreed to pay $257,000 in civil penalties – the largest amount of civil penalties ever paid to resolve such allegations.
This settlement sends a strong message to all employers how vitally important it is to have staff that is charged with the I-9 process properly trained on the laws governing I-9’s and specifically on each section of the form. All workers who are authorized to work in the USA have the right to look for a job without encountering discrimination because of their immigration status or national origin”, said Thomas E. Prerez, Asst. Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
We are seeing with increasing frequency, particularly in the hospitality, restaurant and contracting industries, the collaboration between the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and ICE concerning the recent rash of I-9 audits and work site investigations. We think this is for a myriad of reasons:
1) Not meeting employee minimum wage requirements
2) Non-conformance with H-2B temporary labor certification regulations
3) Mis-classifying workers as independent contractors
4) Hiring undocumented workers
5) I-9 document violations; and
6) A high volume of uncontested E-Verify Non-confirmations
In September a meeting took place between immigration attorneys and representatives from the USCIS Verification Division to discuss updates with E-Verify. It was discussed that The Office of Special Counsel and E-Verify have signed an MOU to share information between the two agencies, enabling the OSC to increase its role in the enforcement of E-Verify policies, specifically related to discrimination and employer use of the E-Verify system.
E-Verify is particularly monitoring employers that are suspected of misusing the system for pre-screening purposes or who appear to be providing data that is inconsistent with the size of their business and their usage of the E-Verify system.
If you’re an employer and you receive a Notice of Inspection (NOI) or a Subpoena, it is highly advisable that you contact an attorney that specializes in employer compliance issues before you provide any documentation whatsoever to ICE agents, DHS, or DOL.
For more information on E-Verify, we link to the Quick Reference Guide for E-Verify Employer Agents and to the E-Verify menu on the USCIS website.
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Immigration Solutions provides US and global visa services to individuals and employers throughout the USA and abroad. We specialize in business immigration and have a depth of experience in the IT, health care, arts & entertainment, and sports industries, amongst others. Our services include complex business visas for investors, multinational managers, skilled professionals and outstanding individuals in science, business, education, athletics and entertainment. We additionally provide employer compliance consulting services on proper I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) auditing, training, and work with our clients to develop compliant immigration policies and procedures. We offer these services, as well, to government contractors and advise on FAR E-Verify enrollment and compliance issues.
USCIS has updated and revised the E-Verify manuals for both Employers and Federal Contractors.
The new manuals reflect recent changes to the E-Verify website and offer additional guidance and clarification. Employers or their agents who use E-Verify, federal contractors who have the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause in their contracts, and employers considering using E-Verify should become familiar with the new manuals.
Note that there are some new FAQ’s with detailed instructions for FAR contractors that have the FAR E-Verify clause in their contracts. Also, note that web service developers have until December 2010 to add the required functionality from the June 2010 E-Verify redesign.
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We find in our I-9 audit practice that most employers have problems with their I-9 documentation and that if discovered by ICE during an audit, would cost them thousands of dollars in fines. We also find that most employees charged with handling I-9’s have never received any formal training. If you are aware that your I-9’s have problems, we urge you to not ignore it. Please take a look at our services and solutions. Our talented and knowledgeable compliance team can discuss the following with you:
You can contact our office here.
This is becoming serious business for human resource professionals, particularly if you know that you have paperwork violations buried in your I-9’s…AND….you’ve had turnover with the staff that are charged with handling I-9’s …and lastly, none of your staff has ever received formal I-9 compliance training.
Our compliance team can plan and structure a project to your needs that will ease the uncertainty of going through a partial or full audit of your I-9 employee population. We ask all our clients and readership to strongly consider consulting with us, if you haven’t already, to discuss the management of your employee verification program, policy and procedures. Please see today’s announcement from ICE.
In April 2009, Secretary Napolitano announced changes to ICE’s worksite enforcement strategy – which reduced the need for large-scale immigration enforcement actions where employees were arrested and instead focused on finding evidence to criminally charge employers and to increase the use of tools like I-9 audits, fines and debarment.
Here’s an associated announcement from Secretary Napolitano.
We would urge you to be proactive in this area and put the matter of a “pre-audit” I-9 audit on your agenda, or request training from us as to how to conduct your own internal audit.
Fines Based Upon Inadequate Electronic I-9 System used to Track Worker Eligibility
Abercrombie & Fitch has been fined $1,047,110 in a settlement reached today with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ((ICE) for numerous technology-related deficiences in the company’s electronic I-9 system.
Referencing the ICE Press Release, the settlement is the result of a November 2008 Form I-9 inspection of Abercrombie & Fitch’s retail stores in Michigan. The company was fully cooperative during the investigation and no instances of the knowing hire of unauthorized aliens were discovered. Since the initial inspection, Abercrombie & Fitch has taken measures to revise its I-9 Electronic Compliance Program, and has begun to implement new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws.
“Employers are responsible not only for the people they hire but also for the internal systems they choose to utilize to manage their employment process and those systems must result in effective compliance,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI for Ohio and Michigan. “We are pleased to see Abercrombie working diligently to complete the implementation of an effective compliance system; however, we know that there are other companies who are not doing so. This settlement should serve as a warning to other companies that may not yet take the employment verification process seriously or provide it the attention it warrants.”
With the above being said — this is a definite attention getter! There’s alot of I-9 software on the market. Some we’re familiar with – and others we are not. Electronic I-9 software must adhere to certain recordkeeping standards and technical safeguards in order to ensure that the underlying I-9s are accurate, authentic and trustworthy. Systems must retain the same sequence of data elements on the paper I-9.
The main point here is to recognize that your I-9 system is a compliance system which must serve a unique compliance function. Yes, we know that you want the fancy tools and flagging systems, but the essential fundamentals are critical. We like the following questions provided by LawLogix’ electronic I-9 team:
Conducting your due diligence goes without saying – don’t believe all the hype re bundled in legal services. LawLogix, who we are familiar with and highly recommend, state that there is no “one size that fits all”. Careful planning is required and discussion with trusted immigration counsel advisable prior to any decisions being made.
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If you’d like to schedule a time to discuss your I-9s, whether that be a randomly selected or full audit, staff training or working with you to establish a set pf policies and procedures around handling your I-9 compliance, we offer solutions and services both onsite or offsite by our talented and trained legal compliance team. Give us a call. 562 612.3996 – www.employer-compliance.com
Big changes are coming to E-Verify in June that will enhance its usability, security, accuracy and efficiency. The USCIS has announced that its newly redesigned E-Verify web interface will go live on June 13, 2010. As previously reported, the new E-Verify look (internally called E-Verify 3.0) promises to offer “a clean and modern design, easy and intuitive navigation, and clear and simple language. A new home page, a new case alerts feature, improved case management and a streamlined tutorial are among the dozens of improvements coming to E-Verify.
Check out the new E-Verify Redesign section of the website to learn more about what’s coming and what E-Verify users can do to prepare.
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USCIS Revises EAD Card (Employment Authorization Document) – Effective June 4th
What does this mean in the I-9 context? The EAD Card (or Form I-766) is an acceptable List A document, which establishes both identity and work authorization. It’s important to note, however, that the EAD is evidence of temporary work authorization which expires at some point in time. Before that expiration occurs, employers need to re-verify the employee’s continuing eligibility to the work in the US. (in Section 3 of the form) in order to avoid penalties and other issues. Most employers storing pen & paper I-9s utilize a ticker or calendar system for reminders, while those with electronic I-9 systems will receive automatic email reminders and prompts for re-verification.
The EAD is also noteworthy for employers participating in E-Verify, since it is one of two documents (the I-551 green card being the other) which must be photocopied and retained by the employer during the I-9 process. This photocopy requirement, outlined in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding, enables employers to use the E-Verify photo matching tool to compare the document against DHS records. For more information on the photo tool, please visit this brief outline here.
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Immigration Solutions has created a package of services and solutions to assist you with your compliance procedures that can be tailored to your specific needs and concerns. Today is the time to develop a strategy and be prepared in advance with an Immigration Compliance Program that simply outlines how your company will manage its employer compliance responsibilities.
ICE is not backing off sending I-9 audit notices to US employers. It’s latest round of 180 NOI’s (Notice of Inspection) were sent to employers March 2nd in 5 Southeastern states: Louisiana. Alabama, Arkansas Tennessee and Mississippi. The notices alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.
Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual’s identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual.
Due to the ongoing, law enforcement sensitive nature of these audits, the names and locations of the businesses will not be released at this time.
We link to the Press Release on the ICE website
A strong reminder to employers: Compliance with immigration law is crucial in this enforcement climate. We are in a historic moment regarding U.S. Immigration reform. Major U.S. companies have been slapped with steep fines for non-compliance with immigration laws and contractors have been closed and even jailed for employing illegal immigrants. Now is the time for prudent companies to implement a Corporate Immigration Compliance Program. Our firm’s years of experience and knowledge with employer compliance and worksite enforcement issues can assist your business in offsetting the extent of sanctions and other ICE enforcement threats. Because of this, employer compliance is becoming more complex and enforcement (investigations and audits) is increasing.
We have a very informative area on our website relating to this topic. Please refer to our services and solutions and contact us if you require assistance with I-9 management, audits or training.