A Monthly Bulletin from Immigration Compliance Group -- August 2011
About Immigration Compliance Group
Immigration Compliance Group focuses its practice on corporate employment verification compliance and US and Canadian inbound business immigration. Our team has a depth of experience in providing uniquely tailored services and solutions to assist clients in developing comprehensive employment authorization and immigration-related compliance. We conduct onsite and offsite partial and full I-9 audits for companies of all sizes, design training curriculum to assure that staff is knowledgeable concerning the management of their I-9 program, and we assist with policy development so that our clients have a plan and strategy that assures their compliance in a manner that makes sense for their business and evidences their good faith effort in establishing a compliant workforce.
We invite you to subscribe to our free information: Blog, News, Client Alerts and our Podcasts, please sign up here. Check out our I-9 Employer Resource Center and follow us daily on Twitter and LinkedIn
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Corporate Compliance
Are you Prepared for a Government Inquiry or Investigation?
As you’re probably well aware, we’re in a very aggressive era of corporate compliance and workplace investigations in the USA. The federal government has shifted massive resources across the country into heightened enforcement of employer-related immigration regulations.
Employers are increasingly being targeted for investigation, and, when caught unprepared, face substantial fines and, in some cases, criminal prosecution. These investigations are conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Fraud Detection and National Security Unit (FDNS).
Cautious and forward-thinking employers are proactive and are conducting internal audits to ensure that meaningful regulatory compliance is in place, uncovering and correcting potential liabilities before the government comes knocking on their door. Many employers mistakenly assume that their business as usual practices are compliant with the ever complicated maze of regulations they must follow, simply because they have never been investigated before. In this environment of increased enforcement, employers must take extra precautions to ensure that they are in compliance with immigration laws.
It is no longer “safe” to presume just because you do not have a large number of foreign national employees, that you have nothing to worry about. What most employers do not understand is that employment verification requirements are governed by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”). The provisions of the law hold every employer in the USA responsible for verifying the identity and work authorization status of the employees that they hire. The means by which this is done is the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form that every employee must fill out no later than the first day of work or earlier (both US citizens and non-citizens).
The Truth: If you keep putting off an I-9 audit, you could most certainly find yourself in the middle of a complex investigation or lawsuit some day that will take center stage very quickly, that could have been avoided with some basic preventive maintenance.
Warning Signs: How do you know you need an I-9 Audit?
- You have not performed a partial or full audit within the last year by either an internal individual who is familiar with I-9 compliance rules and regulations but does not deal with I-9’s on a regular basis, or by a reputable attorney or independent I-9 auditor.
- You’ve had a turnover in the HR position(s) charged with the responsibility of handling and managing I-9 Forms
- You are preparing to convert to an I-9 electronic system. It is recommended that you perform a full audit on your I-9 forms prior to conversion.
- None of the staff charged with managing your I-9 compliance have received formal training concerning correct completion I-9 Forms, document examination, and anti-discrimination provisions
- You do not have a mechanism in place during the hiring or on-boarding process to insure the Form I-9 is completed by the employee no later than the 1st day of work, and documents examined by the employer within 3 days of hire. (This is the most common mistake employers make and ICE considers this a substantive violation).
- You already know that you have I-9 document violations, errors and unintentional mistakes.
- You have recently gone through a corporate reorganization, merger or acquisition
- You know you have an on-boarding and hiring process that is complex, such as multiple jobsite locations or remote hiring where the I-9 process takes place, or utilizing temp agencies
- When you haven’t documented your I-9 Form policies and procedures in a policy statement or procedures manual. In a government audit, this will be requested in a document subpoena.
- You have a large volume of foreign worker I-9 forms
- You do not have a tickler system for employment re-verification or for those terminated employees whose I-9’s are in the retention period
- You do not have a centralized I-9 recordkeeping process
- You are photocopying documents presented during the I-9 process for some and not for others.
- You participate in government contracts and have been asked to perform an I-9 audit
- You do not know how to make corrections to the I-9 form
- You’ve received SSA No Match Letters
- Your industry is being targeted by ICE
- You’re unaware that new I-9 guidance was released by USCIS this year
Immigration Compliance Group - regularly represents clients from all industries to develop effective I-9 policies and compliance programs. By establishing and maintaining effective corporate policies and procedures, many of the above-mentioned warning signs can be addressed proactively in an audit before the government does one for you.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I-9 | E-Verify Important Electronic Vendor Guidance
We link to our article from July 16, 2011
- Please note that there has been an update to this story since we wrote our article dealing with a dispute between two electronic I-9 software providers where outsourcing I-9 software to a third party vendor was involved.
Update: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued an order that USVerify must (1) refrain from deleting, destroying, altering or undermining LexisNexis I-9 and E-Verify data; (2) preserve all such data in a readily accessible and usable format; and (3) provide the federal government with such data in the event of an audit.
A 2nd order requested that USVerify return all information that LexisNexis’s customers need to comply with any and all I-9 and E-Verify related rules, regulations, executive orders, or requests for information, and secure the prompt transmission all such information, including E-Verify reports, data, and images either to LexisNexis or to LexisNexis’s customers directly. Specifically, USVerify was ordered to do the following:
1. Return and transmit to LexisNexis in a readily accessible, usable format all I-9 data[1], electronic signature data, copies and images of all electronic I-9s, copies of identity and work authorization documents, audit trails, E-Verify data[2] (and accompanying images), and all other information containing or reflecting information provided by LexisNexis or its customers.
2. Return all PDF images (or other images) of all I-9 forms, including all electronic signature data for each Form 1-9, all work authorization documents, and any other images it has stored on behalf of a LexisNexis customer, including E-Verify images
Lastly, the parties and the Court decided that it would appoint a third party technology consultant to (a) inspect and audit USVerify’s methods of storing the data, (b) inspect and audit USVerify’s export capabilities, (c) identify the cost and effort required to export and return all of the data identified, and (d) recommend the most reasonable, efficient and effective method (including the format) of transmitting all of this relevant data to LexisNexis.
Recommendation: Please refer to the recommendation checklist contained in the article link above if you are outsourcing your I-9 and E-Verify management to an electronic vendor.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
What States Currently Require E-Verify?
Thus far in 2011, ten states have enacted legislation with E-Verify provisions - Alabama, Florida (executive order), Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. Eighteen states now have an E-Verify requirement for public and/or private employers - fifteen through legislation and three through executive orders. View article
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SSA No-Match Letters: OSC’s Position on Employer Action
A letter was in the Immigration Daily newsletter, www.ilw.com pertaining to how long an employer should wait if an employee cannot resolve an SSA No-Match issue.
This is a question commonly asked and, although the letter provides guidance relative to the 120 days provided by E-Verify to resolve tentative non-confirmations as representing a reasonable period of time, the last paragraph of the letter states:
“As stated above, OSC cannot comment on whether an employer should terminate an employee who is unable to resolve the no-match within the specified time period. To the extent however, that an employer has such a policy, OSC would advise the employer to treat all employees consistently, regardless of citizenship status or national origin.”
To view the letter.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NEWS BYTES...
- ICE fines New England companies hiring unlawful employees - Worksite enforcement strategy holds employers accountable for violations
- Fourteen New England companies were fined a combined $285,000 during the past fiscal year for failing to document that their workers were in the country legally. For more.
- Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools system to pay $4.2+Million in back wages for 1,044 workers to resolve H-1B worker violations
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has obtained an agreement for Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools system to pay $4,222,146 in back wages due 1,044 workers to resolve violations of the H-1B temporary foreign worker program
Having the necessary knowledge and tools in place to run successful H-1B programs includes the preparation of Public Access Files and the set-up and maintenance of LCA tracking systems. Please refer to our services and solutions for H-1B and Department of Labor Auditing.
- Will Mandatory E-Verify solve the problem?
- Have you seen the Department of Homeland Security’s monthly E-Verify Newsletter?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Should you wish to know more about our services or to become a client of our office, please contact us at info@immigrationcompliancegroup.com or call us at 562 612.3996.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
| Follow Us: |
|
 |
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Disclaimer/Reminder: This newsletter does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only. The information provided should never replace informed counsel when specific immigration-related guidance is needed. Copyright © 2011 Immigration Compliance Group.
Back to Top
Copyright © 2011 Immigration Compliance Group.
