The revisits are to those companies whose I-9 audits revealed violations within the past three years. If a revisited company has not corrected past documentation errors or is continuing to make the same errors previously uncovered, ICE is authorized to increase the normal fines threefold.

Further, if inspectors uncover an undocumented worker and that worker is not immediately dismissed, company officials will face civil and criminal penalties.

Auditors will be looking for both technical and substantive errors in the I-9 document verification process.

In 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents issued 2,393 form I-9 audit notices, and during these audits and other visits arrested and prosecuted 196 business owners, executives and human resource managers for workforce immigration violations. Both were records, and audits themselves are up more than 375 percent since the Obama administration took over.

Therefore, even if your company has not been audited in the past, it's a good idea to review all I-9 records and the ongoing process itself to ensure compliance. For assistance in the process, you should consider acquiring a copy of Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit, which will guide you step by step.

NOTE: The details in this blog are provided for informational purposes only. All answers are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The author specifically disclaims any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the reliance on or use of this blog.

Specifically, the DOJ says UCSD committed "document abuse"  by requiring Legal Permanent Residents to provide copies of their green cards even though they had already met I-9 documentation requirements by presentation of a List B (driver's license) and List C (unrestricted social security card) document.

Under the settlement, the hospital has agreed to pay  $115,000 in civil penalties, one of the highest penalties ever assessed. The hospital has also agreed to train its personnel in the proper I-9 documentation procedures.

Employers, for a better understanding of how to avoid these types of mistakes, get yourself a copy of Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit today.

NOTE: The details in this blog are provided for informational purposes only. All answers are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The author specifically disclaims any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the reliance on or use of this blog.

E-Verify is an online database system managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used to check the legal right of people to work in the United States and is used in conjunction with the form I-9 employment verification process.

The Georgia E-Verify mandate is part of its controversial (and still-being-legally-challenged) Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act.

The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts will conduct random audits to ensure compliance.

Employers, if you want to keep your workforces informed of their rights and obligations regarding the E-Verify process, get a copy of Personnel Concepts' E-Verify Right-to-Work Notice Poster and display it conspicuously.

In addition, ICE arrested and prosecuted 196 business owners, executives and human resource managers for immigration violations in 2011, surpassing the previous high of 135 in 2008.

The trend toward increased enforcement is expected to continue, so business owners and HR managers must be careful in compiling I-9 work authorization forms on all new hires. A handy guide is Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit. Get yours today and keep ICE away from your door.

The department’s independent investigation revealed that the medical center engaged in a pattern or practice of subjecting newly hired non-U.S. citizens to excessive demands for documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security in order to verify and re-verify their employment eligibility, but did not require U.S. citizens to show any specific documentation.  The Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from placing additional documentary burdens on work-authorized employees during the hiring and employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status or national origin. 

“All workers who are authorized to work in the United States have the right to work without encountering discrimination because of their immigration status or national origin,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to vigorously protecting authorized workers from discrimination in the hiring process and ensuring that employers uphold their obligations under the law.“

The complaint seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the respondent, monetary damages for any individuals harmed by the respondent’s actions, and civil penalties.

Employers, remember that you cannot specify which documents a job applicant can supply for residence and work eligibility verification; you can merely show them a list and let them pick. Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit will guide you through all the steps of the I-9 process so you can stay in compliance and keep the DOJ and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents away from your door.

So far, in fiscal 2011 ICE has conducted 2,496 I-9 audits, up from 503 in 2008. It has also initiated 3,291 work site enforcement cases, arrested 221 employers for violations and issued 385 final orders for more than $10 million in fines. In addition, it has debarred 115 people and 97 companies from doing business with the federal government because of violations during the year, the agency said.

When ICE inspectors conduct an audit, the audited firm can be fined from $110 to $1,000 per individual form for errors or incompleteness, regardless of whether the form is for a legally or illegally employed person. Additional potential civil and criminal exposure could result from knowingly employing unlawful workers and from knowingly aiding and abetting, harboring, or transporting unlawful workers. Individual culpability might be ascribed to the company as a whole. Publicly traded companies face additional exposure under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank rules, in addition to potential shareholder suits if immigration compliance violations result in a loss of stock value.

Meanwhile, ICE also announced that it has partnered with another seven major employers as part of the agency's IMAGE (ICE Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers) program. The new partners include Chick-fil A, Best Western International, Hyatt, Lexmark, Kelly Services, Smoothie King and Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America.

"These companies have made a commitment to protecting our nation's lawful workforce," said ICE Director John Morton in a statement. "This is not just about smart business; it's about doing what is right in the eyes of the law and supporting U.S. companies who are committed to hiring a legal workforce."

IMAGE partners must join the online employment eligibility tool known as e-Verify and submit to annual audits of its I-9 files, in addition to creating a written employment verification policy.

I-9 fines can be costly. Get yourself a copy of Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit today and protect yourself against ICE audits.

The EAD is thus an "A List" document that completes the I-9 verification-to-work process in and of itself, much as a U.S. passport or a "green card" would do.

The new I-766 contains a variety of redesigned security features, such as a holographic image on the front of the card and optically variable ink along the top, and it also changes the position and naming protocol of the Alien Registration Number. The number now appears under the notation "USCIS#" rather than next to the notation "A#."

What does this mean for companies conducting I-9 verifications for new hires after Oct. 25? Nothing dramatic. The old I-766s are still good through the individual expiration dates on the forms. On top of that, companies are not allowed under law to specify which documents they desire to see. Once an I-766 is presented with a valid expiration date, the verification is complete—no questions need be asked. Nor can employers require current employees to reverify their identities and authorizations until currently on-file verification documents, such as the EAD, have expired.

The USCIS also redesigned its Form I-560, Certificate of Citizenship, but this form is no longer accepted as an A, B, or C List document for I-9 purposes—retracted from the list in November 2007.

The I-9 is an important step in the employment process, and the USCIS has been busily conducting audits of thousands of American businesses to verify compliance. It's a good idea to get a copy of Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit and study up on requirements and regulations.

To date, with the service announcing it will target another 1,000 as soon as it frees up resources, some big names have been audited and found not in compliance—the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation, Chipotle Company and Abercrombie & Fitch, to name a few. Fines have totaled several millions of dollars.

Employers, you can't prevent an I-9 audit, but you can be prepared. Get yourself a copy of Personnel Concepts' I-9 Compliance Kit and keep fines away from your door.

The suit springs from a February 2010 incident in which the company rejected a job applicant's work authorization form–a document on the I-9 chart's A list, meaning no other proof is required–and told her she needed to present a green card, showing permanent resident status. The company did so, evidently, because the work authorization document had an expiration date on it. The DOJ intends to prove this represented a pattern of abuse by the company.

“Employers are not allowed to impose more burdensome employment eligibility verification procedures on certain workers based on their citizenship status,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, including those protecting employees from discriminatory documentary requirements.”

The United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been conducting I-9 audits throughout the nation. Keep the inspectors away from your door by complying fully with the law. To help you do this, Personnel Concepts offers a comprehensive I-9 Compliance Kit. Get yours today.

The new states are California, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington. As of its initial launch in March 2011, Self-Check was made available in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

In addition, Self-Check is now available in Spanish.

Employers, keep your employees informed of their rights and obligations under the E-Verify employment eligibility verification check by obtaining and posting a copy of  our E-Verify Right to Work Notice Poster.