Will Your Hiring Practices Stand Up to Scrutiny From the Feds?
The Feds are watching — the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, in particular, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
Last year, ICE shifted the focus of its enforcement strategy, going after employers instead of illegal employees. This is in contrast to the Bush administration, whose enforcement activity was characterized by high-profile raids in which illegal immigrants were rounded up.
A recent example: Last month, ICE sent Notices of Inspection to 180 businesses in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The notices altered them that ICE will be inspecting their I-9 forms and seeking to review voluminous other records, including a list of current and terminated employees, and the names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth of all active employees.
"This initiative is in line with the Department of Homeland Security's vital responsibility to enforce the laws, reduce demand for illegal workers, and protect opportunities for the nation's lawful work force," Temple Black, a New Orleans-based ICE spokesman, was quoted as saying in The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
"They're going to be inspecting I-9 forms and even other hiring records to make sure those employees are eligible to work, and they're doing it in a very methodical and more pervasive way than they have done before," said Clyde Jacob, director and head of the New Orleans office of the law firm Coats Rose Yale Ryman & Lee.
Renee Baker, Louisiana state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business association, expressed concern.
"Small businesses, they don't have attorneys on staff. A lot of times, they don't even have attorneys on retainer. Knowing all the ins and outs of employment law is a lot to ask of someone who's drying your clothes or fixing your car," Baker said. "It can get pretty burdensome for small businesses."
"Employers are really going back and trying to make sure they have everything in order," Jacob said.
The fines for simple I-9 form violations range from $110 to $1,100 per violation.
This latest ICE action in the Southeast underscores the need for all businesses to review this important aspect of their operations, develop compliance plans that will protect them from this potential liability and have in place crisis-management procedures, including access to outside counsel that specializes in this area, in the event the “ICEman” cometh!
Would you like to find out more about how Labor Ready can partner with your team on the issue of worker-eligibility verification? Call 800-24-LABOR to be connected to your closest branch, visit LaborReady.com and use our branch locator to find a branch near you or send us an email. We look forward to partnering with you!