Immigration law can often be a tricky subject for employers to tackle. To ensure you’re keeping your organization compliant, here is some helpful information to remember. An overview based on the most frequent I9, immigration, HB1 visa questions.

1. As youare likelyaware,since1986 the governmenthasplaceduponemployersthe burdenof actingas
gate-keepersinthe enforcementof the immigrationlaws.Atthe same time,employersmustbe very
careful notto discriminate againstemployeesorcandidatesforemploymentbasedonnational origin.
The resultisa veryfine line thatemployersare requiredtowalk,withsteeppitfalls(monetaryliability,
fines,andworse) awaitinganymissteps.Inthe lastfew years,immigrationreformsandincreased
enforcementhave beenthe topicsof extensive debate.While ourpoliticianshave notbeenableto
agree uponany majornewpolicies,one propositionwhichseemstomeetlittle objectionisthe ideathat
employersshouldbe subjectedtogreaterscrutinyandenforcement,increasingthe burdenof theirrole
as front-line evaluatorsof workforce authorization.Indeed,the lastfew yearshave seensignificant
increasesinworkforce auditsandraidsbyU.S. ImmigrationandCustomsEnforcementatall levels.You
have probablyreadreportsof a fewof the more prominentraidsorenforcementactions,whichhad
made the national news.However,pleasedonotassume anyfalse sense of securityfromthe factthat
youmay consideryourcompanyto be too small tomeritattention,orthat youdon’thave any foreign
employees(redflagalert!).Anauditcanbe triggeredfora numberof reasons,includingrandom
samplesandreportingbydisgruntledemployees(orex-employees).Inthe eventof anaudit,your
companywill needtoestablishitscompliancewithICE,justasthe big companiesinthe newshadfailed
to do.Therefore,whileproperI-9compliance hasalwaysbeenimportant,ithasneverbeenmore
essential.Itisnot enoughforemployerstosimplyfilloutthe I-9formto the bestof theirability
accordingto the basicforminstructionsandthrow themina file.ProperI-9compliance requiresdue
care, greatdiligence,afairbitof training,continuingeducation,andnearconstantvigilance.The risks
are simplytoohighto maintaina lackadaisical approachtoI-9 compliance,if thatisyourcurrent
posture.Anemployerthatknowinglyhiresorcontinuestohire anunauthorizedalienfacespenaltiesof
$275 – $2,200 for eachunauthorizedalienforafirstoffense;$2,200 – $5,500 each fora secondoffense;
and $3,300 – $11,000 each forsubsequentoffenses,plusthe possibilityof criminalcharges.Onthe
otherhand,overzealousattemptstodetermineworkauthorizationforanemployeeorpotential
employeecanresultina discriminationlawsuitandthe potential forsignificantdamages.Every
employershouldhave aformal internal I-9Compliance Policydetailingthe employer’sexactpoliciesand
proceduresforproperlycompleting,verifying,andretainingI-9andemploymentauthorization
documentation,forassigningsupervisoryresponsibilitywithinthe companyforthese duties,andfor
self-auditsorotherperiodicinternal effortstoinsure compliance.Inaddition,the employer’semployee
handbookshouldcontainasectionexplainingtothe employee the employerandemployee’srespective
obligationswithrespecttoFormI-9, andinformingthe employeewhotocontact withanyquestionsor
concerns.
By establishingandmaintainingeffectivepoliciesandprocedures,manyof these riskfactorscanbe
addressed.Itiscritical foremployerstoworkwithexperiencedHRcounsel toguide themthroughthis
complicatedandever-changingareaof compliance.