Employer Compliance All US employers must verify the employment eligibility and identity of all employees. An employer must not knowingly hire or continue to employ any person unauthorized to work in the United States and must verify the identity and employment eligibility of every new employee whether the person is a United States citizen or foreign national. The verification procedure requires completion and retention of form I-9 upon the hiring of an employee.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can impose large fines on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and for various paper work and compliance errors. Enforcement is handled by ICE and the US Department of Labor.
The inspection and enforcement of compliance documentation is increasing. All employers must make their forms available for inspection upon request by representatives of ICE or the Department of Labor. No subpoena or warrant is required. However, advance notice of at least 3 business days is required. In addition, ICE can obtain a warrant or subpoena for purposes of conducting a raid.
The failure of an employer to comply with employment verification can cause significant disruption of the employer’s business and substantial financial distress. Employers should take the verification process seriously and should consider hiring an experienced attorney to complete an audit of the company’s I-9 compliance efforts.
An audit generally involves: • review of all I-9 forms including those for employees who have been terminated. • review of payroll records of active and terminated employees • analysis of the effectiveness of the company’s current policies and procedures with regard to employees • recommending proper training and record keeping procedures to reduce future errors.
The I-9 form requires that both the employee and the employer fill out various sections of the form. The employer section requires certifying that the employer has examined certain original verification documentation presented by the employee and that, to the best of the employer’s knowledge, the employee is authorized to work in the United States. An acceptable list of documents to be provided by the employee is listed on the I-9 form.
The Immigration Service is in the process of updating the documents acceptable for employment eligibility verification. A new rule is slated to go into effect on April 3, 2009, amending the types of documents that are acceptable for employment authorization.
The Immigration Service has a voluntary electronic verification program allowing employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. Under new rules, presently scheduled to go into effect on May 21, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the E-verify system to confirm employment eligibility for all persons hired during the term of the contract with the US government and to confirm employment eligibility of current employees who perform federal contract services for the federal government in the United States.
The consequences for failure to comply with the employment verification process make it clear that employers must understand and comply with the current rules and keep informed of changes in the verification requirements.
Representing clients throughout New Jersey, including Newark, Belleville, Nutley, Bloomfield, Montclair, The Orange’s, Jersey City, Hoboken, Kearny, Harrison, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, Rutherford, Elizabeth, Union, Hillside, Hackensack, Clifton, Paterson, Woodbridge, Edison, Toms River, Essex County, Bergen County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Ocean County, Passaic County, Somerset County, and Union County.
