Employers beware.  The Iceman cometh. Last week the Obama administration announced that it would audit another 1,000 employers throughout the United States to determine if they are have illegal workers on their payrolls.

The Wall Street Journal reports that this wave of ICE audits now brings this fiscal year’s total to 2,388 (beginning Oct. 1) which has already eclipsed last year’s total of 2,196.

The Journal warns, “For employers, the audits can lead to both civil and criminal penalties. The possibilities range from fines and being barred from competing for government contracts to criminal charges of knowingly employing illegal workers, evading taxes and engaging in identity theft.”

See WSJ Article

The best way for an employer to stay in compliance with federal regulations is to be vigilant in their I-9 practices. Every employee must have an I-9 form on file.

Many employers are moving towards the use of the government’s E-Verify system or other third party systems which allow for the complete electronic automation of the I-9 process; preparing and signing the form, submitting the form to the Social Security Administration, and auto archiving.

Everyone get the image of Top Gun’s Iceman, Val Kilmer?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the U.S. Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is stepping up their efforts to audit U.S. employers who hire illegal workers.  According to John Morton, the new chief of of ICE, 654 companies are currently being audited with many more notices to follow.

These efforts are in stark contrast to the lax auditing practices of the previous administration.  And the fines are significant.  So employers, beware.  Make sure you have I-9′s in place with a process to ensure you are receiving valid identification.  Many employers now have started to use E-Verify and other electronic employment eligibility systems to help with compliance in this regard.

U.S. Intensifies Audits of Employers- Wall Street Journal

LOS ANGELES — A senior U.S. immigration official said Monday that his agency will intensify a crackdown on employers of workers in the country illegally as part of the Obama administration’s new immigration strategy.

John Morton, the new chief of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the agency is set to increase the number of companies it will audit and systematically impose fines on violators. Violations could also lead to criminal charges, he said.

On July 1, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced an audit of employers to verify whether their employees were eligible to work. Mr. Morton said that 654 companies are currently being audited and that many more employers will be notified soon that they also will be under scrutiny by the government.

“You are going to see audits regularly and on a larger scale,” Mr. Morton said during a two-day visit to southern California, his first since being appointed four months ago. “You will see the resuscitation of…civil fines.”

More

Effective April 3, 2009 all U.S. employers must use the new I-9 Form which was revised earlier this year. Some of the changes include the following:

• The addition of a new citizenship attestation for Noncitizen nationals
• Modifications to the Lists of Acceptable documents;
• No longer accepting expired documents; and
• Other technical changes.

For those currently using or interested in employeescreenIQ’s Electronic I-9 Process, we have already updated this form into our interface with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

View the New I-9 Form

As many of you know, last June President Bush signed into law a mandate for Federal Contractors to use E-Verify (the government program that allows instant verification of right-to-work status).

As of November 14, 2008, the law was finalized and enforcement begins on January 15, 2009.  Teresa Cheek from The Delaware Employment Law Blog did a masterful job of explaining the law, who it affects and what needs to be done to get in compliance.  See the following excerpt from her post below.

“Starting on January 15, 2009, once you are awarded a federal contract worth more than $100,000 that has a performance term of 120 days or more, or if you have a subcontract worth more than $3,000, you will have 30 days to enroll in the federal contractor E-Verify program.  Enrolling involves signing a non-negotiable Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Homeland Security and registering the individuals who will be using the system. I suggest that you take a look at page 5 of the E-Verify User Manual to get an idea of your options and what it will be like to use the system. The people you select to be “users” of the system will have to register and take the on-line tutorial before you can actually begin using the system.

You might want to register now and begin using the standard E-Verify system for new hires to give get a head start before the deadline. If you are already enrolled in the E-Verify program as of January 15, 2009, and you have a qualifying contract or subcontract, you will have to modify your enrollment to switch to the federal contractor version.  Within 90 days of enrollment as a federal contractor, you will have to begin using E-Verify for all new hires in the U.S. (including people who are not working directly on a federal contract), within three days after the employee begins working for pay.

There is one major difference between the federal contractor E-Verify process and the standard E-Verify process. Federal contractors will also have to run E-Verify on each current employee who was hired after November 6, 1986 and who is directly involved in work under the contract. The standard E-Verify process may be used only for new hires.”

Read the full article

SHRM recently had the opportunity to testify in front of the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security.  I even had the opportunity discuss the Johnson Bill (H.R. 5515) with the SHRM Manager of Public Affiars a few months ago in Boston at the SHRM HR Global Conference.  SHRM is really pushing acceptance of this bill for a myriad of reasons, most notably the level of Non-Confirmations in an admittedly imperfect system.  According to SHRM CEO, Sue Meisinger:

“New Employee Verification Act” (NEVA).  H.R. 5515 would create a new, more secure, accurate, and reliable employment verification system.”

“The employers we represent are fully committed to the hiring of only work-authorized individuals through an effective, efficient electronic employment verification system,” said Meisinger. “We believe effective employment verification is the lynchpin for true immigration reform. We also recognize that the current employment verification system is in need of real reform and is inadequate to meet current and future demands.”

Workforce Management has an interesting take on the debate.  The ‘Father’ of the E-Verify system, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-California called on SHRM to end their negative advertising campaign against E-Verify.  According to Workforce Managment:

At the hearing, Calvert defended his creation, testifying that 92 percent of employees put into the system are immediately approved and less than 1 percent successfully contest a nonconfirmation.

About 61,000 employers voluntarily use E-Verify. The law that established the system expires in November. Calvert has introduced a bill that would reauthorize it and mandate that all 7.4 million employers sign up over a seven-year period.

Most of the input at the hearing came from people who were concerned that such an expansion of E-Verify would overwhelm the Social Security system.

After mulling it over for a couple days, Calvert issued a pointed statement on Thursday.

“While I appreciated the opportunity to testify, it was clear that the hearing, as evidenced by the second witness panel, was slanted against E-Verify,” he said. “The fact remains that E-Verify is the only tool available for employers, who are required to hire a legal workforce, to check the veracity of identification documents presented by a new employee.”

Then the shot across SHRM’s bow: “There are certain interests that simply do not want employment verification. That is why they will denounce E-Verify and assert that there is a perfect system out there somewhere, when in fact there is no perfect system.”

In my opinion they are both right.  Having spent four years in Washington every March lobbying on behalf of our industry I see both points.  employeescreenIQ has written several articles and blogs on this subject.  E-Verify is far from a perfect system.  The database needs a lot of work and verification standards need updating.  The TNC’s (Tentative Non Confirmations) are causing a lot of heartache for various industries.  Personally, I really like H.R. 5515, I think it simplifies the system and makes it easier for organizations to comply.  However, hearing from legislatures in D.C. there is little support for H.R. 5515 and little money allocated to scrap what is in place and create a whole new system.  I think you will see a re-vamp of E-Verify and a more accurate database in the coming years.  I think H.R. 5515 is a great push to make this happen. I have been wrong before so lets wait and see what happens.  I commend SHRM for their efforts, its doing a lot of good on both fronts!