Are you an employer who, since the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, failed to adhere to the strict rules of Form I-9 compliance? If so, now is the time to establish and maintain effective I-9 policies. Just ask Rick Vartanian, the president of Brownwood Furniture in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. who was sentenced to 10 months in prison for obstruction of justice and six months for continuing to employ illegal aliens. In addition to the prison term, Vartanian was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. Brownwood Furniture’s vice president also pleaded guilty to one count of continuing to employ unauthorized workers and was sentenced to one year's probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
The Obama administration has changed the direction of its efforts from the previous administration from going after illegal workers to now targeting the employers who hire them. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has directed ICE to focus it efforts on the auditing and investigation of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. In 2010, ICE criminally charged a record-breaking 180 business owners, employers, managers and/or supervisors, up from 114 in 2009 and 135 in 2008. Additionally in 2010, ICE conducted more than 2,200 I-9 audits - up from more than 1,400 in 2009. That’s proof enough that ICE means business.
The fact is employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers face serious consequences. Therefore, it is important to know that employers are not only responsible for the people they hire but also for the internal systems they use to manage a compliant hiring process. Case in point - In 2010, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was fined more than $1 million, even though they never hired any unauthorized workers. The problem for this company was that during a Form I-9 inspection of Abercrombie & Fitch's retail stores in Michigan, numerous technology-related deficiencies were found in their electronic I-9 verification system.
There are severe legal repercussions for employers who do not maintain compliance, including costly fines and possible criminal prosecution, depending upon the infraction.
• Monetary penalties for knowingly hiring and continuing to employ illegal workers range from $375 to $16,000 per violation, with repeat offenders receiving penalties at the higher end.
• Penalties for substantive violations, which includes failing to produce a Form I-9, range from $110 to $1,100 per violation.
It should be noted that in determining penalty amounts, ICE considers five factors: the size of the business, good faith effort to comply, seriousness of violation, whether the violation involved unauthorized workers, and history of previous violations.
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to minimize the risk involved in not being Form I-9 compliant. Start with an immediate review of your company’s Form I-9 process to ensure compliance while also ensuring it is in line with non-discriminatory hiring practices (another “hot button” issue that has come to the forefront in 2011). Make sure to use E-Verify, which is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the U.S. If you are not sure how to accomplish this, work with a company that specializes in I-9/E-Verify - it’s worth the expenditure. Once your Form I-9 process is compliant, make sure that your staff is trained and you stay on top of the ever evolving rules and regulations. The simple fact is, employers who do not take Form I-9 compliance seriously are putting themselves and their companies at severe risk.
For information on how your company can be I-9 compliant, visit www.carcogroup.com. For an overview of I-9 regulations and fines, click here to visit the ICE website.
