180 more employers get I-9 inspection notices
March 12, 2010 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Employment law, Immigration, Special Report
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pressing ahead with its I-9 inspection campaign. Last week, 180 companies in five states got inspection notices from ICE — the first employers to be targeted in 2010.
The most recent targets are in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. ICE had already done some 1,600 inspections in the second half of 2009 and issued fines ranging from $100 to $1,100 per violation. A Notice of Inspection requires employers to allow ICE to inspect their I-9 forms to determine compliance with the law.
ICE released a statement warning that the inspections are “a first step in ICE’s long-term strategy to address and deter illegal employment.”
Companies that receive a Notice of Inspection will have three days to prepare for a meeting with federal officials in which the company’s Form I-9 records will be reviewed, possibly including payroll documentation.
Tags: I-9, ice, Notice of Inspection
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March 15th, 2010 at 11:48 am
How effective has this been in reducing illegal employment?
March 15th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I am curious what it is that employers are being fined for and like Martin asked, “How effective has this been in reducing illegal employment?”
March 15th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
I, too, would like to know what they are looking at….if you have the form completed and the copies of the supporting documents, what else do they review? It would be great of someone who recently had an inspection could let us know how it works.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I-9’s are just more paperwork and headaches for company’s so we can create and maintain jobs for people in Washington DC. Some of whom are probably illegals as well!
Illegal aliens can easily obtain documents that look like the real thing! Right?
So how is this going to help reduce illegal employment? We may eventually catch an illegal if SS remembers to send us a report now and then, however, this is not a good method for preventing the hire of illegals.
The next stupid thing will be the Senate allowing illegals to receive Social Security benefits! Imagine that. Do you think that anyone in Washigton has any common sense?
March 15th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
A few years ago I worked for a staffing agency. I had an employee that after hiring him I realized that his paperwork and social security number were false. I contacted the Social Security office and they said just to have him come down to their office. Of course when I told him this he quit showing up for work and was never seen again. I tried repeatedly to report him to different goverment agencies and was unable to ever get in touch with anyone who wanted to do anything about it.
I guess back then they were not so worried about it. Now, the goverment is just looking for ways to get more money.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Right. Get more money. Or find the alien to sign him or her up to vote…Democrat.
March 16th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
One thing that’s helped me a lot with this is that you can scan the paperwork to .PDFs and store it on CDs. If they come in for an audit, burn them a copy of the CD and let them go at it. Each I9 file has the form, the proof, and the MN reporting requirement, filenamed as Last, First YY-DDMM. A lot of the new photocopier will do a scan to e-mail, which is how I get the paper into .PDF format. I usually store them on my computer for six months or so, then burn the CD of the recent ones, date it and store it. Once a year, I take all the CDs and combine them on one disk. The process takes less time than it takes to write down, once you’ve done it a time or two. And if they ever come in for the records, I have them in a decent format that won’t require me to haul boxes from storage to a conference room!
March 16th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
About 10 years ago my records were reviewed by the INS (back then that’s what it was called). They came in with 5 inspectors, took copies of the I9’s and the supporting documentation, and then took it back to their offices to run a check on all the social security numbers and alien registrations. The outcome was some people were deported and the company incurred fines. The best thing to do is run a SSN check on a new hire within 3 days of hiring to find those with forged cards. Lessons were learned by all, and I always make sure the I9 is correct in every way or it’s done over, correctly.