Feds launch nationwide I-9 audit
July 10, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Employment law, Hiring, Immigration, Records documentation, Special Report
To further prove that immigration reform is still on the front burner, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced its plan to implement a nationwide audit of employer I-9s.
ICE announced that it’s drawing up Notices of Inspection to review the I-9 records of 652 employers — names not released yet. In some instances, the notices will include subpoenas for records such as
- quarterly wage reports
- EINs
- business licenses
- correspondence from Social Security Administration regarding no-match letters, and
- payroll data.
Employers whose I-9-related records don’t pass muster with ICE will then receive Notices of Intent to Fine. Also in the announcement, ICE officials said the audit is just a “first step,” so employers probably can expect more audits and inspections.
What happens if you’re contacted for an audit? Make sure you know:
- The name and contact information of company legal counsel. If the company’s legal counsel is not in-house, there should be written instructions for personnel to contact outside counsel immediately.
- Who, in HR or otherwise, will be the the company’s representative for the ICE investigation or audit. You’ll want all communication with ICE channeled through that person to avoid redundancy or contradictions in information.
- The names of company managers who should be informed of an ICE investigation or audit.
And keep in mind:
- An investigator may contact you and ask for an interview, but you have the right to refer the investigator to an attorney.
- An investigator has no right to files and records without a search warrant or subpoena.
- Once you’re informed of an intent to investigate, take special care to secure all related records. Destruction or loss of records after notification could be seen as an attempt to destroy evidence or sabotage the investigation.
Tags: audit, I-9, ice, immigration and customs enforcement
July 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am
As the first and only financial institution in the USA to have become a full partner in the IMAGE program (Department of Homeland Security) our credit union has nothing to fear. For those of us that follow the existing laws there is no reason for concern. I have spoken to groups of employers in this industry and they seem to fear ICE, and that fear is without grounds. ICE is not the enemy here! If interested in learning “best practices” concerning the I-9 process please do yourself and your employer a favor and visit the website at http://www.ice.gov/image ! They are there to help those of us that are trying to be compliant with the law. If your intent is to be compliant they will assist you. This program was started BEFORE the current Director was put in place, so you can be sure it is a great program.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Good to know
July 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry are livid!
July 13th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Exactly Pat. Our company practices good, solid hiring policies as well, and if ours is a company chosen, I’m confident that we’ll pass any examination. It’s the companies who knowingly violate the law or don’t follow up on their ‘no-match’ letters who should be concerned.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
[...] Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to implement nationwide audit of employer I-9s. ICE announced that it’s drawing up Notices of Inspection to review the I-9 records of 652 employers — names not released yet. In some instances, the notices will include subpoenas for records such as quarterly wage reports, EINs, business licenses, correspondence from Social Security Administration regarding no-match letters, and payroll data. Employers whose I-9-related records don’t pass muster with ICE will then receive Notices of Intent to Fine. ICE officials also said the audit is just a “first step,” so employers probably can expect more audits and inspections. Tags: audit, employers, I-9s, payroll, records Posted under Uncategorized by hrsource [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 8:12 am
I follow the laws but I think the wording on the retention of I-9’s is misleading. Why would it say I-9’s must be stored for 3 years after the date you hire an employee when in reality you must keep them until one year after they terminate employment? They could be employed for thirty years and retire and you must keep that I-9 for one year after they retire. Am I the only one having a problem with this?
July 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Has anyone identified the best method for storing and retaining I-9’s? With the retention period of three years after the date of hire or one year after they terminate, I’m confused how to best store these. Should we keep binders by year of I-9’s for all new hires? I’m looking for suggestions.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Margaret, I keep the I-9’s for current employees alphabetically in one binder, and the terminated employees in another. I sort the term’d employees I-9’s alphabetically by the date that I can toss the form. I figure out the retention date and write that really small on the bottom of the form, and file them away. That way, I can go through it every few months and it’s easy to toss the ones I don’t have to keep any more.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Anne, I think you’re misunderstanding the retention guideline. It is 3 years or 1 year after termination, whichever is longer. In other words, if you have an employee who is only with your company for 6 months, you would be required to retain the original Form 1-!-9 for an additional 2 and a half years after termination (to equal a full three years), NOT one year.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Tanya,
I think you are right, I am misunderstanding the guideline. Thank you for the interpretation, now I do understand why they have 3 years in as a guideline. I was thinking why do they have 3 years in their when you really have to keep them until one year after termination.
July 19th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Margaret — I scan all I9’s to Acrobat format as part of the hiring process. It’s OK to do that and keep them in that format instead of paper. Process uses our copier/scanner to e-mail them to me and I archive them to CD once a year right after our big hiring push. The CD goes into a file and takes up a lot less space than the paper would. Also a LOT easier to find specific individuals that way. Sorting’s easier too. And if we get audited, I can burn a copy for the auditors rather than hauling out stacks of paper (then re-filing them).