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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the new I-9 form, what an I-9 form is, and the penalties for non-compliance. The penalties, both civilly and criminally, are becoming too severe to ignore. Civil fines for employers can range from $3200 (per violation) for a first offense to $16,000 (per violation) for a third or subsequent offense. All company representatives verifying employment eligibility of employees are potentially liable, both criminally and civilly, for errors in completing I-9 Forms.

So what can U.S. businesses do to mitigate exposure stemming from their I-9 programs? It is imperative, now more than ever, that employers implement I-9 Compliance Plans providing four primary tools to mitigate potential liability.

Tool 1: Proper I-9 Training
The majority of Form I-9 errors have little to do with unauthorized workers and more often involve a lack of proper training resulting in inadvertent errors. Errors are also often a result of a lack of understanding of Immigration Documents such as Nonimmigrant and Immigrant visas, Employment Authorization Documents, and Permanent Resident Cards.. Knowing which documents are acceptable and which require re-verification in the future can be quite technical.

Tool 2: The Self Audit
Most often I-9 forms are completed, filed, and never reviewed thereafter. By conducting regular self-audits, employers not only strengthen their “good faith” compliance but provide themselves with the opportunity to evaluate their progress and identify areas of weakness requiring further training or amendment of their I-9 Compliance Program.

Tool 3: The Independent Audit
Because these issues can be highly technical, having regular independent I-9 Audits conducted by counsel not only greatly strengthens the employer’s “good faith” compliance, but provides further opportunity for review of procedures and error-spotting by an attorney with greater expertise in the field.

Tool 4: E-Verify
E-Verify (formerly the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Participating employers can check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee’s I-9 form against SSA and Department of Homeland Security databases.

Although in this age there is no absolute protection for employers against potential liability in connection with I-9 Compliance, these tools are vital in mitigating potential liability.

Tags: Department of Homeland Security, DHS, I-9, I-9 compliance, I-9 Form, Social Security Administration, SSA, USCIS

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 3:25 pm and is filed under business law, E-verify, employment law, I-9, I-9 compliance, immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.