I-9 Compliance Updates

Over 1,200 Janitors in MN Fired after I-9 Audit by ICE

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:22:00 -0800

According to a story originally posted on the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) News website, more than 1,200 undocumented janitors in Minnesota were fired from their jobs in October after an I-9 audit by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in one of the largest immigration crackdowns under the Obama administration.

The janitors had been informed by their employer – ABM Janitorial Services – that ICE had found problems with their paperwork and that they had to bring in documents such as Social Security cards, green cards, and state IDs or be immediately fired, according to MPR. The janitor’s union worked with ABM and ICE to give employees more time to show proper documents, MPR reported, and they had until October, when workers who failed to show correct papers were fired.

Under the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is putting pressure on employers who break the law and has been aggressive in removing undocumented workers, according to MPR. In fiscal year 2009 (which ended in September) ICE deported 6,300 people from the region represented by Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Nebraska, 1,000 more people than during the last year of the Bush administration, MPR reported.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the DHS’s E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system and offers employers a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution that ensures compliance and avoids government audits. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar “E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts,” visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

ICE Using I-9 Audits to Crack Down on Illegal Immigration

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:53:00 -0800

An article in the Philadelphia Daily News – “Don't blame the workers. Blame the employers.” – reveals that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been cracking down on employers that they believe are fueling illegal immigration through stepped-up usage of I-9 audits.

Named for the I-9 form that employees have to fill out to verify that they are eligible to work in the United States, more than 650 I-9 audit “alerts” were issued by ICE nationwide in July to warn those businesses that they were facing an audit of their I-9 forms, the Daily News reported (ICE issued just over 500 I-9 audit alerts in Fiscal Year 2008).

In addition, the Daily News reported that an internal ICE memo made public emphasized that “criminal prosecution of employers is a priority” and that the full range of investigative techniques should be used including "Form I-9 audits."

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify system and offers employers a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution that ensures compliance and avoids government audits. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar “E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts,” visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

Poultry Plant Pays $1.5 Million to Government for Hiring Illegal Workers, Must Use E-Verify

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:11:00 -0800

A report from WSPA News Channel 7 in Spartanburg, South Carolina reveals that a poultry plant charged with hiring hundreds of undocumented workers has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the government to settle all criminal, civil, or administrative claims as a result of the investigation, and the company must use the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “E-Verify” employment eligibility verification program for all hiring as part of the agreement.

More than 300 workers at the Greenville, South Carolina facility of Columbia Farms were determined to be in the United States illegally during the raid in October of 2008, and those workers were deported, according to the WSPA News Channel 7 report. In addition, Columbia Farms and its affiliates will also have their criminal charges dismissed if they successfully meet the federal government’s requirements, WSPA News Channel 7 reports, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office says the actions called for in the agreement include the use of the DHS’s E-Verify employment eligibility verification program for all hiring.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the DHS's E-Verify system and offers employers with a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar “E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts,” visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

Statistics Show E-Verify Accuracy and Efficiency Improving

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:55:00 -0800

According to the "E-Verify Statistics" page on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, statistics based on fourth quarter Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 (July 2008 through September 2008) E-Verify program transactional data compiled by Westat, an independent research firm, shows:

96.9 percent of employees were automatically confirmed as work authorized either instantly or within 24 hours, requiring no employee/employer action, representing an improvement over the 96.1 percent statistic previously reported for the April through June 2008 time period.
3.1 percent of employees received initial system mismatches, also known as Tentative Non-Confirmations (TNCs). 0.3 percent of employees who received initial mismatches later confirmed work authorized after contesting and resolving the mismatch, while 2.8 percent of employees received Final Non-Confirmations (FNCs).

Westat also recently analyzed E-Verify queries and reported two positive developments that showed how enhancements continue to improve the accuracy and efficiency of E-Verify.

The previously reported 96.1 percent rate for automatic confirmation of work authorization was revised upward to 96.4 percent for the April through June 2008 time period.
July through September 2008 data demonstrated that 96.9 percent of queries were automatically confirmed as work authorized.

In addition, E-Verify's low mismatch rate dropped further when the program obtained access to the USCIS naturalization database records in May 2008, increasing E-Verify's ability to automatically verify naturalized citizens' status and reducing citizenship-related mismatches by 39 percent. Also, the recent inclusion of passport data in February 2009 further reduced citizenship-related mismatches for naturalized and derivative citizens.

USCIS will continue to implement enhancements to improve the instant verification rate for those people eligible to work in the United States and prevent false positives and negatives in the E-Verify system.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify system and offers employers with a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts," visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

Colleges and Universities with Federal Contracts must Learn E-Verify

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:50:00 -0800

The University of California (UC) and other institutions of higher education that hold federal contracts are now required to use the government’s E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of new hires and existing employees assigned to covered federal contracts or subcontracts, this according to a Human Resources and Benefits page on the UC website.

Since the federal rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system to verify their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States took effect September 8, the E-Verify requirements – which are in addition to current Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) procedures – must be done in a nondiscriminatory manner and, in the case of new hires, only after the individual has accepted an offer of employment and completed the Form I-9, the UC site reports.

The UC and other institutions of higher education are also required to post the Right to Work poster and the E-Verify Notice, which informs employees and applicants of their rights and responsibilities under the program, according to the site, and these notices should be posted on bulletin boards and on websites so they can be seen by employees and applicants.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify system and offers employers with a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts" at www.i-9compliance.com/Webinars, visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

Employers Should Prepare for Mandatory E-Verify

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:07:00 -0800

A special report in The Miami Herald, "Employers: Get ready for E-Verify," advises employers to start preparing for new immigration enforcement policies under the Obama administration, which include making E-Verify – the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) voluntary Internet-based employment verification system – mandatory for all employers in the United States.

The E-Verify program is quickly gaining popularity among legislators, according to the Miami Herald, and an improved version of E-Verify is likely to become mandatory for all employers since Congress has provided $5.4 billion to fund DHS's employment verification activities in the 2010 appropriations bill.

Run by the DHS's U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), E-Verify offers a glimpse into the future of immigration, the Miami Herald reports, and newly appointed head of USCIS Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters in September that the agency was preparing for the day when E-Verify becomes mandatory for all employers.

The report in the Miami Herald concludes that "with Congress having already invested significant time and resources to improve E-Verify, employers should expect that E-Verify, or some form thereof, will become mandatory in the near future, and they should start preparing now."

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with DHS's E-Verify system and offers employers with a paperless, web-based I-9 Form/E-Verify solution. For more information, view a complimentary on demand webinar "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts" at www.i-9compliance.com/Webinars, visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

E-Verify Program Gets Three Year Extension from Senate

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:58:00 -0800

The Arizona Republic reports that E-Verify appears likely to be extended after the Senate opted to maintain the program for three more years as part of a $44 billion funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which President Obama is expected to sign into law.

E-Verify, a federal program that allows employers to check if new hires are U.S. citizens or legal residents with permission to work in the U.S., uses the Internet to check databases maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS and, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), firms that use E-Verify are less likely to invest time and money in valuable employees who might end up getting deported.

According to the USCIS, around 1,000 employers sign up for E-Verify each week, nearly 161,000 employers and 623,000 worksites nationally use E-Verify, and more than 32,000 Arizona businesses that operate over 53,000 plants, offices, stores, and other sites participate in the voluntary E-Verify program.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the DHS's E-Verify system and provides employers with a paperless, web-based I-9/E-Verify solution. To view a complimentary webinar titled "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts" currently available for on-demand viewing, visit http://www.i-9compliance.com/Webinars. To learn more about I-9Compliance.com, visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

E-Verify Program Given Three-Year Extension

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:48:00 -0800

According to a report from Workforce Management, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a homeland security funding bill that would extend E-Verify, the government-run electronic employment verification system, for three years.

The provision to extend E-Verify for three years was included in a $42.8 billion appropriations measure the House approved that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year. The bill, which is expected to be approved by the Senate, allocates $137 million to improve E-Verify’s accuracy and compliance rates and $135 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire special agents for workplace immigration audits.

E-Verify, which checks employee information from I-9 forms against Social Security and homeland security databases, is used voluntarily by more than 148,000 employers. The Obama administration has made E-Verify the centerpiece of its efforts to increase work-site enforcement. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), E-Verify confirms nearly 97 percent of employment queries within 24 hours. The homeland security agency increased the reach of E-Verify in September by implementing a regulation that would make the system mandatory for federal contractors.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify system and provides employers with a paperless, web-based I-9/E-Verify solution. To view a complimentary webinar titled "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts" currently available for on-demand viewing, visit http://www.i-9compliance.com/Webinars. To learn more about I-9Compliance.com, visit www.i-9compliance.com, email info@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

WA County Implementing E-Verify Worker Eligibility System

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:33:00 -0800

As reported by TacomaWeekly.com, Pierce County in Washington state is participating in E-Verify beginning October 6 in order to ensure that those who work for the county are lawfully able to do so.

Effective October 6, applicants for county jobs are screened using E-Verify, a federal Internet database that instantly confirms whether or not job applicants have documents establishing their eligibility to work in the United States, and most businesses seeking to do contract work for the county are required to use the system for their own employees. Businesses also need to confirm they are enrolled in E-Verify if they are seeking road or other county public works contracts worth more than $100,000, and those applying for any other contract worth more than $25,000 must do the same.

E-Verify allows employers to electronically compare information taken from the federal Form I-9 – the paper-based employment form used for all new hires – against nearly 450 million records in the Social Security Administration database and 80 million records in the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration database.

tahearn@i-9compliance.com

“Top 10” Things Employers Need To Know About I-9/E-Verify Compliance

user.nospam@nospam.example.com (Tom Ahearn) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:26:00 -0800

Posted on CareerMag.com

Employers have many questions about I‐9 Form/E-Verify compliance and how a paperless Web-based I‐9 Form/E-Verify system solution can improve the efficiency of a company's employment eligibility verification program by reducing risk, eliminating errors, maintaining compliance, and ensuring jobs for legal workers. Here are the “Top 10” things employers need to know about I-9/E-Verify compliance.

1. What do employers need to fill out an I-9 Form?

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 requires employers to use the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form – also known as the “I-9 Form” – to verify the identity and work eligibility of all employees (hired after 11/06/1986) and to properly complete the form when they hire an employee to perform labor or services in return for wages. IRCA introduced the 1‐9 Form when it made hiring an illegal immigrant a criminal offense, and established penalties for doing so. “I‐9 Compliance” is a term commonly used to explain the requirements of an employer to verify the employment eligibility of an individual employee in the United States. The term takes its name from the form used in this process: the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form.

2. What Is E-Verify?

The E-Verify program was originally launched in 1997 with the full name of "Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program” as a voluntary employment eligibility validation program that involves verification checks by employers to determine an individual's right to work in the United States. This initiative is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the agency in DHS responsible for immigration services – administers the program, while the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces customs and immigration laws. Although the name has changed to E-Verify, some employers and business owners may still use its former name: “Basic Pilot Program.”

3. How Does E‐Verify Work?

E‐Verify is a free, voluntary, and Web-based program run by the U.S. government that helps employers verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. Operated by the DHS and SSA – and enforced by ICE – E‐Verify allows employers to electronically compare information from I‐9 Forms with millions of records in the SSA and DHS databases. Within three days of hiring an employee, the employer is required to enter information from the Form I-9 including the employee’s name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), and citizenship status, into E-Verify and submits a securely transmitted “query.” Within seconds, the employer receives a response. For those employees whose work authorization status can be verified immediately, the process ends there with a confirmation response. In a small number of cases, the system issues a “Tentative Non-Confirmation” (TNC). When TNCs are issued, employers must notify employees of the TNC and give them eight (8) business days to contest the TNC with the SSA. Until the TNC is resolved – even if it takes longer than eight days – employees cannot be fired or have any other employment-related action taken against them. If the employee fails to contact SSA within the eight day period, a Final Non-Confirmation (FNC) is issued by E-Verify and the employee should be fired.

4. How accurate is E-Verify?

E-Verify has proven to be over 99% accurate for all employees ultimately authorized to work. A government investigation of E-Verify in 2007 found 93% of employees queried through the system were verified within 5 seconds. Another 1.2% of employees were verified within 24 hours with no additional action required of either the employee or the employer. Most of the 5.8% of employees who received a tentative non-confirmation requiring more time turned out to be illegal aliens. Only 0.5% of the employees who were U.S. citizens or authorized foreign workers had to contact the Social Security Administration because of errors in the database. Overall, the 2007 study found that the accuracy rate of E-Verify was 99.5%. For the 0.5% who had to contact the SSA, many of the errors were ones that the workers themselves had made, such as a woman not notifying SSA of a change in her last name after a marriage. In addition, an independent study between April and June of 2008 by Westat found 96% of employees were verified instantly, 0.4% had to contact the government to resolve record errors, and 3.5% received final non-confirmations, meaning they were illegal aliens not having the legal right to work.

5. Do all U.S. employers have to use E-Verify?

The use of the E‐Verify system, while not currently mandatory for all U.S. businesses, is required in some form in certain states, and its use is encouraged by the U.S. government to help ensure a higher level of compliance. While E-Verify usage remains voluntary throughout the country, some states have passed legislation making its use mandatory for certain businesses, with others have legislation pending. Twelve (12) U.S. states – Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah – have some form of mandatory E-Verify laws.

6. What do Federal contractors and subcontractors need to know about E‐Verify?

Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the E‐Verify system starting September 8, 2009 to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. Federal contracts awarded and solicitations issued after September 8, 2009 will include a clause committing government contractors to use E‐Verify. The same clause will also be required in subcontracts over $3,000 for services or construction. Contracts exempt from this rule include those that are for less than $100,000. Companies awarded a contract with the federal government will be required to enroll in E‐Verify within 30 days of the contract award date. They will also need to begin using the E‐Verify system to confirm that all of their new hires and their current employees directly working on federal contracts are authorized to legally work in the United States.

7. When should the I-9 Form & E‐Verify employment verification process begin?

The employment eligibility verification process begins with the completion of the DHS's I-9 Form. This process must be completed within three (3) business days of the employee's start date. The employment eligibility verification process can be initiated before the employee's first day of work. However, the 1-9 Form cannot be completed until AFTER the individual has been hired. It is extremely important to note that the E‐Verify system CANNOT be used as a pre‐employment screening tool and must be conducted “post‐hire.” In addition, employers CANNOT terminate existing or potential employees over possible non‐confirmation of the data provided.

8. What happens after the I-9 Form has been completed?

Once the I‐9 From has been filled out completely, it must be submitted to the DHS for verification of the information provided by the employee. This can be done by using the E‐Verify System. The employer has a total of three (3) working days from the new hire's start date to complete and submit the Form I‐9. As noted above, the process can begin before the start date. However, it cannot be completed until the individual has been hired. Employers must keep every employee's I‐9 Form on file according to the following guidelines: any current employee hired on or after November 6, 1986 must have the form retained, and; forms for employees who are no longer employed may be purged three (3) years after the employee's start date or one (1) year after the termination date – whichever date is later.

9. What happens if employers are NOT “I-9 Compliant”?

The procedures listed in this article, established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), are closely monitored and enforced by the government. Non‐compliance can result in severe penalties and/or sanctions for any company, large or small, and can include fines, debarment from competing for government contracts, criminal prosecution, and seizure of company assets. Any business is subject to Compliance Auditing by the government. ICE has recently declared that it is strengthening its enforcement efforts against employers that knowingly employ illegal aliens. ICE is not only targeting employers, but is also holding accountable individual executives, managers, and former managers who actually hired the illegal workers. Non‐compliance could even include failure to properly maintain I‐9 documents on employees that are not aliens. Non‐compliance can result in fines anywhere from $100 to $10,000 per violation, and forfeiture of the company's assets. ICE will intensify efforts to crack down on companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants with help from the electronic verification system E-Verify.

10. What is the easiest way for employers to remain “I-9/E-Verify Compliant?”

The integration with E‐Verify can be time consuming and users within a company must undergo training and pass the online mastery test. This can take several hours per employee. Unfortunately, management of the data, reproduction of reports for audits, electronic storage of documents, pre‐set reminders for expiring documents, automatic notification of document expiration, and step by step instructions for filling out the form are not included with the system. The bulk of errors that occur with the employment eligibility process are a result of difficulties involved with document management. In addition, if the government audits a company they WILL NOT accept paper forms for medium and large companies, so employers must scan paper forms into .pdf digital formats and give them the auditors within a 72 hour period.

Companies may try to retain a thorough and accurate database of information on each employee in an attempt to comply with federal regulations. However, the intricacies within the guidelines of the ICE and ICRA are often complex and easy to misinterpret. Even the most careful program can fail to pass the scrutiny of government audits. To avoid audits, fines, penalties, and even possible jail time, many employers are turning to Third Party specialists to maintain I-9 Form/E-Verify compliance with the myriad of government regulations. Currently, only individuals and institutions certified by the U.S. government can utilize the E-Verify program. I‐9Compliance.com – a service for I-9 Form/E-Verify compliance offered by leading business solutions provider Pre-Employ.com – is a certified entity. All E‐Verify Third Party Agents must register online and sign a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

As outlined in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding, employers are liable for inappropriate use of E-Verify and need to dedicate sufficient resources so that the system is used correctly. Services like I‐9Compliance.com are designed to help employers meet complex and challenging employment eligibility requirements in a completely paperless environment. I‐9Compliance.com’s low‐cost, easy‐to‐use Web-based service walks employers through the entire employment eligibility verification process, makes anyone a Form I‐9/E‐Verify expert, and gives businesses the visibility and reporting needed to manage the program with confidence. I-9Compliance.com helps employers maintain full Form I-9/E-Verify compliance, reduce risks, eliminate errors, and ensure jobs for legal workers.

A designated E-Verify service agent, I-9Compliance.com — a member of the Pre-Employ.com Family of Companies — is pre-integrated with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify system. To view a complimentary webinar titled "E-Verify & Federal Contractors: Know The Facts" currently available for on-demand viewing, visit www.i-9compliance.com/Webinars. To learn more about I-9Compliance.com's E-Verify solution, visit www.i-9compliance.com, email sales@i-9compliance.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

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tahearn@i-9compliance.com