Are You Ready for Your Notices of Inspection?
ICE served another round of inspections notices on November 4th. According to a statement released by the ICE department of public affairs:This type of action by ICE has become a last quarter tradition. It seems every year as the leaves fall off the trees and people begin thinking of turkey and cranberry sauce, ICE crashes the party by issuing inspection notices to hundreds of employers. These Notices of Inspection are demands for I-9 document records and give an employer a measly 3 days to collect and turn-over all of their current employees’ records as well as all of the employees who have been terminated within the last 3 years. Once ICE receives the Form I-9 records from the employer, the entire audit process can take a year or more to complete and culminate in a Notice of Intent to Fine which outlines every error and omission discovered by ICE during the review of the documents. Each error that cannot be corrected by the employer will be assigned a fine amount. Fines often total tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes employers pay in the millions! This is a cautionary tale. If your business did not receive a Notice of Inspection this month, count yourself lucky…but it is no time to relax! If history is any indicator, ICE will be back in the spring, issuing more notices and your business may very well be on their list. Taking a proactive approach to managing your I-9 compliance includes conducting a comprehensive audit. An experienced independent auditor can help you identify areas of non-compliance and assist you in developing a plan to repair the costly mistakes that are inevitable in most organizations. Statistically, when ICE investigates, they find errors on over 50% of the I-9s they audit and each one of those errors costs you money. Don’t be fooled into thinking you are immune from a worksite inspection because you are not hiring undocumented workers. Remember, ICE will inspect your I-9 process to be sure you are complying with the rules and regulations when you complete the I-9 form for each new hire. The inspection focuses on Form I-9 compliance, not on looking for illegal workers. You can help protect your business from the huge fines associated with an I-9 inspection by conducting an internal audit of your own I99 records BEFORE you are visited by government agents. Put this on your “To-Do List” and move it to the top. Spring will be here before you know it and the next round of Notices of Inspection will be issued. Will you be prepared or will you be sorry?“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to various employers on Friday, Nov. 4. These inspections are designed to determine whether or not the businesses are violating U.S. employment laws by hiring unauthorized workers. The names and locations of the businesses will not be released at this time due to the ongoing nature of the inspections.”
What Employers Need to Know About ICE Verification & Audits
Immigration and Custom Enforcement requires specific documents to complete their audits. This round of NOIs continues ICE’s trend to investigate employer’s compliance with federal immigration law through I-9 audits. The last round of NOIs was issued in February to 1,000 businesses. ICE has reported issuing over 2,300 NOIs to businesses this year. This is an increase from the reported 2,196 audits issued in fiscal year 2010 and the 1,444 audits in fiscal year 2009.” Would your company pass the ICE compliance audit?
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Has Not taken Their Summer Break on Enforcement
Immigration compliance is still top of mine with ICE. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement are taking more efforts to ensure that immigration laws are not being broken in the workforce. The ICE is continuing its thorough investigation of companies throughout the United States. If you’re a business, you need to be aware of the latest ICE efforts in order to protect yourself, your employees, and your company. Immigration compliance is an area companies should become familiar.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Immigration Paperwork Audit Catches Employers by Surprise
Immigration Customs Enforcement audits are surprising employers around the country. Until recently, Form I-9 infractions have not been top of mind because it’s just a one-page form filled out during the new hire process. The odds of an ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency) inspector showing up on your doorstep were miniscule. However, the risk has significantly increased over the last few years. ICE fines are costing businesses thousands of dollars per audits.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Is Your Company Prepared For I-9 Audits and Immigration Compliance?
Who in your company is the immigration expert? The first step in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) audit is the service of a Notice of Inspection demanding the employer produce the I-9’s for its employees within 3 days. ICE has subpoena power and typically a company will be compelled to produce a copy of the payroll, list of current employees, Articles of Incorporation, business licenses, and social security no-match letters (if any). You are placing your company at great risk if your not aware of immigration compliance.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Chipotle Restaurants Under the Microscope of ICE Nationwide
What Could Be the Company’s Elephant in the Room? I-9 Compliance
Many company’s don’t have a formal process for auditing their Form I-9’s. Which will cause problems for the company and management. 196 employers, owners, managers and supervisors were arrested last year because they ignored their Form I-9 problems. This wreaked havoc in their families and their finances. Could it happen to you? They could have had a much different story, they had contacted us.
The fact is, over 80% of employer I-9 Forms are flawed. You can’t afford to ignore this problem and hope you’re never audited by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Have an experts review your I-9 Forms today and set in motion a plan to address the entire process of the Form I-9.
http://www.auditi9.com/70/are-you-ignoring-the-i-9-elephant-in-the-room/
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
I-9s and E-Verify Crackdown on Violators – Be Aware
Form I-9 violators will have problems if they are not aware. Immigration compliance requires ever business to be aware of their legal responsibilities. Not knowing the regulations will be costly. In 2010, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted its highest number of I-9 audits ever. And many more audits are coming in 2011. It’s all part of the Obama administration’s “bold new audit initiative” to find and punish employers that violate immigration laws and fail to properly complete I-9s. If you are interested in this full article link below.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Companies Can Do To Reduce Their I-9 Liability?
Form I-9 violations are rampant in the workplace and upper management needs to be aware of it. Scheduling regular Form I-9 audits will help. Recently, in the course of one week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency charged with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws, instituted 1,000 new worksite investigations. Targeted industries included the usual suspects: food manufacturing, fast food, restaurants and agriculture. In Fiscal Year 2010, ICE collected more than $6.9 billion in civil fines resulting from worksite investigations. Criminal fines, restitution and forfeitures totaled more than $36 billion. If you are intereste in reading the entire article link below.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Chipotle Was Soft on Immigration, Said a Fired Employee
Is you company aware of the immigration regulations? If not, they could have an adverse effect on the bottom line. The hundreds of illegal immigrants recently fired from fast-growing burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc had a pretty good run when it came to job security.
Not only did some get jobs with fake Social Security numbers and few questions about their immigration status, in some cases they actually told managers point-blank their papers were no good. And they often stayed on for years. If you are interested in reading the entire article link to it below.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
