E-Verify, No-match rule, U.S. Congress, U.S. Government - by John Fay - July 8, 2009 - Be first to Comment!
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that the Obama Administration fully supports the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule, which is currently slated to go into effect on September 8, 2009. Up until now, the Administration had not formally expressed an opinion on the rule, while pushing back the effective date several times this year.
“After a careful review, the Administration will push ahead with full implementation of the rule, which will apply to federal solicitations and contract awards Government-wide starting on September 8, 2009.”
As part of today’s announcement, DHS also indicated that it will rescind its controversial Social Security No-match regulation which would have required employers to undertake a series of steps for employees whose names and Social Security numbers do not match.
In related news, the Senate voted on (and passed) an amendment today, offered by Senator Sessions, to the DHS 2010 appropriations bill which would permanently reauthorize E-Verify and codify the Federal Contractor rule. The Senate now has to approve the entire DHS appropriations bill and reconcile it with the House version (which had only a 2-year extension of E-Verify and no Federal Contractor provisions).
Form I-9, ICE - by John Fay - July 7, 2009 - Be first to Comment!
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it had reached a $40,000 fine settlement with the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation for immigration hiring violations arising from an I-9 audit conducted in 2007. ICE initiated the I-9 inspection after receiving information from the local County Sheriff’s Office which indicated that Krispy Kreme was employing dozens of undocumented workers at one of their doughnut factories in Cincinnati. According to the ICE announcement, the company has agreed to revise its immigration compliance program and begin implementing new procedures to prevent future violations.
As previously reported, ICE announced a major shift in work site enforcement this year by focusing on employers who fail to properly complete the Form I-9. Last week, ICE issued I-9 audit notices to 652 employers across the country with a large percentage going to companies in the Los Angeles, California and Houston, Texas markets.
Enforcement, Form I-9, ICE - by John Fay - July 1, 2009 - Be first to Comment!
In a press release issued today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it is launching a bold new I-9 inspection program in order to promote employment eligibility compliance and ensure a legal workforce. As part of this new initiative, ICE issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 employers nationwide, which is more than they issued throughout all of last fiscal year. According to the press release, these employers were chosen for an audit based on investigative leads and other information. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigations, the names and addresses of the affected employers have not been released.
The new Assistant Secretary for ICE, John Morton, has made it clear that ICE is committed to worksite enforcement, and that employers should be held accountable for their hiring practices and procedures, which ultimately begin with the Form I-9. With increasing investigations on the rise, we’re also likely to see greater use of administrative fines and penalties, which can be costly to employers on a variety of fronts.
This new ICE initiative is clearly just one piece of the immigration and worksite enforcement puzzle, and it remains to be seen whether these audits will be confined to certain industries or will expand in scope. In the meantime, employers are strongly encouraged to review their current hiring practices and procedures, with a particular focus on completion and retention of the Form I-9. Tracker Corp has many freely available I-9 and E-Verify resources to get you started, while also introducing you to a more efficient and effective compliance tool.
E-Verify, USCIS - by John Fay - June 29, 2009 - Be first to Comment!
Here are the latest E-Verify facts, figures, and other notables as provided by the USCIS.
E-Verify Usage Statistics as of June 18, 2009:
- Over 130,000 participating employers
- Over 3.27 million queries run in FY 2007
- Over 6.6 million queries run in FY 2008
- Over 5.6 million queries run to date in FY 2009
Top Industries Using E-Verify:
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Administrative and Support Services
- Food Services, Clothing and Accessories Stores
- Funds, Trusts, and other Financial Vehicles
E-Verify accuracy statistics (based on program data from the third quarter FY2008)
- 96.1% Work authorized instantly or within 24 hours
- 3.9% received tentative non-confirmations
Of the 3.9% of cases that received a TNC, the vast majority (3.5%) result in a Final Non-confirmation. The remaining percentage (0.37%) were later confirmed as work authorized.
Form I-9, I-9 Software, USCIS - by John Fay - June 26, 2009 - Be first to Comment!
Today, the USCIS announced that employers can continue to use the current version of the Form I-9 (Rev. 2/2/09) beyond its expiration date of June 30, 2009. The Form I-9 is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the USCIS has requested that it be approved without any substantive change. Once approved, a new Form I-9 will be posted on the USCIS web site with a new revision and expiration date. According to today’s press release, employers will be able to use either the revised version or the current version of the form.
Employers using an electronic I-9 system will be largely unaffected by these developments as long as their system has the required fields and data elements of the current I-9 form and can reproduce a legible hardcopy in the event of an audit.
