HUMAN RESOURCES: Have you broken federal law?
by Char Coburn
June 1, 2008
Using the new I-9 Form for employee identification is not just a good idea; it will keep employers from having to spend time in jail
If you haven’t been using the new form I-9 since
Dec. 26 of last year, you’ve been in violation of the law. The United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services branch of Homeland Security announced in
November that the new form was available and was to be put into use. This is
the first major change to the form in 20 years.
If
I’ve put you into a panic, set aside the reading of this column and go to your
computer. But, please do come back as I have some more information that you
will find valuable. Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat downloaded, as you will
need it to see and print out the forms. Get online and go to the official Web
site: www.USCIS.gov. When the site comes up, click on “Immigration Forms” at
the top of the page. Some introductory information will appear below, which is
a very long list of available forms. The list is alpha-numeric, so keep
scrolling until you get to the first “I” form, then slow down. When you get to
the I-9 form, stop. On the left side of the list, the actual names of the forms
are listed. You need to click on “Employment Eligibility Verification.” If you
have an older version of Adobe, it may give you a message that you need to
update — I got the message, but I was still able to open the documents and
print them.
Catching up with the times
As the Web site instructs,
you may use photocopies of the form that you printed. You must include both
sides of the form, and every employee that you hire must be given a copy of the
instructions. The form itself is easier to read, and important areas have been
printed in a larger font, which is very good. The other biggest change is in
the list of documents that you may accept to establish that each employee you
hire, citizens or non-citizens, are authorized to work in the United States.
I’m quite certain that you’re aware, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you: it is
illegal to discriminate against any individual, other than an alien not
authorized to work in the United States, in hiring, discharging, recruiting or
referring for a fee because of that individual’s national origin or citizenship
status. In other words, it is illegal to discriminate against work-eligible
individuals. In addition, you cannot specify which documents you will accept. I
suggest you take the time to become familiarized with the changed list. Once
the form is completed, you must retain it for three years after the date of
hire or for one year after the date of employment ends, whichever is later.
This hasn’t changed. All of the instructions for employers and employees are
included in the documents you can download and print.
The immigration issue is huge, so to be sure that I had a handle on it, I spent
almost a full day at a seminar presented by the Nevada Association of Employers
and the Northern Nevada Human Resources Association. We had some great
presenters: Gregory White, Resident Agent in Charge for Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) for Reno; Patricia Haim, attorney at law, an immigration
issues expert; Michael Rank, attorney at law with the Office of Special
Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice; and Jacqueline Longnecker, president of
employment verification resources. They know their stuff and conveyed it so we
could understand it.
Cracking down
Enforcement is taking a
more active role than they have in some time. In 2004, they arrested 86 and
levied fines of $45,485. The first three quarters of 2007 saw 4,077 arrests and
over $30 million in fines. Another change in the system includes arrests that
can lead to felony convictions. In Arkansas, seven human resources employees were indicted; two have pleaded guilty
and have prison sentences.
As in 1986 when the first I-9 appeared, human resources departments are in the
forefront. The government is offering some programs that should be helpful,
however. The Social Security Administration will still verify social security
numbers. The Department of Homeland Security has two programs: E-Verify that
will assist with social security numbers and names through their files or
those of the SSA; and the DHS-IMAGE Program, a co-operative that requires more
exchange of information between employers and DHS. I suggest you research them
to find which one works best for you. In addition, we were given some tips that
will help us to identify valid immigration cards. A good idea would be to
contact your local ICE and seek that information.
I have just begun, with the help of our invaluable administrative assistant, an
audit of all of our I-9s. We need to make sure we have the correct documents in
the proper columns on the form. The importance of recording the hire date was
stressed because the form must be completed within three days of that date. I
got a strong feeling that enforcement audits were going to be on the rise in
the near future.
The USCIS Web site has a
wealth of information. Because we’re going to be held accountable for hiring
ineligible workers, and I, for one, have no desire to spend time in prison, and
I doubt that you want to either, we must do everything we can to protect our
businesses. The Web site is a good place to start. At the seminar, Longnecker
stated, and gave each of us a button that said, “No Excuses.” No more excuses
for poor hiring practices.
Char Coburn
char@bonanzacasino.com
Char Coburn is the director of human resources for the Bonanza Casino in Reno.
She has been at the casino for the
past 20 years and is a human resources
generalist who wears many hats.
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