I was one of 3 compliance auditors who reviewed over 7,000 I9 documents from an agricultural farm in Florida in 2012. We were hired when the company was audited for I9 document violations and possible violation for hiring illegal immigrants. It was the start of when regulatory agencies were cracking down on immigration hiring and the abuse of immigrants. The company, a strawberry farm in Lakeland, Florida paid over $350,000 in fines and then agreed to have Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the enforcement arm, conduct an audit of all their I9 documents for the past 5 years.

It was during this intense audit that I learned some of the details and idiosyncrasies of I9 document corrections and what ICE determines as compliance. The 3 auditors were in communication with ICE during the initially 2 weeks then expanded to almost 3 months. After the 2 weeks, the other auditor left and we were left with 2 auditors who maintained the intense review until 3 months. Because of this internal review and agreement, the strawberry farm had with DHS, the fines were reduced to $150,000 with an ongoing audit for the next 5 years. Here is where I learned that I9 documents can be an easy way for DHS to identify fines and penalties. There is no reason to give any regulatory entities free money in violations and fines.

On June 30, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued several rulings outlining several civil penalties increases, ranging from small hikes to doubling penalties. This started with Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act signed into law in November 2015. This ruling also adds a catch-up adjustment as well as annual adjustments. Not only does this ruling impact all Immigration processes but it will impact the number of fines and penalties that Employers must pay if they are audited for I9 documentation but also will impact most Immigration processes and regulations.

Many Employers take the risk or are unaware the I9 documents penalties and fines. Moreover, Employers are under the impression that I9 document violations are low risk because “who is going to tell?”. Well I am here to tell Employers that anyone can make a claim or complaint and it doesn’t even have to be true. Additionally, now the regulatory agencies are communicating more than ever before. The Department of Labor (DOL) communicates with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), the DHS communicates with Child Support Services and on and on, it isn’t hard to imagine news getting out to target Employers however, research has proven that most complaints come from disgruntled employees and others come from audits of target industries.

Course Objective:

• Learn what types of errors have the highest fines;
• Ensure you have the most current I9 forms that is required;
• What has changed in the most recent focus with the new political administration?
• What is the right way to correct I9 documents and save your company from unnecessary violations?
• What is the minimal risk Employers have when establishing an I9 document Correction & Storage Process?
• How should I9 documents be effectively corrected?
• How long should I9 documents be retained for active and terminated employees?
• Why are most Employers unclear about completing the new I9 form?
• Why are most HR professionals or those responsible for processing I9 documents still violating the request for documents section?
• What can you do if you have remote employees when it comes to I9 forms?

Course Outline:

• 2017 I-9 Form changes
• How to develop an I9 Policy that will withstand ICE scrutiny?
• Create a memo for changes and errors that will ensure compliance
• What do you do when you have employees out of state?
• Did you know you can be charged with discrimination if you over document employees?
• When do you have to reverify documents?
• When do you make changes to the I9 form when it comes to marriage or name changes?
• Why does a payroll register document part of the documents that ICE requests when you are audited?
• Can you backdate a correction?
• Can you discard I9 documents that are old?
• Storage of I9 documents. Binder or Folder?
• Can you store I9 documents electronically?
• What about E-Verify? Is your company required to use E-Verify? If not, what are the pros and cons?
• Have the tools you need to develop your I9 document correction policy & process and storage and retention process
• And much more…………….

What You Get:

•  Training Materials
•  Live Q&A Session with our Expert
•  Participation Certificate
•  Access to Signup Community (Optional)
•  Reward Points

Who Will Benefit:

• Human Resources professionals
• Compliance professionals
• Office Managers
• Hiring Managers
• Employers
• Managers/Supervisors
• Executives
• Business owners
• Professional who are responsible for hiring and on-boarding new hires
• Anyone responsible for completing I-9 forms for their companies