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The Contra Costa Times reports that this month over 1,000 businesses will face forensic audits conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many businesses, e.g., those involved in the food supply chain, have been targeted because they are connected to public safety and to the United States’ “critical infrastructure.”
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (pdf) for the coming year. Rules addressing the H-1B lottery process and I-9 forms are among the Agency’s regulatory priorities. Continue reading about this development on Littler's Washington D.C. Employment Law Update blog.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 27 that the expiration date of the current version of the I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) form has been extended for three years, until August 31, 2012. This means that employers can use I-9 forms that have a revision date of either February 2, 2009, or August 7, 2009. The revision dates are printed in small type on the bottom right of the I-9 form.
As a reminder, employers generally must, within three business days of the date that a new employee begins working (on the first day of work for short-term employees), obtain a completed I-9 form and review original documents establishing the employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States.
To obtain Form I-9 and the Handbook for Employers (PDF), visit www.uscis.gov/i-9. Forms may also be ordered by calling the USCIS toll-free forms line at (800) 870-3676. In addition, employers may use photocopies of the I-9 forms.
This entry was written by Patricia Haim.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that it will begin to investigate workplaces in all 50 states to identify employers who are hiring undocumented workers. Specifically on July 1, 2009, ICE launched a comprehensive audit initiative and issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses nationwide. States are also beginning to increase their enforcement efforts so employers should take steps to ensure compliance with both federal and state immigration requirements. Continue reading Littler ASAP "Latest Developments in Employment Verification Enforcement" by Jorge R. Lopez, Chadwick M. Graham and Melissa M. Randall.
On July 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated a significant new audit initiative by issuing Notices of Inspection (“NOIs”) to 652 businesses, which is more in one day than ICE issued throughout the entire last fiscal year. ICE’s announcement of this action stated:
This new initiative illustrates ICE's increased focus on holding employers accountable for their hiring practices and efforts to ensure a legal workforce.
The NOIs alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations. The 652 businesses presented with NOIs for a Form I-9 audit were selected as a result of investigations; the names and locations of the businesses were not released.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS website will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009.
USCIS has requested that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the continued use of the current version of Form I-9. While this request is pending, the Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) will not expire.
When the extension is approved, USCIS will update Form I-9. Employers will be able to use either the Form I-9 with the new revision date or the Form I-9 with the 02/02/09 revision date at the bottom of the form.
Representatives Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) have introduced a bill that would establish a mandatory electronic verification system to take the place of E-Verify. As reported at Workforce.com, Giffords and Johnson hope their bill, the New Employee Verification Act, will either be the foundation for employment verification in a broader immigration bill or move through Congress on its own.
The proposed legislation would:
Giffords and Johnson have collaborated on the legislation with The HR Initiative for a Legal Workforce, which is led by the Society for Human Resource Management.
As discussed in our previous entry, the new Form I-9 (revision date 2/02/2009) is currently scheduled to go into effect on April 3, 2009. The new I-9 form is available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. The new I-9 and the interim rule creating it were originally published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2008, with a correction published on January 16, 2009. However, on January 30, 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that implementation of the new I-9 would be postponed until April 3, 2009. Notice of the delay appeared in the February 3, 2009 edition of the Federal Register. Continue reading Littler ASAP "Countdown to Effective Date of New I-9" by Jorge R. Lopez and Lisa A. Cottle.
On December 17, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule revising the Form I-9 and List of Acceptable Documents attached thereto. A correction was subsequently published on January 16, 2009, contributing to the confusion already surrounding the new form. DHS later posted the new I-9 at www.uscis.gov indicating that it must be used by all employers effective February 2, 2009. Consequently, numerous interest groups proposed that the implementation of the I-9 be delayed. Late in the afternoon on January 30, 2009, that request was answered – DHS filed a last minute notice announcing that implementation of the form would be postponed until April 3, 2009. Notice of the delay appears in the February 3, 2009 edition of the Federal Register.
The interim rule alters both the I-9 form and the List of Acceptable Documents by changing some of the language on the form itself and adding to and deleting from the List of Acceptable Documents. In Section 1, the employee portion of the Form I-9, DHS has amended the language to include a noncitizen national. A noncitizen national includes someone born in American Samoa, certain citizens of the Trust territories of the Pacific Islands, and some children of noncitizen nationals born outside the United States.
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