While many American businesses are being extra diligent in an effort to stay Form I-9 compliant, a recent ICE raid in Mississippi has many companies doubling down on those efforts with a renewed sense of urgency.
In August of 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided a handful of Mississippi food processing plants. The sweep yielded an estimated seven hundred undocumented workers whose cases are to be reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security.
With the incidence of government investigations into I-9 compliance almost quadrupling in recent years, businesses simply cannot afford to be cavalier with their record keeping. In an effort to be proactive, many companies are enlisting the help of digital I-9 software to minimize the common pitfalls associated with being found non-compliant and hopefully avoid negative outcomes in a situation like the ICE raid in Mississippi.
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How can companies become Form I-9 compliant?
With the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, it became law for companies nationwide to require employees to fill out a Form I-9, which is designed to verify an individual’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States.
The Form I-9 is a basic form with three main sections, each of which has a unique set of instructions and set of deadlines.
- Section One: This part of the form requires employees to supply basic personal information the form requires by the first day of employment. Employers must ensure that the form is fully completed and that there are no blank or partially completed fields.
- Section Two: This second section mandates that employees provide required Form I-9 identification documents within three business days of an employee’s first day on the job. Employers are then required to, in good faith, review the documentation for authenticity.
- Section Three: The last section of the Form I-9 is geared toward reverification and rehires. If an employee has a name change or an expired work authorization, or if the employee is rehired within three years of the date on the original Form I-9, this section must be completed.
While at a glance the Form I-9 may not sound intimidating to employers, consider that in an effort to help guide employers the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has drafted a Handbook for Employers that is roughly one hundred pages long.
The failure to fully complete the Form I-9 and meet the stated deadlines can result in a business being found not compliant with proper form procedures. These sometimes simple mistakes can yield serious consequences during audits, or in the event of an ICE raid, devastating consequences as happened in Mississippi.
Because of the complexity of the Form I-9 and risk of common errors, businesses are increasingly turning to additional resources such as digital I-9 software. These programs are designed to streamline the Form I-9 process for employers, as well as minimize the opportunity for human error. Companies that utilize Form I-9 resources effectively may be able to avoid a negative outcome in the event of an ICE audit or raid.
How Digital I-9 Software Can Help Prepare for Audits and Raids
Digital I-9 software is quickly becoming an asset for both large companies and small businesses. The software’s goal is to give employers an added peace of mind regarding the Form I-9 process and staying compliant. There are several things companies should expect from digital I-9 software:
- Checklists for employees. The software program should contain a printable checklist of information that employees will be required to know for the first day of employment. This sneak peek of sorts allows employees to be more adequately prepared and can leave less room for guessing or error.
- Checklists for employers. The software should also feature an employer checklist to help closely follow the status of each employee’s form progress.
- Basic error alerts to catch common human errors such as incomplete or blank fields and missing signatures.
- Expiration alerts. Digital I-9 software should assist employers in keeping track of expired Form I-9 documents. This should provide employers with advance notice of an employee’s soon-to-be-expired documents so that the parties can work together to update said documents. This should help keep expiring documents from becoming an impediment to being I-9 compliant.
- Convenient Reporting. A high end software program should specialize in digitizing documents and tracking those that must be retained and those that must be destroyed. The system can also generally assist with centralized reporting that allows employers to provide Form I-9 information quickly in the case of an audit.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
If a company is found to be non-compliant for the Form I-9 process, consequences can vary. However, it is worth noting that violations are issued on each case of non-compliance that is found. If a business has multiple employees that are found to be non-compliant, the penalties can stack up quickly and produce devastating effects.
Criminal violations can be issued to companies with documented patterns of recruiting, hiring, or referring employees not eligible to work in the U.S. Civil violations tend to deal with hiring or continuing to hire an unauthorized alien, committing document abuse or fraud, discrimination, and more offenses.
Depending on the number of violations and the penalties that they carry, consequences could result in heavy fines, a loss of workforce, or possibly even the loss of a business license. Each of these situations can negatively impact a company’s bottom line and overall morale.
How Digital I-9 Software Can Help Prepare for Audits and Raids
Digital I-9 software is quickly becoming an asset for both large companies and small businesses. The software’s goal is to give employers an added peace of mind regarding the Form I-9 process and staying compliant. There are several things companies should expect from digital I-9 software:
- Checklists for employees. The software program should contain a printable checklist of information that employees will be required to know for the first day of employment. This sneak peek of sorts allows employees to be more adequately prepared and can leave less room for guessing or error.
- Checklists for employers. The software should also feature an employer checklist to help closely follow the status of each employee’s form progress.
- Basic error alerts to catch common human errors such as incomplete or blank fields and missing signatures.
- Expiration alerts. Digital I-9 software should assist employers in keeping track of expired Form I-9 documents. This should provide employers with advance notice of an employee’s soon-to-be-expired documents so that the parties can work together to update said documents. This should help keep expiring documents from becoming an impediment to being I-9 compliant.
- Convenient Reporting. A high end software program should specialize in digitizing documents and tracking those that must be retained and those that must be destroyed. The system can also generally assist with centralized reporting that allows employers to provide Form I-9 information quickly in the case of an audit.
While companies cannot necessarily avoid being subject to an audit or raid like the ICE raid in Mississippi, companies can operate with more confidence by reviewing and following proper Form I-9 protocol and enlisting the help of extra resources, such as digital I-9 software.