The Ins and Outs of I-9 and E-Verify: Best Practices to Avoid Steep Penalties

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not letting up. ICE has apparently resolved to continue auditing and inspecting employer compliance.

Correctly completing a Form I-9, that seemingly simple form, involves sifting through gray areas and often conflicting instructions that can prove to be a trap for the unwary, and often most well-intentioned employers. Even seemingly minor “paperwork” violations can land employers in hot water for non-compliance.

In this training session, we will cover what you really need to know about Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance as well as strategies for assessing hiring policies and implementing critical changes before ICE comes knocking on the door.

Key areas to be covered include, without limitation:

• Up-to-date I-9 compliance requirements
• Basic I-9 document review
• Recognize the effect of the new Form I-9 on hiring managers and field personnel
• Understand the new rules for acceptable documents used to verify employment eligibility
• E-Verify - pros and cons
• Understand the impact the new Form I-9 will have on the use of E-Verify
• Conducting a self-audit of your I-9 process
• How to avoid the common errors and omissions including recordkeeping errors
• Update on upcoming ICE I-9 audits
• Penalties for non-compliance
• Understanding civil and criminal penalties
• Walking the fine line between vigilance and illegal overstep when seeking proof of citizenship
• Establish best practices for reducing risks and correcting errors when using the new Form I-9

As they say, “The ICE man cometh”. Anyone can claim an employer has not complied with E-Verify and Form I-9 requirements—and worst of all; those claims don’t even have to be true to trigger an audit. If that’s not enough, government agencies are actually starting to “talk” to each other. For example, the US Department of Labor (DOL) communicates with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) communicates with Child Support Services and on and on.

Research shows, however, that audits are often triggered by complaints, which, in turn, most often come from disgruntled employees. Others come from audits of targeted industries. The point is that you cannot assume that you are immune from an I-9 audit.

Attending this webinar will help you understand how to correctly fill out the I-9, and if you have made any mistakes up until now, how to correct them. You will also learn of new developments and some best practices, which should save your company from steep penalties.

• HR Directors
• HR Practitioners at all levels
• Employers
• Hiring Managers
• Business Owners
• Senior Managers
• CFO’s
• E-Verify Users

Janette Levey Frisch, has over 20 years of legal experience, more than 10 of which she has spent in Employment Law. It was during her tenure as sole in-house counsel for a mid-size staffing company headquartered in Central New Jersey, with operations all over the continental US, that she truly developed her passion for Employment Law. Janette operates under this core belief: It is possible, and it is in an employer’s best interest, to proactively solve workforce challenges before they become problems, before they result in lawsuits or steep fines caused by government audits. Janette works with employers on most employment law issues, acting as the Employer’s Legal Wellness Professional — to ensure that employers are in the best position possible to avoid litigation, audits, employee relations problems, and the attendant, often exorbitant costs. Janette authors the firm’s weekly blog, where you can read each week, in plain English (not legalese) about issues impacting employers today. Janette has written articles on many different employment law issues for many publications, including EEO Insight, Staffing Industry Review, @Law, and Chief Legal Officer. Janette has spoken and trained on topics, such as Criminal Background Checks in the Hiring Process, Joint Employment, Severance Arrangements, Pre-Employment Screening among many, many others. Janette serve on the Workplace Violence Prevention Institute, a multi-disciplinary task force, dedicated to providing, holistic, proactive and cutting-edge solutions and resources for employers committed to ensuring a safe workplace.