Immigration Attorney Karen-Lee Pollak provides nine tips to pass the I-9 ICE test in this week's issue of Texas Lawyer.
Under President Barack Obama's administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has shifted its enforcement focus away from the worker and toward the employer. This has increased worksite investigations and the levy of substantial fines, penalties and criminal charges. If that weren't enough for the legal department to worry about, shareholders may bring director-and-officer civil suits connected with the company's hiring of undocumented workers or alleging inadequate due diligence of an acquired or merged company's immigration procedures.
Federal law requires employers to verify all new employees' employment eligibility within three business days of hire by completing and retaining Form I-9. Employees must complete the form within 24 hours of hire. While on its face the form appears quite simple, it can be confusing and difficult to complete. Given that, what lessons can in-house counsel learn to help their companies avoid punitive fines for faulty recordkeeping?
