I-9 Forms: Employer Liabilities and Possible Violations

I-9 forms are the basic building block for an employer to meet their obligation of only hiring workers who are authorized to work in the U.S.

"The purpose of the I-9 form is to help police the U.S. work force. Employers are responsible for checking a person's immigration status to make sure that they're authorized to work." Valentine Brown explained in a recent BLR webinar. This came into the law in 1986. Before then, there were no restrictions on hiring undocumented workers. The completion of the I-9 form allows employees to comply with the law (it is, in fact, a legal requirement to complete it).

I-9 Form Completion: Civil Violations and Penalties for Not Following the Law

An employer has a liability to only hire workers with authorization. The employer can actually face several charges for missing steps in this process. These are the violations that employers can be charged with:

• Knowing hire (employing foreign national knowing he/she is not work authorized)
• Continuing to employ a foreign national once the employer has learned that he or she is not work authorized
• Failure to complete (or failure to properly complete) the I-9 forms
• Making false statements on the I-9 form, such as back dating the form to make it look as though it were completed on time when it was not

The penalties for hiring an unauthorized worker range from $275 to $16,000 per worker. For paperwork violations, the penalties can range from $110 to $1,100 for each I-9.

I-9 Form Completion: Criminal Violations for Not Following the Law

In addition to the civil violations, there are also potential criminal violations that employers can be charged with for violations in the I-9 process.

"The government takes I-9 compliance very seriously. Criminal charges can be possible against owners, managers, and HR for certain kinds of violations." Brown warned. "These are just some of the things that have been used by federal prosecutors to really throw the book at employers who have flagrantly violated the I-9 laws."

Here are some examples:

• Identity theft
• Fraud and misuse of immigration documents
• Misuse of Social Security card
• Smuggling, harboring unlawful aliens
• Document trafficking
• Money laundering
• RICO violations (RICO is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law)

Correct and timely completion of the I-9 form is the key to avoiding these outcomes. Be sure to understand the process and your obligations within the law.

For more information on I-9 forms and the penalties for violations, order the webinar recording of "Immigration Recordkeeping: Best Practices for Completing and Storing I-9s." To register for a future webinar, visit http://store.blr.com/events/webinars.

Attorney Valentine A. Brown, a partner at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, serves as global immigration law counsel to a diverse group of multinational and domestic corporations and their employees. She provides advice, compliance audits, and representation to help navigate the intricacies of U.S. and foreign immigration laws.