Form I-9 Compliance

A Minnesota Staffing Form was recently ordered to pay over $227,000 in fines for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act. These fines included $935 each for 242 false attestations, along with one fine in the amount of $981 for failure to present an I-9 Form for a particular employee.

The Firm in question would ask employees to present their supporting documents in Texas, then personnel in Minnesota would sign Section 2 of the I-9 Form without seeing the employees in person. The problem with this is that by signing Section 2 of the I-9 Form, you are saying that you have reviewed in person the employee documents while with that employee. Section 2 of the current I-9 Form states, "I attest, under penalty of perjury, that (1) I have examined the document(s) presented by the above-named employee, (2) the above-listed document(s) appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee named, and (3) to the best of my knowledge the employee is authorized to work in the United States." (Emphasis added.)

Simply put, DO NOT sign your name to Section 2 if you have not examined the supporting documents in the employee's presence. It is unfortunate for the Minnesota company in question, but we can learn from their mistakes.

Labels: California E-Verify, e-verify, Fines, Form I-9 Violations, i-9, I-9 Fines, I-9 Form, ICE, Minnesota, USCIS

Labels: California E-Verify, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, e-verify, Form I-9, immigration, immigration and customs, Immigration Customs Enforcement, Nebraska, Nebraska E-Verify, Nebraska Immigration, RIDE