Recently, there has been a huge upsurge in workplace raids by immigration in response to growing political pressure. Immigration is aggressively enforcing laws that are already on the books, which prohibit an employer from "knowingly" employing an unauthorized alien.
1
Do An Internal I-9 Audit Now
Don't wait for Immigration to raid your workplace or to send you a letter demanding to inspect your I-9 Forms within 72 hours to first review them. Do it now. Compare your payroll with your I-9 forms and make sure that you have an I-9 Form for all employees. Make sure that they all have been filled out correctly and completely.
2
Centralize the I-9 Process
Train 1 or 2 employees in the technical process of filling out I-9 forms. Then have them always be in charge of completing the I-9's , instead of random supervisors, who may or may not be familiar with the process.
3
Do Not Put the I-9's in the Employee's Personnel file
Keep the I-9 forms in a separate file. You don't want to have to turn over your employee's personnel files to Immigration, since they contain privileged information. (You can put a copy of the I-9 in the employee's personnel file, if you want, but keep the originals separate.¬)
4
Always Examine the Original Documents - Not Copies
It is critical that you examine the original document, "green card", drivers license or social security card, not a copy.
5
Copy the Front and Back of All Documents that were Examined, and Attach to the I-9
Although employers are not legally required to make a photocopy of the documents that they examined, doing so, demonstrates the employer's good faith, and if questioned, the employer can point to what documents they relied upon, even if they ultimately prove to be fraudulent.
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