By Brian Elfrink
The US Department of Justice published a revised fee schedule this week. Fines related to Form I-9 violations increased. Those fines are assessed on errors like missing or incorrect fields, dates beyond the allotted time for completion and incomplete or missing Forms I-9.
I-9 penalties assessed after January 29, 2018, have been adjusted for inflation. They now range from $224-to $2,236 per Form I-9. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) considers several factors when determining penalty amounts, including a good faith effort to comply. Being precise and avoiding repeated I-9 violations is an easy place to start. It is estimated that 60-80% of paper I-9s are likely to be flagged by ICE for problems.
Employers should review I-9 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manuals annually for accuracy and detail. An internal I-9 audit exercise will also help to find and correct mistakes. Doing so helps to show progress toward compliance, which may be considered “good faith” during an I-9 audit.
Moving to an electronic I-9 solution is a worthwhile consideration as fines and enforcement continue to increase. With a digital platform, employers can streamline and simplify the I-9 process across one location or many worksites. Register for our next I-9 Management demo to find out how we get employers on the road to I-9 compliance in as little as two weeks!