Mandatory employment verification on the
horizon.
Direct marketing organizations, like all businesses,
have been collecting I-9 information since the
original Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA)
of 1986, which made it illegal for employers to
knowingly hire unauthorized workers.
Although your attention may be focused on
your hourly workersótypically high turnover
individuals working in warehouse, distribution and
contact centersóall employees must meet the same
scrutiny.
Part of the IRCA created the I-9
document and the verification process employers must
follow today in order to avoid sanctions. This
verification process consists mainly of a physical
review of identification documents (e.g., a social
security card and a driver license) to establish
both the personís identity and the individualís
authorization to work in the U.S. In the 20 years
since passing of the IRCA, the process has changed
very little; however this basic and manual process
has inherent issues that can result in applicant
fraud and error. Recently, the topic of
immigration, and specifically illegal aliens, has
reached a fever pitch. With the coordinated
immigration protests across the country on May 1st
as one of its high points, the U.S. government has
been looking at the employment eligibility issue for
some time. It has recently taken steps towards
addressing the current challenges.
Step
#1
In December 2005, the House took action to minimize
illegal immigration by taking the first steps to
tighten border controls and stop illegal aliens from
obtaining employment in the U.S. The bill includes
statutes that require, within two years of the
legislation passing, all employers to perform an
employment eligibility check directly with the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for all new
employees, or face civil or criminal penalties for
hiring illegal workers.
Step #2
In April 2006, the Senate responded to the House
bill by sending a bill (S.2612) to the floor called
the ìComprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006.î
If passed, the DHS and the Social Security
Administration (SSA) will be required to implement a
countrywide I-9 Employment Verification database and
process. The bill also establishes steep civil and
criminal penalties for noncompliant employers.
What does this mean for you?
You would still be required to obtain a signed
I-9 form, backed by supporting documentation, from
each new employee. Whatís new is that you would
be required to also submit the new hireís
information to the DHS verification system within
three days of hire. Also, the law provides for
reassessment of all employees through the system,
regardless of hire date, to ensure eligibility to
work in the United States.
How does the
DHS I-9 Employment Verification work?
The
new hireís information is sent to the DHS database
and the system verifies eligibility to work in the
United States, verifies that the name and Social
Security Number match, verifies the Social Security
Number for wage reporting purposes, discourages the
use of false documentation and levies penalties for
the violation of hiring and/or employment
eligibility laws.
What if the result is negative?
If the DHS search returns as a non-verification,
the new-hire must be notified that their eligibility
status was deemed non-verified and be given the
opportunity to contest. If the applicant does not
contest in the time allowed, the non-verification
will be final. If they do contest, the verification
will remain tentative until that time the
eligibility is deemed either verified or
non-verified under further review.
Who must conform?
Until the new law is passed in Congress, I-9
Employment Verification is currently available in
all 50 states on a volunteer basis. If a company
decides to participate in the volunteer program, it
must screen all new-hires in a search conducted
post-hire, within three days of the employee's start
date.
While the program is still voluntary until the
act is passed, you can count on the fact that the
government is serious about illegal immigrants and
establishing a program to ensure that work
eligibility verification will happen soon. Thereís
every reason to believe that some version of the
ìComprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006î will
exist and companies should start planning to
implement an I-9 verification program in the near
future.
For more information on the summarized bill
ìComprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006,î
visit the Library
of Congress and search for S.2612.
You may also want to check out the services of
independent, third party employment verification and
screening providers. A few are listed in the top
left column of this article.
Much of the information contained in this
article was provided through the website of The US
Department of Labor, Employment Standards
Administration: Compliance AssistanceóImmigration
Reform and Control Act.
Executive Search International