Wheels of Justice

Are you my employee? Check ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

Remember back in grade school when all the girls were sending notes to the boys that asked something like, “Do you like Sally Jones? Check the box ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’” and the note had boxes for you to check and return to the person who passed it to you?

Wouldn’t it be great if determining whether Joe Smith was a legitimate applicant for a job or not was as easy as checking the box ‘Yes’ or ‘No?’ Employers and attorneys must know the existing employment verification requirements, how to comply with them and how to deal with the various arms of the government, such as the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Every employer in the U.S. is required to complete and retain the form I-9 for each and every individual they hire for employment. Form I-9 requires employers to verify the employment eligibility and identity of individuals seeking employment. On the back side of form I-9 is a list of acceptable documents the employee can provide to meet the federal requirements. The employer must review and verify the documents provided and sign off that they have done so.

Are employers required to get a form I-9 on each employee of the independent contractor? The answer is no. It is the responsibility of the independent contractor to have the I-9s on file.

Penalties for failure to follow the law and regulations can be as high as $11,000 for each unauthorized individual for immigration issues and up to $1,100 for each individual in violation of the form I-9. Criminal penalties of up to six months in jail, along with possible Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges are possible for companies that show a pattern and history of hiring unauthorized people.

What is a responsible company to do to protect themselves from charges of hiring unauthorized people? I would document every step taken to follow the form I-9 verification. I’d also run each prospective employee through a social security check with the government or hire an outside group to verify I-9 compliance.

Employee verification will grow in importance, because the government has found a new way to bring in more money. Every time ICE seizes illegal aliens, politicians marvel at how efficient it is to collect money and show the public they are doing something about illegal immigration. Let’s face it, illegal immigration is a big issue, and it will get even larger with the presidential elections set for 2008.

Jim C. Klepper is president of Interstate Trucker Ltd., an organization that provides legal defense protection to commercial drivers. Jim is a lawyer who focuses on transportation law and the trucking industry in particular. He works to answer your legal questions about trucking, and he holds his Commercial Drivers License.