IT and Financial Industry Targets of Latest I-9 Inspections

The Obama administration is conducting a new round of I-9 inspections, this time targeting two of the hottest areas for contract staffing.According to The Wall Street Journal, 1,000 employers across the United States were notified that they would be subject to the I-9 inspections. This newest wave of inspections is focusing on employers of ALL sizes, particularly those in areas of “critical infrastructure and key resources,” such as information technology and financial services, two areas that are popular for contract placements.These “silent raids” as they are often called are the Obama administration’s method of choice for cracking down on illegal immigration. Since October when the fiscal year began, 2,338 of these inspections have been conducted.But House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith called the audits ineffectual because the illegal workers are not deported. Instead, the employers are penalized and forced to fire the illegal workers, leaving them free to find other employers willing to hire them illegally. Smith has introduced a bill that would require employers to use E-Verify to check employees’ work eligibility.Even if no illegal immigrants are employed, these audits can result in hefty fines for the most minute of I-9 mistakes. If you are running your own back-office for contractors, you are responsible for making sure I-9s are completed properly, and you will be the one who will have to produce I-9s and payroll records if there is an audit. And, if E-Verify becomes mandatory, you will have to become certified and will have to take the extra step of running all your contractors through the system.When you utilize a contracting back-office such as FoxHire, you shift those responsibilities to the back-office. FoxHire is already E-Verify compliant and runs all contractors through E-Verify. As the government’s crackdown continues, you can breathe easy knowing your contacting back-office is on top of all I-9 and E-Verify issues.