Employers Continue To Face Large Fines for I-9 Violations – $2 Million in Fines for a Hotel

Although the Form I-9 may on its face appear to be simple, it is imperative for employers and their human resource departments to ensure accuracy and full compliance with the Form I-9. Last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspected the I-9 Forms of 3,127 employers and issued over $15 million in fines. One employer, Grand America Hotels and Resorts, a hotel and resort operator with several properties throughout the western United States, learned just how serious ICE is over I-9 audits by facing $2 million in fines and forced to spend an estimated $500,000 to create an acceptable I-9 compliance program.

ICE began investigating Grand America in September of 2010, and quickly determined that they were employing 133 individuals without proper work authorization. Although Grand America complied with ICE’s request to terminate the employees, ICE’s subsequent investigation revealed a pattern of fraud that the hotel chain was participating in.   Of the 133 employees that the hotel chain terminated pursuant to ICE’s first investigation, 43 were rehired through the creation of three temporary staffing agencies the hotel chain created.   The 43 re-hired through the temporary staffing agencies used different names, social security numbers, and identity documents.

Grand America fired four managers and reprimanded two others. Because of the corporation’s compliance with the ICE investigation, top executives will not face criminal liability. However, the U.S. Attorney for Utah plans to seek criminal charges against the four former Grand America managers that were involved in the scheme.

The ICE fines against Grand America was the second instance last month of an employer facing large fines because of violations of immigration law. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor fined Ultimate Services Professional Grounds Management, a Connecticut landscaping business, $280,000 in back wages and $20,000 in civil fines for violations of the H-2B temporary visa program. The Company was found to not have employed most of the U.S. employees it listed on its recruitment records and also failed to pay its H-2B employees the necessary prevailing wage.

Given the large fines from ICE and the Department of Labor over violating immigration laws, it becomes imperative that employers are instituting proper procedures so their human resource departments are properly following the law.   If you wish to discuss your compliance program, please contact me at aleksandra.michailov@nullcilawgroup.com.