Will Your Employee Documents Pass an ICE Audit?
Employers should review every employee immigration document on a regular basis. ICE currently believes that there are around eight million illegal workers throughout the United States. ICE is taking efforts to ensure that all employers have the correct employee documentation on file to prove that workers are legal citizens. Not only is ICE making sure that paperwork is documented and up to date, but it’s also making sure that businesses are staffing legal citizens. Many businesses have been getting away with illegal employee practices for a long period of time. The ICE is taking steps to crack down on this behavior. Immigration audits are easy to comply when completed by an experience HR practitioner.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Wage-Hour Laws Can Create Risks for Companies
Does your awareness of the Fair Labor Standards Act keep you out of harms way? Federal investigators regularly look for violations of minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and other provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers not found to be in compliance must pay back wages and penalties. Recently, the Department of Labor launched a new smartphone “app” to help employees track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. These electronic time-sheets could result in more employers being hit with wage-and-hour-related violations. Here are 14 ways that your company or organization can get tripped up by these complex requirements. Every company should have systems and processes in place to address the FLSA regulations.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Immigration Paperwork Audit Catches Employers by Surprise
Immigration Customs Enforcement audits are surprising employers around the country. Until recently, Form I-9 infractions have not been top of mind because it’s just a one-page form filled out during the new hire process. The odds of an ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency) inspector showing up on your doorstep were miniscule. However, the risk has significantly increased over the last few years. ICE fines are costing businesses thousands of dollars per audits.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Decatur Mexican Restaurants Liable For Back Wages and Damages
Are you aware of what you are paying your employees and when? A federal judge in Urbana has ordered Dolores Onate, owner, and Ricardo Onate, manager, of the El Matador Inc. and El Caporal Inc. restaurants in Decatur to pay a total of $1,149,702.50 in back wages and damages to 64 workers employed as servers and kitchen staff. This judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that disclosed willful violations of the minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at three locations. Ownership and management has to be aware of the regulations the govern FLSA.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Is Your Company Prepared For I-9 Audits and Immigration Compliance?
Who in your company is the immigration expert? The first step in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) audit is the service of a Notice of Inspection demanding the employer produce the I-9’s for its employees within 3 days. ICE has subpoena power and typically a company will be compelled to produce a copy of the payroll, list of current employees, Articles of Incorporation, business licenses, and social security no-match letters (if any). You are placing your company at great risk if your not aware of immigration compliance.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Chipotle Restaurants Under the Microscope of ICE Nationwide
No-Match Letters Are Back
If you thought the SSA forget about the No-Mathch letters they did not. In a move that is certain to get the attention of I-9 compliance specialists and immigration counsel alike, the Social Security Administration (SSA) quietly resumed the sending of Social Security No-Match letters to employers this month (April 2011). Over the years, these letters (often referred to as simply “No-Match letters”) have been sent to both employees and employers when the names or social security numbers listed on an employer’s W-2 forms do not match SSA records. How well is your company prepared to handle No-Match letter?
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
