Firms honored in fight against illegal hiring
by Craig Harris - Feb. 13, 2009 12:00 AM

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday honored four Valley companies for their efforts to employ only legal workers.

At its downtown Phoenix headquarters, ICE lauded Sundt Construction, Taser International, First Credit Union and Hire Standards as the first Arizona businesses to join the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, or IMAGE, program.

The businesses received training to help spot fraudulent documents used to get work. The companies also let ICE review their Form I-9 employment records for the past three years. An I-9 is required for all newly hired employees to verify their identities and whether they are authorized to work in the U.S.
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In Arizona, all new hires after Jan. 1, 2008, also are required to be placed through E-Verify, a free federal Internet program designed to determine whether someone is eligible to work.

Despite the additional scrutiny of the four companies, ICE said it did not find any employees hired illegally.

Eugenia Mena, owner of Phoenix-based Hire Standards, said it was "scary" at first to open her books to the government. But being part of the program was well worth it because, she said, she now can show her employment-service clients that her workers have legal status.

Pat Richardson, human-resources manager for First Credit Union, said the fraud training also helped tellers determine if a customer was using fraudulent information to open accounts.

Matt Allen, special agent in charge of Phoenix's ICE office, said the program highlights "the best of the best" businesses working with ICE. ICE initiated the program in 2006, and 36 U.S. companies have joined.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/artic ... e0213.html