Employer seminars scheduled on new state immigration law
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
The Pueblo Workforce Center will offer two seminars for employers Tuesday and Wednesday to update them on employment verification and immigration laws.

The seminars will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Riverwalk Conference Room on the fourth floor of the Pueblo Workforce Center at 212 W. Third St. in Pueblo. Employers are invited to bring their own brown bag lunch. Beverages and dessert will be provided.

A new state law requires Colorado employers to verify and document the legal eligibility for employment of newly hired employees. The law is in addition to federal I-9 employment verification requirements.

To comply, Colorado employers must affirm, within 20 days after hiring a new employee, that they have:

Examined the legal work status of the new-hire worker.

Kept on file copies of the I-9 documents presented for employment eligibility.

Not altered or falsified the employee's identification documents.

Not knowingly hired an individual unauthorized for employment.

The law has affirmation and document retention requirements that go beyond the I-9 requirements with which most employers are familiar. Employers who don't have the right documents may be subject to fines of $5,000 for the first offense and up to $25,000 for a second or subsequent offense.

"We know this new employment-verification law has many employers concerned,â€