Thread: Jittery employers check paperwork

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Jittery employers check paperwork

By PATTI BOND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/09/06
There's nothing that'll light up a law firm's switchboard like a wave of spooked clients.

Recent immigration raids, a new state law in Georgia and the move toward federal reform have collided to create a nerve-racking spring for employers.

Companies have boosted requests for audits of their worker-verification paper trail by as much as 40 percent since last year, some local law firms say.

"The phone is ringing all the time," notes Dave Whitlock, a partner over the immigration practice at Atlanta-based Fisher & Phillips, a labor and employment law firm. "Employers are nervous, and they've got a lot of questions right now."

One of their main worries boils down to the seemingly simple I-9 form, a requirement for any employee hired after the current immigration law took effect in 1986. Companies are looking to their attorneys to offer assurance that their paperwork is in order, and that has spurred a spike in demand for audits.

Lawyers say they've been poring over client I-9s — which could number in the tens of thousands for large employers — looking for missing information and suspicious information such as Social Security numbers listed as 000-00-0000. (There are more of those than you might think, lawyers say.)

The question of whether employees were properly documented popped up almost immediately following a massive work site raid in April at IFCO Systems, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based pallet and crate maker that has its North American headquarters in Houston.

Federal immigration and customs agents arrested nearly 1,200 illegal workers at IFCO plants in 26 states, including Georgia, plus seven managers. They're accused of conspiring to transport and harbor illegal workers for financial gain, a charge that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

In a news conference about the raid, the largest ever in the history of the national immigration service, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff pledged more crackdowns — and signaled there would be more focus on documentation.

Widespread scramble

Although certain industries are on the hit list — including agriculture, construction, food services, hospitality and textiles — employers across the board are scrambling to get their paperwork in order, lawyers say.

Human resources managers are suddenly preoccupied with the I-9 form, which verifies that every new hire has submitted proof that they're either a U.S. citizen or a foreigner authorized to work here.

"The I-9 is simple on its face. It takes up about two-thirds of a page, but there are about 50 pages of regulation that go along with it," said Whitlock. "I used to get two to three calls a week, but now I get about eight to 10 e-mails or calls a day."

He has even come up with a "package deal" for the audits — 50 I-9s for $500, a deal this lawyer-turned-marketer says is too good to refuse.

Plus, "if more than 90 percent of the forms are in compliance, there's no charge," Whitlock said. "It's a nice little temperature check."

Some companies also are worried they could be held liable for subcontractors' hiring practices in light of last month's raid of a Kentucky-based home builder. Federal agents arrested nearly 80 construction laborers working as subcontractors for Fischer Homes. Agents also arrested Fischer Homes managers, charging them with harboring the illegal workers.

The construction industry is understandably jittery, but so too are companies in other sectors such as health care that hire subcontractors, lawyers say.

"We're suddenly being asked by clients who are subcontractors to certify [their worker records] because the general contractor has asked them to have it done," said Joyce Fleming, a partner over the immigration practice at Atlanta-based Ford & Harrison, a labor and employment law firm.

In addition, clients want to better understand the consequences of possible changes in the law, Fleming said. "There's always a blip in demand [for legal services] when there's news ... but there's also a fear of just what, if anything, is going to happen."

The combination of possible major immigration law changes at the federal level plus a new immigration law in Georgia is keeping attorneys on their toes.

"There has been a lot of reading and rereading of drafts and trying to determine what all the unintended consequences are," said Eileen Scofield, head of the immigration practice at Atlanta-based Alston & Bird. "It's like taking an exam every day."

Deluge of calls

She has gotten a second cellphone to better separate the flood of business calls from personal calls.

"I'm getting calls late at night, on the weekend, all the time," Scofield said. "My children have gotten used to me sitting in the Kroger parking lot talking about I-9 documentation."

Longtime immigration lawyers note their business fluctuates with the mood in Washington.

"Our work tends to ebb and flow because it depends on what the government is making a hot button," Scofield said. "But I've got a feeling it will stay like this for a while."

Employers now doing what they should have been doing all along. I do not feel bad for them, they should be fined heavily for not checking status upon hiring.