In Trump’s bid to fulfill one of his major campaign promises, his administration empowered the federal immigrant system, such that the Congress is authorized to legislate for or against the entry and residency of people in the country. Moreover, the President is empowered to utilize the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to oversee immigrant employees in the workplace as well. Employers thus have the obligation of protecting their employees in the event of a workplace raid by the ICE through California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act.”

What Does This Act Do?

Generally, California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” protects employees from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The law imposes three major requirements:

1. Workplace Entry Consent

Employers may not permit immigration agents to enter into the non-public areas of the workplace. They will be allowed only if they provide a judicial warrant. The employer could allow an immigration agent into the non-public area in order to determine whether the agent has the warrant if none of the employees are present. However, the employer will not permit the agent to undertake a search on the area.

Any employer that violates this part will have to a pay a fine of $2 000 to $5 000 for the initial offense and $5 000 to $10 000 for the subsequent offenses unless the court found that the agent entered the non-public area without the consent of the employer.

2. Employee’s Records Reviewing

The employer may not permit the immigration officer to have access to the employee records unless the officer provides a judicial warrant or a subpoena. However, this provision does not apply to Form I-9, the document provided by the employee to the employer as a proof of identity and authorization of working in the US. Similar penalty as above is attached.

3. Form I-9 Inspection

Provided the employer received a notice of inspection from the federal government, the employer must inform the employee of the notice with a copy of the notice within 72 hours using the usual workplace communication medium. After all, the California Labor Commissioner has a template developed for this purpose.

After the employer has received the results of the inspection, the employer is given 72 hours to forward the results to the Commissioner. The same penalty is also attached.

Conclusion

Since this is a new law, many employers may get stocked in the middle of the controversy between the state and federal government laws. Therefore, it is imperative that employers seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer in California so as to know how to exploit the immigration protection law to stay ahead of the game when the ICE agents step up their crackdown.

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What is the I-9 form?

This is a form that was introduced in 1989 in US and used by employers to verify the identity and eligibility of anyone they hire to work in the US whether citizens or non-citizens. The employees are required to present the original documents with the exception of a certified copy of the birth certificate. Any employee who fails to produce this document or a receipt for a replacement document within three days can be terminated. If one shows the receipt, he/she is given 90 days period to present the original document.

Why Does Employer Need I-9 Form?

There are some reasons as to why the employer needs this form. Below are some of the reasons:

1.It Verifies Your Eligibility To Work In US

Without this form, you will not be eligible to work in the United States. You are required to apply for this form whether you are the citizen or not. When you are issued with the form or the waiting documents, it means that you are eligible to work. Therefore, this form is a proof that you have the required skills and eligible to work.

2.It Verifies The Real Identity Of An Employee

The employers must know the real identity of the employees for transparency and security reasons. The i-9 Form can be used to reveal the real identity of a person since he/she is properly investigated and screened before issued with the document.

3.It Provides Personal Information When Needed For Verification

There are some instances where the personal details of employees are required within the shortest time possible. In such a case, the employers can use this document to get all the necessary information about the employee in this form. When applying for the form, all your personal details and the private information are required. This way, the employers will be able to get any information about the employee without necessarily involving him/her.

4.It Is A Legal Requirement

It is the requirement by the law in California US that all the employers must file or store electronically the i-9 Form of all the employees. It is also the joy of all the employers to abide by the law and meet the entire legal requirement. By doing so, they are obeying the law.

Those are some of the reasons as to why most of the employers in US have such forms for all the employees. It makes their work easier in terms of security and proper management of employees. Therefore, it is part of paperwork when newly employed in US.

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When you are looking for a job, there are many papers that you will be required to fill and sign. It is however important to know what hiring paperwork is necessary and within the legal requirements. You should never sign anything without the help of a qualified lawyer lest you tie your own hands by getting into contracts with an employer that you cannot live up to or infringe on your rights. When you get hired be careful and go through each paper that is presented to you before you put your signature on it. Here is a look at the most common hiring paperwork documents you are likely to come across and what they are for.

W-4

This is a legal form that everyone in the US must fill. It informs the IRS of your tax filing status and how much of your salary will be withheld as income tax. This form will not just need to be filled on your first day at work but also subsequently on an annual basis. It should also be updated when your financial or personal status change.

I-9

Every employee that is placed on payroll by an employer must complete an I-9 form as is required by law. This is an Employment Eligibility Verification Form which declares that the employee is authorized to work in the United States. For this, identification and work status information needs to be provided.

Labor code §2810.5 Notice

This is a specific requirement for those who will be working in California. This form will contain the information that is required by the aforementioned labor code.

Other states will have different legal requirements depending on the state laws. Be sure to confirm what these are and fill all the hiring paperwork that you are required to.

In-house documents

The employer will most probably require you to fill several other forms with details they deem necessary. There are many documents which will differ from one employer to the other. Commonly these will include:

• Contact forms which will entail your physical address and other contact details for easy communication in case of any occurrences at the workplace.
• Job description entailing details of the job which the employer will use to monitor your performance.
• Employee handbook which outlines what the expected conduct of everyone at the workplace is. You will often be required to sign an acknowledgement to abide by this so be sure to fully understand every clause before signing.
• Employer property receiving and handling documentation. When you are handed keys, identification cards and other company property you will be required to sign that you have received and acknowledge to abide by the set regulations.

Third-party documents

The most common are documents by insurance providers who cover the employees medical and other policies. Some companies also outsource functions like payroll handling and others. Documents showing you agreeing to this need to be signed.

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After enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, all employers are required to fill I-9 forms for all employees under the company payroll. The act was enacted to help verify the identity and eligibility of individuals to work in United States. This form should be within three days after the employee has started working. After completing the form, the employer files it and should be produced upon request by government agencies during auditing exercise.

The government conducts random and frequent audits to ensure that organizations abide with the hiring regulation. Failure to fill this form as required or hiring an ineligible worker attracts a fine. Workers who are not sure about their eligibility to work in US can confirm with the Department of Homeland Security about their status. The employer can download and physically fill the I-9 forms or from E-verify system on the official government website.

The form is made up of three parts to be completed by both the employer and employee. Section one is filled on the first day on work by the employee, it highlights basic information about the worker including name, date, address, citizenship status, date of birth, employer identification number, social security number, e-mail address and telephone number. There are optional fields that an employee can leave blank in this section. Section two and three are filled by the employer. Section two is filled within three days. Section three is filled when employee service is renewed after three years of service, a new form can also serve this purpose.

Employer is required to verify all the information provided in section one as true and honestly fill in section two and three. Providing false information knowingly or failure to verify important information is a criminal offence and attracts a fine upon discovery during audits. The employer is required to bear witness of the following; US citizenship, alien with permission to work, permanent residence and non- US citizen with eligibility to work. Different documents (List A, List B and List C documents) should be supplemented to the dully filled form to indicate that provided information is true and up to date.

The form is also available in Spanish language for employees from Puerto Rico only. Other Spanish speaking workers can only use the form I-9 Spanish as a guide in filling out the English version. An employer is allowed to ask for English translation help in case of difficulty in understanding the language. The person offering translation help is required to fill translator certification in the form.

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A Form I-9 is an Employment Eligibility Verification form used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for every individual they hire. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Form I-9 must be filled out by both the employer and the employee.

After an employer hires an employee, he or she has three business days to complete Form I-9. However, if an employer is only hiring someone for less than three days, he or she must complete Form I-9 before the end of the employee’s first work day. If an employee changes his or her name, is rehired within three years of the date the original form was completed, or if an employee’s original work authorization has expired, an employer may complete only Section 3 of the form titled, “Reverifciation and Rehires”.

First, the employee must complete the first section of the form by providing his or her identification information, including name, address, and telephone number. The employee must then sign the document under penalty of perjury. Next, the employee must provide documents as proof of identity and work authorization. For example, a United States passport meets the requirements as proof of identity and work authorization. The employer then must examine the documents that the employee has provided and verify that the documents appear to be genuine, and that, to the best of your knowledge, the employee is authorized to work in the United States. Lastly, the employer must sign the form under penalty of perjury and provide some of his or her basic identifying information too.

Once you have completed Form I-9, an employer should file it with the other completed I-9 forms for the rest of his or her employees. Form I-9 may be completed electronically or in paper form, and employers must keep the form for as long as the employee works at their company, and for one year after employment ends or three years after the employee was hired, whichever period is longer.

If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has answers, Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.

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