The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Labor (DOL) and Justice (DOJ) have increased the civil fines for employers that commit immigration-related offenses, such as unfair employment or discrimination practices, H-1B and H-2B program violations, and Form I-9 and E-VERIFY violations. The new penalties, which went into effect on August 1, 2016, apply to violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.
The largest increases in civil fines involve I-9 violations. The fines for I-9 paperwork violations (i.e., fines for mistakes or omissions on Form I-9) have increased by 96%, from $110-$1,100 per violation to $216-$2,156 per violation. This increase is indicative of the government's continued focus on demanding that employers comply with federal immigration laws, evidenced by the increased number of I-9 audits over the past five years.
Accordingly, employers should ensure that they have an I-9 compliance policy in place and that they are regularly conducting self-audits of their I-9s. In some circumstances, paperwork violations can be corrected once discovered during a self-audit. Correcting Form I-9 prior to an audit demonstrates good faith and can help mitigate the severity of the I-9 violation fine.
Additional relevant fine increases include the following:
| Violation | Penalty for violations before 11/2/15 | Increased Penalty for violations after 11/2/15 |
| Knowingly hiring or employing unauthorized aliens – first offense (per individual) | Min. $375 Max. $3,200 |
Min. $589 Max. $4,313 |
| I-9 Paperwork Error | Min. $110 Max. $1,100 |
Min. $216 Max. $2,156 |
| Unfair immigration-related employment practices, first order (per individual) | Min. $375 Max. $3,200 |
Min. $445 Max. $3,563 |
| Unfair immigration-related employment practices, document abuse (per individual) | Min. $110 Max. $1,100 |
Min. $178 Max. $1,782 |
| Willful H-1B violations pertaining to wages/working conditions, notification, labor condition application specificity, recruitment, or discrimination against an employee (per violation) | Max. $5,000 | Max. $7,251 |
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