HR.BLR.com reports that as undocumented immigration population surges to 10.3 million

HR.BLR.com Reports that as Undocumented Immigration Population Surges to 10.3 Million, Wal-Martís $11 Million Settlement Highlights Employersí Problems with Immigration Laws

News reports indicate that the nation’s undocumented immigrant population surged to 10.3 million last year. HR.BLR.com - State HR Answers and Tools Online - reminds employers that compliance with immigration laws is critical to avoid embarrassing legal actions such as Wal-Martís $11 million settlement, in which it was accused of knowingly using hundreds of undocumented workers hired by contractors to clean the floors in its stores.

Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) employers must verify that individuals are eligible to work in the U.S. by having them fill out an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9). Employers must also inspect the required supporting documents at the time of hiring.

BLRís HR legal editor Susan Prince recently recommended that employers follow these basic steps in every hiring situation:

1. Ensure that all employees properly complete Section 1 of Form I-9, including signing and dating the form.

2. Ensure that employees present original documents to establish their identity and employment eligibility within three business days of the date employment begins if employment will last more than three days.

3. Examine the original documents presented by employees and then fully complete Section 2 of Form I-9.

4. Do not knowingly use, attempt to use, possess, obtain, accept, or receive any forged, counterfeit, altered, or falsely made documents.

5. Keep Form I-9 for three years after the date employment begins or one year after the person’s employment is terminated, whichever is later.

HR.BLR.com offer this advice in reaction to a bulletin issued by the Pew Hispanic Center that undocumented residents in the U.S. increased by about 23 percent in the four-year period ending last March. The report comes on the heels of the recent Wal-Mart settlement.