Los Angeles HR Firm Assists Local Employers with Newly Enforced Undocumented Worker Legislation

CPEhr, a HR outsourcing firm, is helping California employers respond to the Department of Homeland Securityís recent announcement to increase enforcement efforts and levy larger fines against businesses that employ undocumented workers. The Los Angeles-based firm is offering on-site services to help small employers comply with the newly enforced regulations and avoid non-compliance penalties.

Effective September 14, the DHS will enforce its new guidelines for employers who receive ìNo Matchî letters from the Social Security Administration. A No Match letter is issued when tax documents submitted for an employee do not match the information on file at the SSA. In the new guidelines, the DHS states that improper handling of No Match letters may indicate knowledge by an employer that a worker is illegal, and may lead to civil or criminal enforcement action.

ìIn the past, employers would get these letters and usually ignore them,î explains Peter Escalante, a human resources consultant with CPEhr. ìHowever, employers are going to have to start taking these letters seriously. Now, just by receiving them, employers are considered to have inferred knowledge and have to act on it.î

In early July, the Bush administration announced that employers who knowingly employ undocumented workers may be eligible for fines up to $12,500 and a felony prosecution. On the state level, the number of laws against illegal immigrants this year has more than doubled since 2006, to over 170.

With years of experience dealing with the SSA and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), CPEhr is offering customized services to create and implement aggressive I9 and employment verification policies, respond to No Match Letters and correspond with the SSA and INS for California-based employers.

Escalante summarizes the process: ìWe check employee files for valid I9s and confirm they are properly stored. If a client receives a letter from the SSA, we check it against their information on file. If the information is incomplete, we request completed documentation and recommend the client terminates the employee if it is not provided in a timely manner.î If a response to the agency is required, CPEhr manages the process on behalf of the client.

CPEhr recommends that all employers have an undocumented employee policy included in their Employee Handbook. In it, the employee acknowledges that if their Social Security Number is challenged by the SSA, they have 30 days to produce valid documentation, or be fired. This type of involvement by the employer is extremely valuable, says Escalante, when faced with an investigation or fine by a governmental agency.

ìIf an agency finds the employer to be proactive in any regard, they will be more forgiving and typically reduce the severity of the penalty,î he notes. ìThe government realizes employees have rights and employers canít just fire them. They are understanding of employers who have policies in place and show an effort to cooperate.î