Employers who knowingly hire aliens not authorized to work in the United’ States may be subject to civil fines, criminal penalties, court jurisdictions, after the employer sanctions provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 takes full affect.
The new law does not affect employees already on the job before November 6, 1986, and enforcement will begin only after May of 1987,: when warning citations will be issued to first offenders. In the meantime there is no penalty for employers who continue to employ aliens without work permission.
The new law requires employers to maintain records that the employer verified the worker’s employment authorization. The records must show that the employer verified the worker’s identification and work authorization. So long as the documents appear to be reasonably genuine and show work authorization, then the employer should not be penalized for hiring the new worker. The documents that may be used include: U.S. passports, naturalization certificates, resident “green” cards, foreign passports with work authorization endorsements, or a combination of documents, including social security cards and driver’s licenses.
After May, 1987, all job applicants will have to provide proof of their identity and authorization to work when applying for a job. Any false documents used to apply for a job may result in criminal penalties of up to $5,000 and five years in jail.
Employers who hire aliens without work authorization or who do not maintain verification records may be subject to civil and criminal penalties. Fines range from $250 to $10,000 per alien and criminal penalties and court injunctions will be sought against repeat offenders.
An employer may prove good faith compliance with the new law and have a defense against sanctions if he maintains adequate verification records. While the government always has the burden to prove a violation of the law, so long as the employer keeps proper verification records, then the government will also have to show that the employer did not comply in good faith, that the documents do not appear valid, or that the employer was involved in a conspiracy to falsify documents. The Immigration Service is expected to issue new regulations further explaining what verification records are required.
Many people expressed concern that the employer sanctions rules would hurt minority groups. They fear that employers will find it easier not to hire minorities, rather than to maintain careful records. For this reason the U.S. Congress also enacted Antidiscrimination provisions, which are discussed in a separate article.
C, MATTHEW SCHULZ, esq., is an attorney with the Law Firm of SIMMONS & UNGAR with offices at: 95S. Market Street, #350, San Jose, CA 95113, (408) 9477741; and 517 Washington Street, San Francisco, Ca 94111, (415) 4210860. The office of SIMMONS & UNGAR handles primarily matters of immigration and Nationality Law.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 30, 1987
