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: