I-9 and record audits

The NY Times reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sent notices to over 600 companies of hiring record audits this year. Ironically, the California company the article focuses on, American Apparel, makes t-shirts displaying messages such as "Legalize LA". The irony - how it burns.

As American Apparel is finding out, intentional hiring of illegal workers may result in serious fines. To keep yourself out of hot water, I recommend that employers:

1- Check my website: www.rockymountainhr.com for information on new hire forms and how to handle SSA "No Match" letters.

2- Comply with minimum wage laws. (Note the federal minimum wage will increase later this month- click here for details.) Exploiting illegal workers raises more eyebrows (and attention from the federal government) than merely hiring illegal workers.

3- Don't advertise your non-compliance on your company shirts or products.

SNL employee termination

Kudos to Manager Morris. Upon discovering that this kind of discrimination is occurring, the employer is required to take some kind of action, in accordance with the company disciplinary policy, in order to avoid liability to the employees being discriminated against.
Now, to avoid liability to the terminated employee, my advice would be: DOCUMENT the conversation and the occurrences, keep copies of those emails in the file, and, perhaps, ensure this former employee's safety as he departs the premises.

Welcome!

Welcome to HR Q and A. As the blog title suggests, this blog is about answering HR questions. I have a question first: why doesn't blogspot allow ampersands (you know: &)? That would have made my blog address so much clearer, don't you think?

I come into the HR field from the employment law and legal compliance area. Having said that, I now need to say this: this blog provides general information but does not provide legal advice. I make every effort to ensure that my responses are accurate, but this blog is meant to inform and (I hope) amuse. Please contact an attorney if you need legal representation.

Without further ado: send me your questions.