U.S. cracks down on hiring of illegal immigrants

The federal government demands that employers give tougher scrutiny to workers' documentation.


(FSB) -- The Department of Homeland Security issued a new workplace rule today, imposing penalties on employers who knowingly hire those who cannot legally work in the U.S.

Called the "No-Match" regulation, it gives companies 90 days to verify a hire's identity and eligibility to work if the employee's Social Security number doesn't match information in the Social Security Administration's database. Companies who do not fire workers who cannot provide proper documentation in that timeframe risk fines as high as $10,000 for each of these employees, if it can be proved that the firms knowingly flouted the law.

The rule is part of a series of measures by the Bush administration to tighten border security and keep companies from hiring those who cannot work legally in the U.S. It was announced at a news conference by Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security, and Carlos Gutierrez, secretary of commerce.

This regulation could be problematic for small businesses, which often lack the human resources staff and immigration expertise to review documents and ensure their authenticity, say some advocates. "They aren't in the document-review business, and some fraudulent documents look pretty legitimate," says Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses Legal Foundation, a Washington, D.C. based lobbying group. Sometimes, an employee's records might not match the government's because of a perfectly legal name change or a clerical error, and a company that acts too hastily might end up on the fast track to a discrimination lawsuit, she adds.

Some business owners say they are being proactive about asking for proper paperwork but worry that these efforts may not be fail-safe. "We do our best to look at documentation to the best of our ability," says Jim Balmain, owner of Smith's Bakeries, which generates $3.5 million annually with 55 workers at seven locations in Bakersfield, Calif. "But if employees have something phony we can't catch because it's a high-quality forgery, I don't think we should be penalized. I'm having lunch with my Congressman at the end of the month to discuss it."  Top of page

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.