Recruiting is unfortunately often a way station in a career. It is one stop on the way to becoming an HR executive or to moving on to other things. There are often very limited opportunities for advancement as a recruiter within most organizations, which further limits the number of people who choose to dedicate themselves to doing it well. Success also requires abilities that are not necessarily the strengths of those who choose traditional human resources as a career. I have found that many of the most successful recruiters had no intention of working for or in HR. They were interested in sales, marketing, communications, or similar areas and found themselves accidently being asked to do recruiting.
If you take the time to talk to recruiters who have garnered a reputation for success, you will discover that they share a few traits in common.
It is these common interests, inclinations, or skills that differentiate them from all the others. It would be useful to look for these traits whenever you are trying to find more recruiters or to identify those most likely to add the most value.
These recruiters are not real people. They are composite people that I made up from some of the best I have seen and worked with.
Trait 1: Great at networking because they have a strong interest in people
I know this sounds trite, but it is true. Every great recruiter has a need to be around and with people. They like to meet new people and seek out opportunities to do that even when they are not recruiting.
Bill Warren is a great example. He began recruiting when he was just 23 and a new college hire. The college team asked him to help out on campus and he immediately put the network he had developed in his fraternity and social activities to work. As he worked in a technical industry, he put together an on-campus special interest group sponsored by his company. They sent engineers to talk and demonstrate uses for their products in applied situations. With the blessing of his boss, he was able to spend several weeks each semester in campus building the reputation of his firm and their research. Recruiting was easy after the first year and remains that way today. Bill, meanwhile at 28, has become a full-time recruiter, where he is quickly becoming a star. When you ask him why he is successful, he just says: “I like people and want to help them do what they want to do.”
His networking skills are massive both in person and online. He cultivates relationships and understands that all solid relationships are built on quid pro quo: doing something for someone who, in turn, does something for you. It is this give and take that makes for success, and he is willing to share his career advice, mentoring skills, and technical expertise. In return he gets the loyalty and commitment of many candidates.
Trait 2: Marketing and influencing skills
Sue Smith is ranked as the top recruiter in her retail organization. Hiring volume is aggressive and needs are changing all the time. Turnover is often high and seasonal hiring presents many challenges. She has to recruit contingent as well as full-time staff, and is involved in lots of internal politics.
Yet, Sue is able to ride these waves and still make progress. While she is a good networker, where she really shines is in influencing and selling. Sue aims to get candidates interested in the work, project, and hiring manager by identifying and communicating their positive aspects, pointing out challenges when appropriate, and generating excitement. She presents well-vetted candidates to the hiring manager whom she has “presold.” Through Facebook, email, and phone calls, she uses her networks as marketing channels and targets them for specific functions and sometimes even for specific hiring managers.
Trait 3: Personalizing and leveraging uniqueness
They transcend brand by personalizing each hire and each hiring manager. Each of these recruiters has found the power and importance of personalization. Rather than rely on a generic recruiting brand, they instead brand every job and manager as unique. They know how to steer the right candidates to the right managers because they have deep knowledge of the needs and capabilities of each through their networking skills and ability to influence. While each takes a different approach, there is lots of overlap and commonality between them. They can push and pull candidates and managers toward a mutually desirable end.
Trait 4: They use technology; they are not consumed by it
Neither of these recruiters is a technology nerd. They use what works for them and whatever they can understand. They make sure both candidates and hiring managers also understand and are willing to use the tools.
Bill does this by creating special interest groups that can be either virtual or face-to-face. He lets candidates and managers gravitate toward those that match their interests and abilities. He has leveraged more technology than Sue because his primary candidates are dispersed and distant, but he is not a “techno freak” in any way.
Sue uses technology to enable communication. She has the amazing ability to implement a technology seamlessly by starting out small, experimenting with a few candidates and hiring managers, and growing it slowly when it works. She probably spends no more than one or two days a month where technology is her focus.
Great recruiters are focused on getting results, but what is more important to them is that both the hiring manger and the candidate feel that they have had a real exchange of information and that both are comfortable with the decision. I am amazed that their candidates have few regrets about accepting a job and the short-term turnover is remarkably small. Hiring managers, too, are content and pleased with their hires.
The recruiting process is not about individual recruiters, though. It is about making good matches in a seamless and efficient way. Great recruiters figure out how to do this while appearing almost in the background. The greatest praise you can get is when the hiring manger says, “Wow! Did I make a great hire last week.”
by
Kevin WheelerMar 22, 2011,
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
I-9 Audits Doubled in 2010, New Federal Employment Compliance Inspection Center Opened
The Obama administration plans to intensify a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants with the establishment of an audit office designed to bolster verification of company hiring records.
In an interview, John Morton, chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said the Employment Compliance Inspection Center would "address a need to conduct audits even of the largest employers with a very large number of employees." The office would be announced Thursday, he said.
.Mr. Morton said that the center would be staffed with specialists who will pore over the I-9 employee files collected from companies targeted for audits.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2010, ICE conducted audits of more than 2,740 companies, nearly twice as many as the previous year. The agency levied a record $7 million in civil fines on businesses that employed illegal workers.
Enforcement activity during the Bush administration focused on high-profile raids in which thousands of illegal immigrants were arrested and placed in deportation proceedings. Relatively few companies and their executives were prosecuted.
In contrast, the Obama administration has made employers the center of its immigration policy with "silent raids." Critics say the policy has penalized small employers while failing to target larger employers.
Mr. Morton said the new center would have the "express purpose" of providing support to regional immigration offices conducting large audits. "We wouldn't be limited by the size of a company," he said.
The audits, which have affected garment makers, fruit growers and meat packers, result in the firing of every illegal immigrant on a company's payroll. Companies say this has hurt them, especially as they can't attract American workers even during an economic downturn.
Last year, for example, Gebbers Farm, an agricultural concern in Brewster, Wash., dismissed an estimated 550 workers—about a quarter of the local population—after ICE told the company a number of its employees' hiring documents were suspect. The company declined to comment for this article.
Tom Roach, an immigration attorney in Pasco, Wash., said a client lost more than half of his workforce last year owing to an audit. "He had paid every nickel of taxes on them," he said. But the employees had presented social-security cards that the landscape company couldn't discern were fake, said Mr. Roach.
Small business owners, in particular, say they don't have the ability to police their workers. They also fear discrimination suits, as some companies have experienced, for demanding additional documents from workers whom they suspect are in the country illegally.
View Full Image
Associated Press
A U.S. immigration agent, second from left, led away three men during a search at a Poplar Bluff, Mo., restaurant last August.
.Angelo Paparelli, an immigration attorney in New York and southern California, said: "We need to take employers out of the business of performing government functions, like playing immigration police."
"Ultimately, it is in a company's best financial interest to proactively comply with the law now rather than to face potential fines or criminal prosecution for noncompliance in the future," an ICE spokeswoman said.
Mr. Morton said ICE was also seeking to expand a program enabling businesses to work with the federal government to ensure they are employing people authorized to work in the U.S. Called IMAGE, or ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, the voluntary program includes training and assessments to help a company guard against hiring illegal employees.
Mr. Morton will also announce Thursday that Tyson Foods, Inc., which employs 100,000 people and has fought immigration troubles in the past, has joined the program, agreeing to an audit of "a certain portion of existing records." The poultry processor, which says it has already taken steps to maintain a legal workforce, also agreed to establish an internal auditing process, Mr. Morton said.
Mr. Morton suggested Tyson could pave the way for other big companies to join the program. Tyson faced federal human-smuggling charges in a high-profile trial that resulted in acquittal in 2003.
"We...believe this partnership will enhance our ability to collaborate with government officials on immigration-related matters," said Tyson Chief Human Resources Officer Ken Kimbro.
"Tyson realized that employment of unauthorized workers posed a risk to their operations and stepped forward to manage that risk," says Mark Reed, a former immigration agent who runs Border Management Strategies, a consulting firm which has advised Tyson.
Since ICE initiated the IMAGE program in 2006, only 115 companies have signed on, with many reluctant to open their books to government scrutiny and to invest in training and new systems to bolster their employer-verification process, experts say.
About 11 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S., according to government estimates. Without them, experts say, such industries as construction, lodging and agriculture would be forced to radically change how they operate—sharply boosting costs for consumers or curtailing the services they provide.
Originally published 1/20/2011 By MIRIAM JORDAN
The Rest @ The Wall Street Journal
In an interview, John Morton, chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said the Employment Compliance Inspection Center would "address a need to conduct audits even of the largest employers with a very large number of employees." The office would be announced Thursday, he said.
.Mr. Morton said that the center would be staffed with specialists who will pore over the I-9 employee files collected from companies targeted for audits.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2010, ICE conducted audits of more than 2,740 companies, nearly twice as many as the previous year. The agency levied a record $7 million in civil fines on businesses that employed illegal workers.
Enforcement activity during the Bush administration focused on high-profile raids in which thousands of illegal immigrants were arrested and placed in deportation proceedings. Relatively few companies and their executives were prosecuted.
In contrast, the Obama administration has made employers the center of its immigration policy with "silent raids." Critics say the policy has penalized small employers while failing to target larger employers.
Mr. Morton said the new center would have the "express purpose" of providing support to regional immigration offices conducting large audits. "We wouldn't be limited by the size of a company," he said.
The audits, which have affected garment makers, fruit growers and meat packers, result in the firing of every illegal immigrant on a company's payroll. Companies say this has hurt them, especially as they can't attract American workers even during an economic downturn.
Last year, for example, Gebbers Farm, an agricultural concern in Brewster, Wash., dismissed an estimated 550 workers—about a quarter of the local population—after ICE told the company a number of its employees' hiring documents were suspect. The company declined to comment for this article.
Tom Roach, an immigration attorney in Pasco, Wash., said a client lost more than half of his workforce last year owing to an audit. "He had paid every nickel of taxes on them," he said. But the employees had presented social-security cards that the landscape company couldn't discern were fake, said Mr. Roach.
Small business owners, in particular, say they don't have the ability to police their workers. They also fear discrimination suits, as some companies have experienced, for demanding additional documents from workers whom they suspect are in the country illegally.
View Full Image
Associated Press
A U.S. immigration agent, second from left, led away three men during a search at a Poplar Bluff, Mo., restaurant last August.
.Angelo Paparelli, an immigration attorney in New York and southern California, said: "We need to take employers out of the business of performing government functions, like playing immigration police."
"Ultimately, it is in a company's best financial interest to proactively comply with the law now rather than to face potential fines or criminal prosecution for noncompliance in the future," an ICE spokeswoman said.
Mr. Morton said ICE was also seeking to expand a program enabling businesses to work with the federal government to ensure they are employing people authorized to work in the U.S. Called IMAGE, or ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, the voluntary program includes training and assessments to help a company guard against hiring illegal employees.
Mr. Morton will also announce Thursday that Tyson Foods, Inc., which employs 100,000 people and has fought immigration troubles in the past, has joined the program, agreeing to an audit of "a certain portion of existing records." The poultry processor, which says it has already taken steps to maintain a legal workforce, also agreed to establish an internal auditing process, Mr. Morton said.
Mr. Morton suggested Tyson could pave the way for other big companies to join the program. Tyson faced federal human-smuggling charges in a high-profile trial that resulted in acquittal in 2003.
"We...believe this partnership will enhance our ability to collaborate with government officials on immigration-related matters," said Tyson Chief Human Resources Officer Ken Kimbro.
"Tyson realized that employment of unauthorized workers posed a risk to their operations and stepped forward to manage that risk," says Mark Reed, a former immigration agent who runs Border Management Strategies, a consulting firm which has advised Tyson.
Since ICE initiated the IMAGE program in 2006, only 115 companies have signed on, with many reluctant to open their books to government scrutiny and to invest in training and new systems to bolster their employer-verification process, experts say.
About 11 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S., according to government estimates. Without them, experts say, such industries as construction, lodging and agriculture would be forced to radically change how they operate—sharply boosting costs for consumers or curtailing the services they provide.
Originally published 1/20/2011 By MIRIAM JORDAN
The Rest @ The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Checklist for Completing an I-9
Section 1: Employee Information and Verification
To be completed on the first day of work. Earlier is acceptable, but the form cannot be completed before the employee has been hired.
1.Give the employee a Form I-9 (including instructions). Ask him/her to complete Section 1 and bring an acceptable combination of documents to you no later than their third work day.
Note: Let the employee choose the documents! Never request specific documents.
2.Check that the employee has completed all fields:
■Name: The employee must use his/her legal name in correct order.
■Address, Date of Birth, Social Security Number.
■Citizenship Attestation
■A Lawful Permanent Resident must provide an 8- or 9-digit Alien Number.
■An Alien Authorized to Work must provide the date work authorization expires and an Alien number or an 11-digit Admission number from the Form I-94.
■Sign and Date: The form is not valid without a signature.
3.Preparer and/or Translator Certification: If someone other than the employee completed Section 1.
Section 2: Employer Review and Verification
To be completed no later than the employee’s third workday by an authorized representative of the hiring department. (Contact your supervisor or the HR Contact in your department to find out if you are authorized to sign this section.)
1.Accept the first valid document or combination of documents presented. Accept only originals and do not ask for or accept more than is required.
■Valid documentation is one of the following: One document from List A, or one from List B and one from List C
■Be sure the employee has signed the documents.
■Note that Foreign Passport with an I-94 Arrival/Departure Record requires an additional Work Authorization document, such as I-20 or DS-2019.
■Make a readable copy of each document.
2.Record each Document title, Issuing authority, Document number, and Expiration date (if applicable). Use the correct lines according to the key at the far left of the page. Be sure to use the correct column for List A, B, or C.
3.Enter the employment begin date (month/day/year). Use the current date, if you are completing the form before the employee's actual first day of work. Do not leave this space blank!
4.Sign and Date
■Only the person who viewed the original documents can complete this section.
■Address should include the name of the university department or unit.
Section 3: Updating and Reverification
Only use this section when the employee’s work authorization has changed or has a new expiration date.
Handling the Completed I-9
1. Keep a copy of the completed I-9 and all supporting documents for the employee file.
2. Original tracked per SOP
Troubleshooting
1.Employee name does not match the documents provided.
■The employee must use his/her legal name. If he/she is in the process of changing names, use the current name on the I-9 form and the employee record. Once the name has been changed, he/she can present proof at Payroll Services to update his/her employee record.
■If the employee presents a Social Security Card, the name on the Form I-9 must be the same as the name on the card.
2.The employee does not have a Social Security Number.
■A citizen of the U.S. must provide proof from the Social Security Administration that an application has been made. Complete Section 2 of the I-9 using the information on the letter, if the Social Security Card is a supporting document.
■For international employees, coordinate with International Student and Scholar Services and Payroll Services as needed. Refer to the Payroll Services Webpage “Social Security Numbers for Non-United States Citizens,” for instructions.
3.The employee has a “delay” letter saying he/she has applied for the document(s).
■Most official delay letters are acceptable. Use the information on the letter to complete the I-9 and send the form to HR as usual with a copy of the letter attached.
4.The I-9 Form is late.
■Do not backdate the form. Explain why the document is late on a separate sheet of paper. Sign and date it and attach it to the original I-9. Remind all involved that federal law requires this form to be complete no later than the third workday.
5.The employee does not provide acceptable documents by the third workday.
■Employment should not continue. Contact the Human Resource Service Center (HRSC) for assistance and referral. It may be necessary to work with HRS Employee Management Services to dismiss the employee.
6.The employee is dismissed, quits, or stops reporting to work before completing the I-9 process.
■Explain why the document is incomplete on a separate sheet of paper. Sign and date it and attach it to the original I-9.
■If the employee had not completed Section 1, write the employee’s name and EID at the top of a form I-9 and attach the explanation. Remind everyone involved that the I-9 process is a federal requirement and each new hire should complete Section 1 by the start of the first workday without exception.
Adapted from this original souurce @ University of Texas
To be completed on the first day of work. Earlier is acceptable, but the form cannot be completed before the employee has been hired.
1.Give the employee a Form I-9 (including instructions). Ask him/her to complete Section 1 and bring an acceptable combination of documents to you no later than their third work day.
Note: Let the employee choose the documents! Never request specific documents.
2.Check that the employee has completed all fields:
■Name: The employee must use his/her legal name in correct order.
■Address, Date of Birth, Social Security Number.
■Citizenship Attestation
■A Lawful Permanent Resident must provide an 8- or 9-digit Alien Number.
■An Alien Authorized to Work must provide the date work authorization expires and an Alien number or an 11-digit Admission number from the Form I-94.
■Sign and Date: The form is not valid without a signature.
3.Preparer and/or Translator Certification: If someone other than the employee completed Section 1.
Section 2: Employer Review and Verification
To be completed no later than the employee’s third workday by an authorized representative of the hiring department. (Contact your supervisor or the HR Contact in your department to find out if you are authorized to sign this section.)
1.Accept the first valid document or combination of documents presented. Accept only originals and do not ask for or accept more than is required.
■Valid documentation is one of the following: One document from List A, or one from List B and one from List C
■Be sure the employee has signed the documents.
■Note that Foreign Passport with an I-94 Arrival/Departure Record requires an additional Work Authorization document, such as I-20 or DS-2019.
■Make a readable copy of each document.
2.Record each Document title, Issuing authority, Document number, and Expiration date (if applicable). Use the correct lines according to the key at the far left of the page. Be sure to use the correct column for List A, B, or C.
3.Enter the employment begin date (month/day/year). Use the current date, if you are completing the form before the employee's actual first day of work. Do not leave this space blank!
4.Sign and Date
■Only the person who viewed the original documents can complete this section.
■Address should include the name of the university department or unit.
Section 3: Updating and Reverification
Only use this section when the employee’s work authorization has changed or has a new expiration date.
Handling the Completed I-9
1. Keep a copy of the completed I-9 and all supporting documents for the employee file.
2. Original tracked per SOP
Troubleshooting
1.Employee name does not match the documents provided.
■The employee must use his/her legal name. If he/she is in the process of changing names, use the current name on the I-9 form and the employee record. Once the name has been changed, he/she can present proof at Payroll Services to update his/her employee record.
■If the employee presents a Social Security Card, the name on the Form I-9 must be the same as the name on the card.
2.The employee does not have a Social Security Number.
■A citizen of the U.S. must provide proof from the Social Security Administration that an application has been made. Complete Section 2 of the I-9 using the information on the letter, if the Social Security Card is a supporting document.
■For international employees, coordinate with International Student and Scholar Services and Payroll Services as needed. Refer to the Payroll Services Webpage “Social Security Numbers for Non-United States Citizens,” for instructions.
3.The employee has a “delay” letter saying he/she has applied for the document(s).
■Most official delay letters are acceptable. Use the information on the letter to complete the I-9 and send the form to HR as usual with a copy of the letter attached.
4.The I-9 Form is late.
■Do not backdate the form. Explain why the document is late on a separate sheet of paper. Sign and date it and attach it to the original I-9. Remind all involved that federal law requires this form to be complete no later than the third workday.
5.The employee does not provide acceptable documents by the third workday.
■Employment should not continue. Contact the Human Resource Service Center (HRSC) for assistance and referral. It may be necessary to work with HRS Employee Management Services to dismiss the employee.
6.The employee is dismissed, quits, or stops reporting to work before completing the I-9 process.
■Explain why the document is incomplete on a separate sheet of paper. Sign and date it and attach it to the original I-9.
■If the employee had not completed Section 1, write the employee’s name and EID at the top of a form I-9 and attach the explanation. Remind everyone involved that the I-9 process is a federal requirement and each new hire should complete Section 1 by the start of the first workday without exception.
Adapted from this original souurce @ University of Texas
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
I-9 Document Guidelines
It's more important than ever to make sure your employees are who they say they are and they're legally eligible to work in this country.
Why? The ongoing battle against terrorism has led immigration and work-visa policies to be scrutinized like never before. That includes new mandates for tougher enforcement and immigration reforms.
Also, the new Homeland Security Act of 2002 promises to alter the immigration landscape as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) moves under the jurisdiction of the new Department of Homeland Security.
The simple, yet complex I-9
The bureaucratic shuffling won't change one thing: Employers must still verify that their employees are authorized to work in the United States. The process requires all employers, regardless of size, to complete an Employment Eligibility Verification form, or I-9, for each new hire. New employees have three days to produce original documents proving their identity and eligibility to work.
I-9 mistakes can be costly: Both INS and the Labor Department audit companies to check I-9 compliance. Penalties for poor documentation and recordkeeping range from $100 to $1,000 per worker. If you knowingly hire an unauthorized alien, you can be fined up to $10,000 per worker.
10 ways to avoid liability
Sidestep potential legal troubles by following these I-9 do's and don'ts:
1. Do require all new hires to complete and sign Section 1 on their first day of work.
2. Don't ask an applicant to complete an I-9 prior to extending a job offer. Information on the I-9 could be used as a weapon in a discrimination lawsuit if the applicant is not hired.
3. Do review the employee's documents to make sure they are on the Form I-9's list of acceptable documents and to make sure they appear genuine.
4. Don't ask the employee for any particular documents or more documents than required by the I-9. The employee chooses the documents, not you.
5. Do establish a consistent procedure for completing I-9s and educate your hiring managers.
6. Don't consider the expiration date of I-9 documentation when making hiring, promotion or firing decisions.
7. Do make and retain copies of all I-9 documentation employees provide. These documents will come in handy in the event of an audit.
8. Don't forget to keep a tickler file to follow up on expiring documents. Notify employees of the need to re-verify documentation 90 days before the current documents expire.
9. Do keep the Form I-9 and copies of an employee's documents for three years after the date of hire or one year after termination, whichever comes later.
10. Don't put the Form I-9 in an employee's personnel file. To protect your company against discrimination claims, keep the I-9 and supporting documentation in a separate file.
Jonathan Landsman @ Business Management Daily
Why? The ongoing battle against terrorism has led immigration and work-visa policies to be scrutinized like never before. That includes new mandates for tougher enforcement and immigration reforms.
Also, the new Homeland Security Act of 2002 promises to alter the immigration landscape as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) moves under the jurisdiction of the new Department of Homeland Security.
The simple, yet complex I-9
The bureaucratic shuffling won't change one thing: Employers must still verify that their employees are authorized to work in the United States. The process requires all employers, regardless of size, to complete an Employment Eligibility Verification form, or I-9, for each new hire. New employees have three days to produce original documents proving their identity and eligibility to work.
I-9 mistakes can be costly: Both INS and the Labor Department audit companies to check I-9 compliance. Penalties for poor documentation and recordkeeping range from $100 to $1,000 per worker. If you knowingly hire an unauthorized alien, you can be fined up to $10,000 per worker.
10 ways to avoid liability
Sidestep potential legal troubles by following these I-9 do's and don'ts:
1. Do require all new hires to complete and sign Section 1 on their first day of work.
2. Don't ask an applicant to complete an I-9 prior to extending a job offer. Information on the I-9 could be used as a weapon in a discrimination lawsuit if the applicant is not hired.
3. Do review the employee's documents to make sure they are on the Form I-9's list of acceptable documents and to make sure they appear genuine.
4. Don't ask the employee for any particular documents or more documents than required by the I-9. The employee chooses the documents, not you.
5. Do establish a consistent procedure for completing I-9s and educate your hiring managers.
6. Don't consider the expiration date of I-9 documentation when making hiring, promotion or firing decisions.
7. Do make and retain copies of all I-9 documentation employees provide. These documents will come in handy in the event of an audit.
8. Don't forget to keep a tickler file to follow up on expiring documents. Notify employees of the need to re-verify documentation 90 days before the current documents expire.
9. Do keep the Form I-9 and copies of an employee's documents for three years after the date of hire or one year after termination, whichever comes later.
10. Don't put the Form I-9 in an employee's personnel file. To protect your company against discrimination claims, keep the I-9 and supporting documentation in a separate file.
Jonathan Landsman @ Business Management Daily
Saturday, 19 February 2011
ICE Inspections are up 10x in 2011, And they Arrested 196 Employers and $7 million in fines - Last Year
Kibble said that in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, ICE performed 2,746 worksite investigations, more than double the 1,191 two years earlier. It arrested 196 employers and fined employers nearly $7 million. That compares to fines of $675,209 in 2008.
AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is launching a new round of worksite investigations, maintaining the pressure on businesses to make sure they are hiring only people who can legally work in the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday it has notified 1,000 companies of upcoming audits of their I-9s, forms that new employees complete, and of the identification documents those employees provided to show they are eligible to work in the U.S.
"The inspections will touch on employers of all sizes and in every state in the nation — no one industry is being targeted nor is any one industry immune from scrutiny," ICE said in a statement. The agency declined to name the businesses to be inspected.
The latest round of audits will differ slightly from previous ones. Agents previously were told to audit a certain number each of small, medium and large businesses, said Dawn Lurie, who advises businesses on immigration compliance.
But this time agents are being encouraged to investigate larger companies if that's where tips and leads are pointing them. A new Employment Compliance Inspection Center in the Washington suburb of Crystal City, Va., means they'll have more auditors and other resources for those larger investigations.
Audits are usually performed at the state in which a company is headquartered, but agents are being told they can audit other parts of the company if their records review shows there may be problems beyond the headquarters, Lurie said.
Lurie said the new focus for the audits is a sign that ICE is becoming more sophisticated in its worksite enforcement.
The Obama administration's worksite strategy differs from that of the Bush administration, which focused on high-profile raids that led to arrests of hundreds of workers at a single work site.
ICE still conducts raids, but they are smaller and less visible. The current administration also has been criticized for auditing mostly small businesses.
Lurie said she thinks the administration's audit tactic is having an effect.
"I do think businesses should be more frightened. Companies across the U.S. need to take compliance seriously. It's ridiculous to say you are not doing anything . we will wait until the federal government knocks at door," she said.
Companies can take small, inexpensive steps to help themselves, she said.
The administration has investigated records of such companies as Krispy Kreme and Abercrombie and Fitch. An immigration official has said such audits doubled in 2010 over 2008.
But critics say the administration's tactic isn't going far enough. At a recent House subcommittee hearing, Republican lawmakers suggested returning to raids and questioned whether more people not legally working could be detained and deported.
ICE assistant secretary Kumar Kibble told the House critics that the audits could not be assessed in a vacuum and are part of a larger enforcement strategy that helped bring about the record deportation of nearly 393,000 people last year, he said.
Kibble said that in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, ICE performed 2,746 worksite investigations, more than double the 1,191 two years earlier. It arrested 196 employers and fined employers nearly $7 million. That compares to fines of $675,209 in 2008.
The Rest @ CBS
AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is launching a new round of worksite investigations, maintaining the pressure on businesses to make sure they are hiring only people who can legally work in the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday it has notified 1,000 companies of upcoming audits of their I-9s, forms that new employees complete, and of the identification documents those employees provided to show they are eligible to work in the U.S.
"The inspections will touch on employers of all sizes and in every state in the nation — no one industry is being targeted nor is any one industry immune from scrutiny," ICE said in a statement. The agency declined to name the businesses to be inspected.
The latest round of audits will differ slightly from previous ones. Agents previously were told to audit a certain number each of small, medium and large businesses, said Dawn Lurie, who advises businesses on immigration compliance.
But this time agents are being encouraged to investigate larger companies if that's where tips and leads are pointing them. A new Employment Compliance Inspection Center in the Washington suburb of Crystal City, Va., means they'll have more auditors and other resources for those larger investigations.
Audits are usually performed at the state in which a company is headquartered, but agents are being told they can audit other parts of the company if their records review shows there may be problems beyond the headquarters, Lurie said.
Lurie said the new focus for the audits is a sign that ICE is becoming more sophisticated in its worksite enforcement.
The Obama administration's worksite strategy differs from that of the Bush administration, which focused on high-profile raids that led to arrests of hundreds of workers at a single work site.
ICE still conducts raids, but they are smaller and less visible. The current administration also has been criticized for auditing mostly small businesses.
Lurie said she thinks the administration's audit tactic is having an effect.
"I do think businesses should be more frightened. Companies across the U.S. need to take compliance seriously. It's ridiculous to say you are not doing anything . we will wait until the federal government knocks at door," she said.
Companies can take small, inexpensive steps to help themselves, she said.
The administration has investigated records of such companies as Krispy Kreme and Abercrombie and Fitch. An immigration official has said such audits doubled in 2010 over 2008.
But critics say the administration's tactic isn't going far enough. At a recent House subcommittee hearing, Republican lawmakers suggested returning to raids and questioned whether more people not legally working could be detained and deported.
ICE assistant secretary Kumar Kibble told the House critics that the audits could not be assessed in a vacuum and are part of a larger enforcement strategy that helped bring about the record deportation of nearly 393,000 people last year, he said.
Kibble said that in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, ICE performed 2,746 worksite investigations, more than double the 1,191 two years earlier. It arrested 196 employers and fined employers nearly $7 million. That compares to fines of $675,209 in 2008.
The Rest @ CBS
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
PointHR Conducts I-9 Audits
As a former HR Director,now the franchise owner of PointHR DFW. I wish I had known about PointHR when I was an HR Director.
We specialize in taking the administrative work of your employee onboarding so that your HR team can do what they do best, work face to face with your employees.
As you know the I-9 is a record of the verification of employment process, and is required to be made available to officials of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and the Special Council for Immigration-related Unfair Labor Practices. 911 and recent immigration issues have made the inspection of these documents more frequent, so we have developed a way to take this burden off your team.
We are a federally-approved Designated Agent of the Department of Homeland Security, but we are not required to report any deficiencies in your current system.
This means we can do an I-9 Audit to help you get ready for any coming inspection,or just to get an independent set of eyes to review your process and documents.
We have a proprietary automated I-9 Gathering, verifying and and tracking process. Further, we can reduce your costs by grouping audit costs into a package of employment services which include, court checks, work confirmations, drug screens and a full set of background checks.
Attached is more information. I will be contacting you shortly to see if I can assist your team with this or other distracting administrative processes.
Lee Royal
Owner
PointHR DFW
972-538-5912 x3027
972-795-8183 (Cell)
866-661-1500 x 3027
http://pointhrdfw.com
Email me
http://pointhr.com/
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf
We specialize in taking the administrative work of your employee onboarding so that your HR team can do what they do best, work face to face with your employees.
As you know the I-9 is a record of the verification of employment process, and is required to be made available to officials of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and the Special Council for Immigration-related Unfair Labor Practices. 911 and recent immigration issues have made the inspection of these documents more frequent, so we have developed a way to take this burden off your team.
We are a federally-approved Designated Agent of the Department of Homeland Security, but we are not required to report any deficiencies in your current system.
This means we can do an I-9 Audit to help you get ready for any coming inspection,or just to get an independent set of eyes to review your process and documents.
We have a proprietary automated I-9 Gathering, verifying and and tracking process. Further, we can reduce your costs by grouping audit costs into a package of employment services which include, court checks, work confirmations, drug screens and a full set of background checks.
Attached is more information. I will be contacting you shortly to see if I can assist your team with this or other distracting administrative processes.
Lee Royal
Owner
PointHR DFW
972-538-5912 x3027
972-795-8183 (Cell)
866-661-1500 x 3027
http://pointhrdfw.com
Email me
http://pointhr.com/
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Pre Employment Checks - More than Public Record Database Searches
A number of annual reports, including BDO Stoy Hayward's Fraudtrack 4[1] and CIFAS's [2] (the UK's fraud prevention service) 'The Enemy Within' have showed a rising level of major discrepancies and embellishments on CVs over previous years. Such business fraud cost United Kingdom businesses $1.4 billion in 2005.[3].
Education records
- Almost half (48%) of organizations with fewer than 100 staff experienced problems with vetted employees.
- Thirty-nine percent of UK organizations have experienced a situation where their vetting procedures have allowed an employee to be hired who was later found to have lied or misrepresented themselves in their application.
Since the onset of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010, the level of fraud has almost doubled and some experts have predicted that it will escalate further. Annual research has also shown that the number of applicants lying on their applications has been increasing steadily since the summer of 2007 when the financial crisis of 2007–2010 began. As of August 2009, nearly one in 5 applicants have major lie or discrepancy on their application.
The marketLarger companies are more likely to outsource than their smaller counterparts – the average staff size of the companies who outsource is 3,313 compared to 2,162 for those who carry out in-house checks.
- Financial services firms had the highest proportion of respondents who outsource the service, with over a quarter( 26%) doing so, compared to an overall average of 16% who outsource vetting to a third party provider.
The construction and property industry showed the lowest level of outsourcing, with 89% of such firms in the sample carrying out checks in-house, making the overall average 16%. This can increase over the years.
Character Reference Check
Gaps in employment history
Identity and Address Verification - whether the applicant is who he or she claims to be. Generally includes verification of the candidate’s present and previous addresses. Can include a money laundering, identity and terrorist check and one to verify the validity of passports.
- Whether an applicant holds a directorship
- Credit History - bankruptcies
- Criminal History Report.
The Financial Services Authority states in their Training & Competence guidance that regulated firms should have.
- Adequacy of procedures for taking into account knowledge and skills of potential recruits for the role
- Adequacy of procedures for obtaining sufficient information about previous activities and training
- Adequacy of procedures for ensuring that individuals have passed appropriate exams or have appropriate exemptions
- Adequacy of procedures for assessing competence of individuals for sales roles
The Financial Services Authority’s statutory objectives:
- Protecting consumers
- Maintaining market confidence
- Promoting public awareness
- Reducing financial crime
The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) is the most important regulation governing background screening.
There are a variety of important laws regulating the dissemination and legal use of this information. Most notably, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates the use of consumer reports (which it defines as information collected and reported by third party agencies) as it pertains to adverse decisions, notification to the applicant, and destruction and safekeeping of records.
If a consumer report is used as a factor in an adverse hiring decision, the applicant must be presented with a
- “pre-adverse action disclosure,”
- a copy of the FCRA summary of rights,
- a “notification of adverse action letter.”
Individuals are entitled to know the source of any information used against them including a credit reporting company. Individuals must also consent in order for the employer to obtain a credit report.
Florida Law
Florida House Bill H0775, passed in 1999, provides protection for employers from negligent hiring liabilities, provided they attempt to conduct certain screening procedures. Employers who follow these steps will be presumed not to have been negligent when hiring if a background check fails to reveal any records on an applicant. These steps are]:
- Ordering a Florida state criminal record check
- Taking reasonable efforts to contact an applicants past employers
- Asking the applicant on the application if they have been convicted of a crime, date of crime and penalty imposed
- Asking the applicant on the application if they were the defendant in a civil action for intentional tort
- A driving record must be ordered if it is relevant to the performed work
- The employer must interview the applicant
There are a variety of types of investigative searches that can be used by potential employers. Many commercial sites will offer specific searches to employers for a fee. Services like these will actually perform the checks, supply the company with adverse action letters, and ensure compliance throughout the process.
It is important to be selective about which pre-employment screening agency you use. A legitimate company will be happy to explain the process to you.
- Many employers choose to search the most common records such as criminal records, driving records, and education verification.
- Other searches such as sex offender registry, credential verification, skills assessment, reference checks, credit reports and Patriot Act searches are becoming increasingly common.
- Employers should consider the position in question when determining which types of searches to include, and should always use the same searches for every applicant being considered for one.
Reasons
- They are frequently conducted to confirm information found on an employment application or résumé/curriculum vitae.
- One study showed that half of all reference checks done on prospective employees differed between what the job applicant provided and what the source reported.
- They may also be conducted as a way to further differentiate potential employees and pick the one the employer feels is best suited for the position.
- As workplace violence becomes more of an issue and other serious concerns since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, employers are becoming more concerned about the people they hire.
- Employers have an obligation to make sure their work environment is safe for all employees and helps prevent other employment problems in the workplace.
In the United States, the Brady Bill requires criminal checks for those wishing to purchase handguns from licensed firearms dealers. Restricted firearms (like machine guns), suppressors, explosives or large quantities of precursor chemicals, and concealed weapons permits also require criminal checks.
Checks are also required for those working in positions with special security concerns, such as
- trucking,
- ports of entry
- airports (including airline transportation).
Other laws exist to prevent those who do not pass a criminal check from working in careers involving the elderly, disabled, or children.
Recently, many jobs are using pre-employment credit checks and the trend has appear to have grown since 2000 within the United States (Bird, M., 2010).
According to a survey in 2010, many individuals felt that employers should have the right and duty to check credit reports for all jobs, while another 28 percent felt that it depended on the potential employee's job responsibilities such as banking or accounting jobs.
Possible information included
The amount of information included on a background check depends to a large degree on the sensitivity of the reason for which it is conducted—e.g., somebody seeking employment at a minimum wage job would be subject to far fewer requirements than somebody applying to work for a law enforcement agency such as the FBI or jobs related to national security.
Criminal, arrest, incarceration, and sex offender records
There are several types of criminal record searches available to employers, some more accurate and up to date than others.
- These "third party" background checking agencies cannot guarantee the accuracy of their information, thus many of them have incomplete records or inaccurate records. The only way to conduct an accurate background check is to go directly through the state.
- Most times using the state of choice is much cheaper than using a "third party" agency.
- Many websites offer the "instant" background check, which will search a compilation of databases containing public information for a fee. These “instant” searches originate from a variety of sources, from statewide court and corrections records to law enforcement records which usually stem from county or metro law enforcement offices.
- There are also other database-type criminal searches, such as statewide repositories and the national crime file.
- A commonly used criminal search by employers who outsource is the county criminal search.
The hiring of illegal workers has become an issue for American businesses since the forming of the Department of Homeland Security and its Immigrations and Customs Enforcement(ICE) division. Many history making immigration raids over the past two years have forced employers to consider including legal working status as part of their background screening process.
All employers are required to keep government Form I-9 documents on all employees and some states mandate the use of the federal E-verify program to research the working status of Social Security numbers. With increased concern for right-to-work issues, many outsourcing companies are sprouting in the marketplace to help automate and store Form I-9 documentation. Some jobs are only available to citizens who are residents of that country due to security concerns.
Litigation records
Employers may want to identify potential employees who routinely file discrimination lawsuits. It has also been alleged that in the U.S., employers that do work for the government do not like to hire whistleblowers who have a history of filing qui tam suits.
Driving and vehicle records
Employers that routinely hire drivers or are in the transportation sector seek drivers with clean driving records—i.e., those without a history of accidents or traffic tickets. Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Transportation records are searched to determine a qualified driver.
Drug tests
Drug tests are used for a variety of reasons—corporate ethics, measuring potential employee performance, and keeping workers' compensation premiums down.
These are used primarily to see if the potential employee had graduated from high school (or a GED) or received a college degree, graduate degree, or some other accredited university degree. There are reports of SAT scores being requested by employers as well.
Employment records
These usually range from simple verbal confirmations of past employment and timeframe to deeper, such as discussions about performance, activities and accomplishments, and relations with others.
Financial information
Credit scores, liens, civil judgments, bankruptcy, and tax information may be included in the report.
Licensing records
A government authority that has some oversight over professional conduct of its licensees will also maintain records regarding the licensee, such as personal information, education, complaints, investigations, and disciplinary actions.
Medical, Mental, and Physiological evaluation and records
These records are generally not available to consumer reporting agencies, background screening firms, or any other investigators without documented, written consent of the applicant, consumer or employee.
Military records
Although not as common today as it was in the past fifty years, employers frequently requested the specifics of one's military discharge.
Social Security Number
(or equivalent outside the US). A fraudulent SSN may be indicative of identity theft, insufficient citizenship, or concealment of a "past life". Background screening firms usually perform a Social Security trace to determine where the applicant or employee has lived.
Other interpersonal interviews
Employers may investigate past employment to verify position and salary information. More intensive checks can involve interviews with anybody that knew or previously knew the applicant—such as teachers, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family members; however, extensive hearsay investigations in background checks can expose companies to lawsuits. Past employment and personal reference verifications are moving toward standardization with most companies in order to avoid expensive litigation.
Controversies
Drug tests and credit checks for employment are highly controversial practices. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a project of the Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN): "While some people are not concerned about background investigations, others are uncomfortable with the idea of investigators poking around in their personal histories. In-depth checks could unearth information that is irrelevant, taken out of context, or just plain wrong. A further concern is that the report might include information that is illegal to use for hiring purposes or which comes from questionable sources."
In May 2002, allegedly improper post-hire checks conducted by Northwest Airlines were the subject of a civil lawsuit between Northwest and 10,000 of their mechanics. In the case of an arrest that did not lead to a conviction, employment checks can continue including the arrest record for up to seven years, per sec. 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act:
Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing . . . Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.
Subsection (b) provides for an exception if the report is in connection with "the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more
Some proposals for decreasing potential harm to innocent applicants include:
- Furnishing the applicant with a copy of the report before it is given to the employer, so that any inaccuracies can be addressed beforehand; and
- Allowing only conviction (not arrest) records to be reported.
In Michigan, the system of criminal checks has been criticized in a recent case where a shooting suspect was able to pass an FBI check to purchase a shotgun although he had failed the check for a state handgun permit. According to the spokesman of the local police department,
... you could have a clear criminal history but still have contacts with law enforcement that would not rise to the level of an arrest or conviction [that can be used] to deny a permit whether or not those involved arrests that might show up on a criminal history.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has criticized the federal policy, which denies constitutional rights based on a criminal check only if the subject has been accused of a crime.
Public records pay sites
Taking advantage of public records availability in the United States, a number of Web based companies began purchasing U.S. public records data and selling it online, primarily to assist the general public in locating people. Many of these sites advertise background research and provide employers and/or landlords with fee-based checks.
There has been a growing movement on the web to use advertising-based models to subsidize these checks. These companies display targeted ads next to the reports delivered to landlords or employers. Some of the reports provided by these pay sites are only expanded versions of a basic people search providing a 20 year history of addresses, phone numbers, marriages and divorces, businesses owned and property ownership. Usually, these sites will also provide a nationwide criminal report for an added charge.
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