When was the last time your companyconducted internal I-9 audits? As President-Elect Donald Trump prepares to takeoffice on January 20, 2025, his administration has signaled a strong focus onimmigration enforcement, which includes a mass deportation plan targetingundocumented immigrants. While this topic remains under discussion and has notyet been implemented, businesses should prepare by ensuring compliance withfederal employment laws, primarily by verifying employees’ work eligibilitythrough I-9 forms. I-9 forms should be stored separately from personnel files toaid in quick retrieval during an audit. Additional layers of compliance can beachieved through the web-based system, E-Verify, that allows employers toverify their employees eligibility to work in the U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement(“ICE”) will issue companies selected for an I-9 audit a Notice of Inspection(NOI), informing them that their I-9 forms will be reviewed within a specifiedtimeframe, during which they must produce the required documents. After alldocuments have been submitted and reviewed by ICE agents, they will identifyand record any errors found. If errors are detected, companies will be given aspecified timeframe to correct them without facing penalties. Failure to complywith federal employment laws puts a company at risk of fines, criminal chargesand reputational damage.

‍