The Department of Homeland Security made its annual inflation adjustment to civil monetary penalties, which resulted in increased fines for Form I-9 violations. The Form I-9 is the federal government’s employment eligibility verification worksheet that is used to verify identity and employment authorization of workers who are hired for employment in the United States. New-hires must complete the form regardless of company size, and regardless of citizenship status. The latter means that the form must be completed by U.S. citizens as well.
The fine for the very first violation has increased to $230 per form, with the maximum fine increasing to $2,292 per form. The penalty for knowingly hiring or continuing to employ workers who are not authorized to work in the U.S. has increased to $573 per form for first-time violations to $4,586 per form. Penalties for subsequent violations increased as well. Read more about the increased fines here.
The increased penalties went into effect on April 5, 2019 and apply to violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.