nowHIRE Blog

I-9 Compliance Myths :: I9 Compliance Software from nowHIRE

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:40:40 +0000

I-9 compliance is a subject clouded in myth and misinformation. So we at nowHIRE have set out to help shed some light on this incredibly important topic.

The Top 5 I-9 Compliance Myths

Myth #1 – If you don’t Hire Foreign Workers, you are Safe: ICE targets ANY business with improperly filled out Form I-9s.
Myth #2 – ICE only Targets Companies in the Restaurant, Construction, and Agricultural Industry: As we just said, ICE targets any and all business, regardless of industry.
Myth #3 – ICE only Targets Small Business: Regardless of whether you are a small business or a Fortune 500 company, ICE could be coming for you.
Myth #4 – We have already been Audited Once…it won’t happen again: There is always the potential to be fined again for not correcting previously uncovered Form I-9 violations.
Myth #5 – We are already doing everything we can: If you have not contacted nowHIRE, then you have not done everything you can to ensure your business is I-9 compliant.

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

Developed in conjunction with one of Michigan’s largest law firms, nowHIRE has created the most recommended and number one (#1) I-9 conversion and auditing tool for your archived I-9s in the market today! nowHIRE has eliminated the human error element with processing times reduced to seconds and have increased an attorney’s accuracy to 99.9% through technology.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

Since 1999, nowHIRE has provided applicant tracking systems for companies of every size within diverse vertical markets. nowHIRE’s solutions feature fully integrated, Web-based recruiting and applicant tracking software modules, I-9 compliance software, and customer support.

For more Form I-9 News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

The Ins and Outs of Applicant Tracking Systems: Talent Acquisition Blog

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:58:46 +0000

Paper applications are a thing of the past. Now, businesses and companies all across the nation are turning to a paperless form of talent acquisition – Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)!

This technology, which is quickly gaining popularity in the business world, is helping to revolutionize the hiring process. Not only do applicant tracking systems help save paper, but they also provide several other benefits as well, including:

Saves recruiters and applicants time.
Improve productivity.
Quickly rule out unqualified applicants.
24/7 data accessibility.
Track when an applicant was contacted, updated, or reviewed.
Provide answers to applicant, requisition, EEO, or sourcing questions.
Eliminate administrative costs associated with printing and processing applicant data manually.

But what is an Applicant Tracking System?

Applicant Tracking Systems Defined

ATS systems provide companies with a software interface to better manage and streamline their hiring process. This includes:

Posting job openings
Advertising job openings online
Candidates can apply online
The system eliminates any unqualified applicants
Recruiters can review the talent pool and keep track of interviews and potential new hires
And more!

ATS software provides recruiters with assistance from screening to interview to offer to hire!

Applicant Tracking Systems from nowHIRE

nowHIRE A.T.S. is a turnkey innovation designed to give your company something we call “Zoom” – the competitive edge. And, this web-based applicant tracking system helps zoom the best candidates to your company’s door … and throughout the entire hiring process. Because nowHIRE is designed to be modular, you’re guaranteed to find the right mix of hiring and talent acquisition solutions for your organization. Whether your recruitment needs are hourly, salaried, internal, contingent, recruitment-based or any combination thereof, the nowHIRE hiring management system integrates all phases of the employment lifecycle into a seamless, efficient and automated hiring process. Plus, it’s paperless!

ENTERPRISE EDITION. Our most robust module for hourly, salaried, professional, internal, campus recruiting and internal transfers in a single, highly-configurable suite. This configurable edition features proven screening and assessment capabilities, robust skills-matching and resume processing capabilities, in-depth ad-hoc reporting capabilities, new hire on-boarding, configurable workflows and proven third-party integration capabilities.
HEATHCARE EDITION. Our fast, cost-effective solution to your healthcare needs. This affordable human capital management solution gives you modular solutions with less paperwork and better results.
PROFESSIONAL EDITION. Designed to help your organization gain the automated services needed for your exempt workforce recruiting in a single solution. With many of the same configurable features as the Enterprise Edition, this solution will let you click your way to efficient “best practice” standards and methodologies in workforce procurement and management.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR EDITION. This edition enables you to meet the new internet applicant compliance requirements. By working with you to determine your areas of risk, you get a tailored solution that ensures your recruitment processes and policies are in compliance with OFCCP requirements.
HOURLY EDITION. Our comprehensive set of employee management tools that provide an automated hiring solution to enable better and faster hiring decisions for your largely non-exempt talent pool. This edition features applicant tracking, pre-screening, background checking, ad-hoc real-time reporting, on-boarding, assessments, tax credit capture and payroll integration—all in one system!

If you have any questions about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or you would like to know what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form Applicant Tracking System (ATS) News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

How to Leverage Applicant Tracking Systems To Land a Job

Your Responsibilities as an Employer :: Form I-9 :: I-9 Compliance

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:21:40 +0000

The importance of Form I-9 Compliance cannot be stated enough. And, at the end of the day, the responsibility for ensuring that compliancy doesn’t fall on your employees or your Human Resources (HR) department. It falls on you, the business owner.

YOU and you alone are responsible for ensuring the entire Form I-9 is completed no later than the close of business on the third day of employment. YOU are responsible for ensuring the validity of the employee’s documentation for establishing identity and work eligibility. And YOU are also responsible for the following:

Missing I-9 Forms: If you find that you have lost an I-9 Form, you MUST request that the employee completes a second Form I-9 immediately. The new Form I-9 should be dated when completed. Never post-dated.

Retaining I-9 Forms: Form I-9s are not filed with the government; they remain with you, the employer. You must maintain I-9 records in your own files for three years after the date of hire or one year after the date the employee’s employment is terminated, whichever is later.

Storing Form I-9 Records: Your Form I-9s must be available within three days of an official request for production of the documents for inspection.

How nowHIRE can Streamline Form I-9 Compliance

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form I-9 Compliance News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

I9 Compliance Issues

I-9 Compliance Tips: Avoiding Common Form I-9 Mistakes

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:16:07 +0000

It is a seemingly simple document. But a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification form, is far from simple. This one-page form comes with enough regulations that it requires a 69-page manual – the M-274 Handbook for Employers – to understand. That’s right, 69 pages of instructions to understand a one-page Form I-9.

As you can imagine, there are several fairly common mistakes that are made when filling out this complicated little form.

Common Form I-9 Mistakes

Incorrect and Missing Forms: Common mistakes include: incorrect dates, missing signatures, transposed information, incomplete check boxes, and much more! These little mistakes could cost your company up to $1,100 per violation.
Three-Day Rule: Form I-9s must be completed within three business days of the employee’s first day of work. Failing to meet this deadline, for whatever reason, could result in hefty fines.
Identifying Documents: If an employer fails to obtain the proper identifying documents in lists A or lists B and C, then fines could be in the near future.
Document Maintenance: If an employer fails to destroy outdated Form I-9s in the given time, they could be subject to fines. And any incorrect information found on these outdated Form I-9s could still be subject to fines, as well!
And Much More!

Automating Form I-9 Compliance

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form I-9 Compliance News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

How Much Time are you Spending on Form I-9 Compliance?

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:49:21 +0000

As a business owner or human resources professional, you are probably (at least we hope) extremely familiar with the Form I-9 and Form I-9 compliance. Every employee that comes and goes from your business must complete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification form, no more than 3 business days after employment begins. This process, however, can become extremely burdensome.

In fact, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimates that businesses spend approximately one million hours per year managing the Form I-9 process.

Still, over 50% of all Form I-9s contain missing or incorrect information. These critical mistakes could cost your company up to $1,100 per violation. And that is just the beginning. Criminal prosecution could follow, resulting in forfeiture of assets, civil fines up to $50,000, and even jail time.

Streamlining Form I-9 Compliance

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

Want to Learn More?

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form I-9 News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

E-Verify: The Verification Process

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:40:28 +0000

Using E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility of your employees is a simple process.

The E-Verify Process According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Form I-9: First of all, regardless of whether you participate in E-Verify, both you and your employee must complete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification form, no more than 3 business days after employment begins.

Create a Case: Information from this Form I-9 serves as the foundation of an E-Verify case, which must also be created case within three days of employment. E-Verify guides you through a series of questions, which follow Form I-9, beginning with the employee’s citizenship attestation, document type(s), then biographical information including name, date of birth, Social Security number and Alien or I-94 number (if a noncitizen).

Get Results: In most cases, E-Verify will instantly verify the employee’s work authorization. If E-Verify returns an “Employment Authorized” response, you can continue on. If E-Verify cannot immediately verify an employees work authorization, you will be prompted one of two ways:

DHS Verification in Process: If this happens, you must check back with E-Verify until the employee’s case is updated, which usually happens within 1-3 business days. E-Verify will return either an “Employment Authorized” or “Tentative Nonconfirmation” response.
Tentative Nonconfirmation: Visit USCIS.gov for more information.

Close the Case: All E-Verify cases must be closed by the user in E-Verify when a final verification result is received. Once the case is closed, the employer must either record the case verification number on the employee’s Form I-9 or print the case details and keep it on file with the employee’s Form I-9.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more E-Verify News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

The Verification Process

The Calm Before the Storm: Form I-9 Audits

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:18:08 +0000

Form I-9 employment verification regulations are not suggestions…they are the law. And just because you have not gotten in trouble in the past does not mean that you are free from harm.

In fact, the federal government has made it a point in recent years to crack down on non-compliant worksites.

Since 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has conducted more than 6,000 Form I-9 audits, debarred 441 companies and individuals from receiving federal contracts, and handed out more than $76 million in financial sanctions. And in 2011 alone, ICE arrested 221 employers on criminal charges.

While ICE focuses its efforts on employers who knowingly employee unauthorized workers, the government agency is also making it a point to go after employers who fail to correctly fill out their Form I-9s. And if that does not scare you, consider this: ICE can hand out financial sanctions of up to $1,168.75 per violation.

So how confident are you that your business Form I-9 compliant?

If you are uncertain or if you want to improve your company’s current Form I-9 processes, nowHIRE can help!

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form I9 Compliance News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

The Dos and Don’ts of Form I-9s

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:32:17 +0000

The key to surviving a Form I-9 audit unscathed is to ensure that your I-9 documents are filled out properly. And, as an employer, this responsibility falls to you. After all, if any errors are uncovered during an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audit, it is your business’ name and your business’ money on the line.

Employer Best Practices During Worksite Enforcement Audits from the U.S. Department of Justice

Develop a transparent process for interacting with employees during the audit, including communicating with employees that the employer is subject to an ICE audit.
Provide all workers with a reasonable amount of time to correct discrepancies in their records identified by ICE. Treat all workers in the same manner during the audit, without regard to national origin or citizenship status. This means that all workers with like discrepancies who are asked to present additional documents are provided with the same timeframes and the same choice of Form I-9 documents to present.
If your workers are represented by a union, inform the union of the ICE audit and determine whether a collective bargaining agreement triggers any obligations.
Inform employees from whom you seek specific information that you are seeking this information in response to an ICE audit.
Communicate in writing with employees from whom you seek information, and describe the specific basis for the discrepancy and/or what information you need from them. Follow the instructions on the ICE notice and the instructions for the Form I-9 when seeking to correct Form I-9 defects, including the Lists of Acceptable Documents and the anti-discrimination notice.

DON’T

Selectively verify the employment eligibility of certain employees based on their national origin or citizenship status based on the receipt of an ICE Notice of Inspection.
Terminate or suspend employees without providing them with notice and a reasonable opportunity to present valid Form I-9 documents.
Require employees to provide additional evidence of employment eligibility or more documents than ICE is requiring you to obtain.
Limit the range of documents that employees are allowed to present for purposes of the Form I-9.
Treat employees differently at any point during the audit because they look or sound foreign, or based on assumptions about whether they are authorized to work in the U.S.

If you are interested in learning more about Form I-9 Best Practices, please contact nowHIRE by visiting our website or giving us a call at 800-724-8547.

Since 1998, nowHIRE has provided applicant tracking systems for companies of every size within diverse vertical markets. nowHIRE’s solutions feature fully integrated, Web-based recruiting and applicant tracking software modules, I-9 compliance software, and customer support.

For more Form I-9 News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn!

The What and Why of E-Verify

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:12:29 +0000

As a business owner, you are only legally allowed to hire employees who meet the following requirements:

1. U.S. citizens

2. Foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization to work in the U.S.

And how can you be sure that you hire only employees who meet the above requirements? Using E-Verify, that’s how!

E-Verify is an Internet-based system utilized by more than 288,000 employers nationwide that compares information from an employee’s completed Form I-9 and Employment Eligibility Verification to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility.

E-Verify works by comparing information entered from an employee’s Form I-9 to:

• 455 million Social Security Administration (SSA) records

• 80 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security records

E-Verify is the only service that verifies employees’ data against millions of government records, providing you with accurate results within seconds! If a problem arises, E-Verify will alert both you, the employer, and the employee, who will be allowed to work while he or she resolves the problem.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact nowHIRE by visiting our website or giving us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more E-Verify News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

How are ICE Fines Calculated?

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) bases its calculation of fines on the percentage of total Form I-9s containing substantive errors. This is explained further in the guide below.

Percentage of Substantive Violations

Fine (per violation)

0 – 9%

10 -19%

20 – 29%

30 – 39%

40 – 49%

50% and Over

$110

$275

$440

$605

$770

$935

Additionally, there are five aggravating or mitigating factors (worth 5% each). These five factors are: size of business, good faith, seriousness of violations, whether any employees were unauthorized, and history of previous violations.

This means that the maximum fine ICE can hand out per violation is now $1,168.75.

Can your business afford such heavy fines?

nowHIRE can help ensure that you never have to find out!

Until now, Form I-9 compliance had been a time-consuming and paper-heavy process. But with nowHIRE’s I-9 Comply™ Program, full compliance is now fast, easy, automated and 100% paperless.

Plus, nowHIRE has automated the Form I-9 conversion process to ensure that your old forms are compliant, as well.

If you have any questions about what you have just or read or on what nowHIRE can do for you and your business, please visit our website or give us a call at 800-724-8547.

For more Form I9 Compliance News, continue to checkout our blog every Friday for our newest blog posts!

You can also follow nowHIRE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

Sources:

How are ICE Fines Calculated? – ICE vs. OCAHO