Immigration - DOJ Increases Civil Fines Against Employers For Immigration Violations
On February 26, 2008, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced higher civil fines against employers who violate federal immigration laws. Under the new rule, which was approved by Attorney General Mukasey and Secretary Michael
Chertoff, civil fines will increase by as much as $5,000. The new rule will take effect on March 27, 2008.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, employers who violate employment eligibility requirements are subject to civil monetary penalties. Employers may be fined under the Act for knowingly employing unauthorized aliens or for
other violations, including failure to comply with the requirements relating to employment eligibility verification forms, wrongful discrimination against job applicants or employees on the basis of nationality or citizenship, and
immigration related document fraud.
Under the new rule and applicable law, civil penalties for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act are adjusted for inflation. Because these penalties were last adjusted in 1999, the average adjustment is approximately
25 percent. The minimum penalty for knowing employment of an unauthorized alien increases by $100, from $275 to $375. Some of the higher civil penalties are increased by $1,000; for example, the maximum penalty for a first violation
increases from $2,200 to $3,200. The biggest increase under the rounding mechanism raises the maximum civil penalty for multiple violations from the current$11,000 to $16,000. These penalties are assessed on a per-alien basis; thus,
if an employer knowingly employed, or continued to employ, five unauthorized aliens, that could result in five fines.
A PDF table outlining the new civil fines may be found on pages 4 and 5 with this link.