As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, through the Federal Register, increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), effective February 13, 2024. Interestingly, the Federal Register announcement for DOJ increases also included penalties for sections of IRCA administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The higher penalties are for those cases where the penalties are assessed on February 13, 2024, and thereafter. The 2024 increases are much lower than the 2022 and 2023 increases due to inflation being significantly lower in 2023.
Below are the offenses with the old and new penalties:
|
Type
|
Old Penalty
|
New Penalty
|
|
Substantive Form I-9 violations – minimum
|
$272
|
$281
|
|
Substantive Form I-9 violations – maximum
|
$2,701
|
$2,789
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – 1st order
|
$676 to $5,404
|
$698 to $5,579
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – 2nd order
|
$5,404 to $13,508
|
$5,579 to $13,946
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – subsequent
|
$8,106 to $27,018
|
$8,369 to $27,894
|
|
Unfair documentary practices
|
$223 to $2,232
|
$230 to $2,304
|
|
Unfair immigration-related employment practice (discrimination) – 1st order
|
$557 to $4,465
|
$575 to $4,610
|
|
Unfair immigration-related employment practice (discrimination) – 2nd order
|
$4,465 to $11,162
|
$4,610 to $11,524
|
|
Unfair immigration-related employment practice (discrimination) – subsequent order
|
$6,696 to $22,324
|
$6,913 to $23,048
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) – 1st order
|
$557 to $4,465
|
$575 to $4,610
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) –subsequent order
|
$4,465 to $11,162
|
$4,610 to $11,524
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) – 1st order
|
$472 to $3,765
|
$487 to $3,887
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) –subsequent order
|
$3,765 to 9,413
|
$3,887 to $9,718
|
|
Prohibition of indemnity bonds
|
$2,701
|
$2,789
|
|
Employer’s failure to notify DHS of continuing to employ after final non-confirmation
|
$942 to $1,881
|
$973 to $1,942
|
As the penalties continue to rise, it is incumbent on all employers to pay careful attention to their I-9 forms and strongly consider conducting an internal I-9 audit in order to remediate, as much as possible, the I-9 errors. Such an internal I-9 audit may save employers substantial money if audited by ICE. Employers are advised to contact their immigration or employment counsel with questions about the above.
