Employers Will Face Increased Penalties for Immigration Violations

Effective March 27, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security has increased penalties levied on employers for various employment-related immigration violations by approximately 25% in order to keep up with rising inflation.

Some examples of the new penalties are as follows:

• First violation for knowing employment of an unauthorized alien, $375.00 (previously $275.00)
• First violation maximum penalty, $3,200.00 (previously $2,200.00)
• Multiple violations maximum penalty, $16,000.00 (previously $11,000.00)

All penalties are assessed on a per-alien basis and haven't been adjusted since 1999. Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff has described the new penalty hikes as "part of our effort to continue to make it less appealing for people to break the law" and "a way to keep that pressure up."

Please contact your Fisher Phillips attorney if you have any questions.