September 27, 2006
Retailers Face Seasonal Hiring Crunch and Paperwork
Don’t look now but Halloween is closing in and Black Friday is just around the corner. With the upcoming Christmas holiday sales period on the way, retailers will be going through the annual process of bringing on seasonal help to keep stores stocked, customers served and checkouts moving along.
Complicating the search for warm and, preferably, talented bodies who will work cheap is the controversy surrounding illegal aliens in the U.S. As a result, the federal government is stepping up its enforcement to find illegals in the workplace so they may be removed from the country.
For every new employee hired, companies are required by law to fill out what is known as Form I-9. This document from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) department covers both citizens and those from outside the country. Employers are required to verify the employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee and record the information on the I-9 form.
Employers not in compliance with Form I-9 may be subject to sanctions, fines, and perhaps even jail time.
With the holiday season approaching, Cynthia Juarez Lange, partner with the law firm of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, told RetailWire this is no time for getting sloppy.
“Retailers can protect themselves from potential civil and criminal liability by following a careful I-9 process,” said Ms. Juarez Lange. “This includes completing the I-9 properly in the proper time frame, reviewing the I-9 thoroughly and complete periodic audits. And, finally, ensuring I-9’s which expire are re-verified on or before they expire.”
An additional option, said Ms. Juarez Lange, is an employer can sign up voluntarily to check documentation through a Homeland Security verification program.
Keeping on top of the verification process is critical because illegals have become more skilled in avoiding detection. Some, Ms. Juarez Lange pointed out, use false documents or someone else’s identity to gain employment.
The good news, she said, is that when mistakes are made, most are not fatal to a business. “An employer is not always liable just because an employee uses false documents to enter a work force,” she said. “The employer is responsible only if it ‘knew’ or ‘should have known’ the employee was undocumented. Employers are also responsible for the ‘knowledge’ its supervisors or managers have.”
To make the upcoming hiring season as stress free as possible, Ms. Juarez Lange recommends employers set their focus “on ensuring they have a thorough and consistent non-discriminatory process to complete the I-9 form at the time of hire. Employers should also make sure their supervisors and managers are well trained as to their responsibilities.”
Discussion Questions: With the amount of new hires made for the Thanksgiving through New Year’s selling season, how much can retailers really concentrate
on verifying that workers are legal? What are the keys for retailers looking to keep the workforce legal while fulfilling the hiring and verification requirements set by state
and federal governmental bodies?
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My wife is in the H-R business for a major retailer and I know how difficult complying with regulations like I-9s can be. Basically, they are a necessary evil.
You can fill out all the government forms you want, but someone who wants a job can always circumvent the regulations with false documents or simply by stalling employers desperate for bodies.
There is no simple solution here. Fining employers is not the answer. To many, the fines are simply the cost of doing business. It is far worse to have empty registers or shelves that are never stocked or cleaned. Potential employees know this and are certainly not afraid of getting caught — witness the nightly stream of people coming into this country’s southern borders from Mexico every night, for example. Do you think the threat of an incomplete government form is going to stop them?
Maybe it’s time to ramp up the debate on a national ID card for legal immigrants and to protect employers. It may not help this “black Friday” but you have to start somewhere.
The simple answer is that retailers really don’t have a choice. They need to comply with the employment and immigration laws regardless of the big swing in hiring for the holiday season. However, as Ms. Lange points out, doing so is not overly burdensome. Where many retailers fall down is not in the initial hiring steps, but later when they become aware of a discrepancy. Employee duplicates (two or more employees using the same information), obviously altered or forged documentation, and information provided by third parties (such as Social Security alerting the employer to false SSNs), all raise the bar for the employer. Many retailers bring in a large number of seasonal workers for their distribution operations which can be a source of many employment problems. Again, if the retailer takes reasonable business steps to comply with the relevant laws, typically they will not have a problem.
There is a difference between not checking documentation and being fooled by the documentation. I spent 10 years in HR and can remember a time when INS (Immigration & Naturalization Services) agents would conduct raids to find illegal immigrants. We WERE diligent in checking for proof of residence. We were not always successful. That being said, all employers, not just retailers must be responsible and diligent in completing the I-9 forms. Better to not hire a person than to hire without documentation.
Having a national id card as was suggested by one of our panelists, is in and of itself, not a foolproof answer. Where there is a will there is a way. And an illegal immigrant would probably be able to find a counterfeit id card much the same way that 25 years ago counterfeit green cards were in circulation. The Congress has not been able to come up with a concise agreement and solution. I doubt if this panel, as distinguished as it might be, will have much better luck.
It’s a pretty simple form, so what’s the problem?
Is it compliance with the form? Or, is it compliance in the first place?
While shopping on October 31st one year, my wife commented to the mother of several costumed kids running through the store, “what a cute Satan suit.” “It’s not Satan, it’s a devil,” replied the mother. A contextual disconnect.
Another contextual disconnect is temporary workers who are automatically considered legal because of expediency. Newsflash: If they can’t speak English well enough to direct customers to the women’s department, perhaps they’re illegal. (With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, you might be a brown-neck if . . .)
My people (pasty-white Anglos) should also be scrutinized during this discussion. Our teens should be made to account for themselves. Do they have “papers?” No! “Previous employment?” None! “Customer service experience?” As a receiver only! But, pasty-white kids with no skills or experience still get hired to “mannequin” beside mannequins.
Sell people what they want and then go home. Commerce is pitching and catching. The best sellers pitch slow-balls that are easy to hit and easier to catch. Everybody wins. Get through the season the best way you can, and help your temporary employees to understand the value and benefits of the American system of commerce. If they’re not already signed up, perhaps you can help them to do so.
The keys to a legal workforce seem to be proper identification, documentation, and paperwork. And then there is always the consumer expectation of service and selection. My suggestion to retailers, after the paperwork is done – don’t forget some customer service training to the market you are serving because customers can clearly tell if a retailer has done their homework to meet customer needs.
Repeat sales and loyalty are built over time.
This is every employer’s responsibility and duty. The basic confirmation of a passport, driver’s license or SS card will help take the onus of approval from the employer to that of the federal government. So long as employers make the effort, they will be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
According to the Immigration and Customs folks, I-9 enforcement is more talk than reality. See: ICE Arrests Unauthorized Workers at L.A. Department of Water and Power
Eight unauthorized employees identified during year-long review of utility’s personnel records
Last year, there were 511 criminal work site investigations compared to ten million (?) illegal aliens. There are two labor markets in US retailing: (1) employers hiring the undocumented who largely ignore I-9 issues, pay in cash off the books, and often ignore wage and hour rules (overtime pay, break time requirements, etc.) versus (2) stores who try to hire legitimately, report wages to the IRS as required, and try to obey wage and hour rules.
How many single-location restaurants, convenience stores, and other retail stores fit into category 1? From my casual observation, in major metro areas (NY, Chicago, LA, Miami), it appears to be at least 25%, if not the majority.
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My wife is in the H-R business for a major retailer and I know how difficult complying with regulations like I-9s can be. Basically, they are a necessary evil.
You can fill out all the government forms you want, but someone who wants a job can always circumvent the regulations with false documents or simply by stalling employers desperate for bodies.
There is no simple solution here. Fining employers is not the answer. To many, the fines are simply the cost of doing business. It is far worse to have empty registers or shelves that are never stocked or cleaned. Potential employees know this and are certainly not afraid of getting caught — witness the nightly stream of people coming into this country’s southern borders from Mexico every night, for example. Do you think the threat of an incomplete government form is going to stop them?
Maybe it’s time to ramp up the debate on a national ID card for legal immigrants and to protect employers. It may not help this “black Friday” but you have to start somewhere.
The simple answer is that retailers really don’t have a choice. They need to comply with the employment and immigration laws regardless of the big swing in hiring for the holiday season. However, as Ms. Lange points out, doing so is not overly burdensome. Where many retailers fall down is not in the initial hiring steps, but later when they become aware of a discrepancy. Employee duplicates (two or more employees using the same information), obviously altered or forged documentation, and information provided by third parties (such as Social Security alerting the employer to false SSNs), all raise the bar for the employer. Many retailers bring in a large number of seasonal workers for their distribution operations which can be a source of many employment problems. Again, if the retailer takes reasonable business steps to comply with the relevant laws, typically they will not have a problem.
There is a difference between not checking documentation and being fooled by the documentation. I spent 10 years in HR and can remember a time when INS (Immigration & Naturalization Services) agents would conduct raids to find illegal immigrants. We WERE diligent in checking for proof of residence. We were not always successful. That being said, all employers, not just retailers must be responsible and diligent in completing the I-9 forms. Better to not hire a person than to hire without documentation.
Having a national id card as was suggested by one of our panelists, is in and of itself, not a foolproof answer. Where there is a will there is a way. And an illegal immigrant would probably be able to find a counterfeit id card much the same way that 25 years ago counterfeit green cards were in circulation. The Congress has not been able to come up with a concise agreement and solution. I doubt if this panel, as distinguished as it might be, will have much better luck.
It’s a pretty simple form, so what’s the problem?
Is it compliance with the form? Or, is it compliance in the first place?
While shopping on October 31st one year, my wife commented to the mother of several costumed kids running through the store, “what a cute Satan suit.” “It’s not Satan, it’s a devil,” replied the mother. A contextual disconnect.
Another contextual disconnect is temporary workers who are automatically considered legal because of expediency. Newsflash: If they can’t speak English well enough to direct customers to the women’s department, perhaps they’re illegal. (With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, you might be a brown-neck if . . .)
My people (pasty-white Anglos) should also be scrutinized during this discussion. Our teens should be made to account for themselves. Do they have “papers?” No! “Previous employment?” None! “Customer service experience?” As a receiver only! But, pasty-white kids with no skills or experience still get hired to “mannequin” beside mannequins.
Sell people what they want and then go home. Commerce is pitching and catching. The best sellers pitch slow-balls that are easy to hit and easier to catch. Everybody wins. Get through the season the best way you can, and help your temporary employees to understand the value and benefits of the American system of commerce. If they’re not already signed up, perhaps you can help them to do so.
The keys to a legal workforce seem to be proper identification, documentation, and paperwork. And then there is always the consumer expectation of service and selection. My suggestion to retailers, after the paperwork is done – don’t forget some customer service training to the market you are serving because customers can clearly tell if a retailer has done their homework to meet customer needs.
Repeat sales and loyalty are built over time.
This is every employer’s responsibility and duty. The basic confirmation of a passport, driver’s license or SS card will help take the onus of approval from the employer to that of the federal government. So long as employers make the effort, they will be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
According to the Immigration and Customs folks, I-9 enforcement is more talk than reality. See: ICE Arrests Unauthorized Workers at L.A. Department of Water and Power
Eight unauthorized employees identified during year-long review of utility’s personnel records
Last year, there were 511 criminal work site investigations compared to ten million (?) illegal aliens. There are two labor markets in US retailing: (1) employers hiring the undocumented who largely ignore I-9 issues, pay in cash off the books, and often ignore wage and hour rules (overtime pay, break time requirements, etc.) versus (2) stores who try to hire legitimately, report wages to the IRS as required, and try to obey wage and hour rules.
How many single-location restaurants, convenience stores, and other retail stores fit into category 1? From my casual observation, in major metro areas (NY, Chicago, LA, Miami), it appears to be at least 25%, if not the majority.