Compliance

H1B/DOL Integrated Internal Audit

Confirmation recently has come from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that 25,000 more onsite administrative visits to H1B-sponsoring employers are being conducted. These site visits began in July 2009 and are part of an effort to address violations within the H1B system. Separately, in November 2009, the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the initiation of new workplace audits on employment eligibility (I9 Audits). Thus, employers should be prepared for this higher level of careful government review of their employment practices related to immigration.

Department of Labor’s (DOL)Wage and Hour Division is responsible for ensuring that workers receive wages defined on the Labor Condition Application (LCA) and are working in the occupation and at the specified location. The Wage and Hour Division can initiate an H-1B-related investigation in response to one of the four following situations:

1.  A complaint is filed by an aggrieved individual or organization; or
2. The Wage and Hour Division receives some other specific credible information from a reliable source indicating that the employer has failed to meet LCA conditions; or
3. The Secretary of Labor has found that an employer, within the last five years, has committed a willful failure to meet a condition of the LCA or willfully misrepresented a material fact in the LCA; or
4. The Secretary of Labor has reasonable cause to believe the employer is non-compliant.
5. When violations are found, the Wage and Hour Division may assess civil money penalties with maximums ranging from $1,000 to $35,000 per violation. Other remedies such as the payment of back wages may also be imposed.

Employers found culpable of certain violations may also be denied access to the H-1B and other immigrant programs for a period of at least one year.

What can Nexus do for you?

We can conduct an integrated internal audit assessing the exposure of your business to various employment law and governmental agencies such as Department of Labor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security etc., and advise on processes to be in place to comply with the law.

Our Audit focuses on I9, LCA Compliance, State Payroll compliance, Workers Compensation, State incorporation compliance, Overtime wages, Offshore funds transfer, FBAR, Per diem, Employee Vs. Contractor, Interstate Tax matters, International tax exposure and more.

Contact us to learn more..