In our most recent post about I-9 audits and ICE raids, we discussed some of the reasons why ICE may target certain businesses. Sometimes it’s one major tip, and sometimes it’s a series of compounding incidents that seem minor on the surface but land your business squarely on ICE’s radar.
Take the Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia where ICE arrested and detained over 300 South Korean workers: The Guardian explores the idea that workplace safety issues sparked an initial investigation of the battery plant back in March of this year. And six months later, ICE conducted the U.S.’s largest workplace raid in two decades.
Several sources—including the Associated Press and The Guardian—are reporting that multiple workers detained during the raid in Ellabell, Georgia had paperwork that authorized them to work in the U.S.
Simply put, your business can end up on ICE’s radar in more ways than one, and it’s difficult to anticipate immediate consequences. All-around workplace compliance a necessity.
Now that ICE is active in Chicago, you may be asking yourself:
“What now?”
“How will this affect my business?”
“Can I still prepare and protect my workforce?”
The short answer is, yes—you can still prepare your workforce.
The long answer begins where we left off last week: Your first step is to call your employment lawyer. If you have an established relationship with legal counsel, your attorney should be able to explain how your business may be affected based on your current records and systems.
Even if you’re just starting out or have yet to add an employment lawyer to your team, your first step doesn’t change: call an employment lawyer.
An employment attorney can help you develop the following systems that can safeguard your business and your workforce, should you experience an ICE raid or I-9 audit.
System 1: Establish a Relationship with Legal Counsel
It’s important that your attorney be familiar with your I-9 practices if ICE comes knocking. Your attorney will also review your I-9 audit schedule and policies as well as your ICE raid response plan.
By ensuring your policies, systems, and procedures are compliant, you can effectively collaborate with your legal counsel to mitigate risk and manage any effects ICE raids or audits may have on your business.
System 2: Create an I-9 Audit Schedule
- Schedule an annual internal review to ensure all I-9s are current, accurate, and complete.
- Retain former employee records as required by law (3 years after hiring or 1 year after termination, whichever occurs later).
- Conduct reviews under legal privilege.
System 3: Prepare Your Team
- Designate a calm, authorized, and trained point person (typically an operations manager) who understands the steps to take if ICE shows up.
- Post clear signage specifying which areas are public and which are private.
- Train your employees on their rights in the event of an ICE audit or raid.
- Educate your team on what actions are prosecutable.
System 4: Develop a Crisis Communication Plan
Even if you take every step to prepare your business, your team, and yourself for an ICE raid and even if no one is arrested, the ensuing PR nightmare may be unavoidable. In the absence of a clear message, rumors spread, videos hit social media, and employees stop showing up.
But reputational damage can be avoided if you draft a skeleton of your communication plan now.
Decide who is authorized to speak internally and what they will say to your staff. Designate someone to handle external communication, including client/customer messaging and press inquiries. Work with your legal counsel to confirm your messages are appropriately measured and fall within the scope of the law.
Beyond your spokesperson, everyone else should know to remain silent for the sake of clarity, consistency, and legality.
By establishing your systems now, you’ll be well-prepared to handle the pressure of ICE agents showing up unannounced. Your employees may look to you for answers. At that point, all you’ll have is what you’ve built. Now is the time to preemptively build those effective systems.
At Savine Employment Law, we’re happy to help you understand how and why to establish compliant systems, and we’ve built our Workplace Law ReadyTM program to do just that.
Contact us today to learn how this program can benefit your business.