Meet Mandatory OSHA Requirements
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to log work-related injuries and illnesses throughout the year, and post an annual survey summary between February 1 and April 30. Be prepared to document all your workplace injuries and illnesses in complete compliance with OSHA regulations, and keep the records together for easy access.
IMAGE Program Addresses Document Fraud in Hiring
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently introduced the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) to assist employers with developing a more secure and stable workforce by enhancing fraudulent document awareness. This voluntary program provides education and training on proper hiring procedures, fraudulent document detection, use of the Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program, and anti-discrimination practices. After enrollment and successful implementation of ICE’s best hiring practices, the employer will be deemed “IMAGE Certified.”All IMAGE participants will gain membership to the Department of Homeland Security’s automated, internet-based system for verifying an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. In addition, ICE will provide a review of the hiring and employment practices and policies, and recommend ways to improve compliance. ICE will also provide employee training on recognizing document fraud and common schemes to circumvent hiring processes, avoiding unlawful discrimination when hiring, and proper protocols for responding to no-match letters received from the Social Security Administration.
In return, IMAGE participants agree to establish internal best practices hiring procedures and training for their employees. These best practices include submitting to an independent I-9 audit, using the Basic Pilot Employment Verification program for all hiring, establishing a tip line and a self-reporting procedure for alerting ICE to any violations or discovered deficiencies, and submitting an annual report to ICE to track results and assess the effect of participating in the IMAGE program. ICE will work with the employer to minimize disruption of business resulting from self-disclosure of possible violations, and will keep all information confidential to the extent permitted by law and regulation.
Advantages to the employer of participating in IMAGE include greater confidence in the identities of workers and the validity of their Social Security numbers, lessened exposure to discrimination lawsuits, and a reduced likelihood of being found in violation of hiring regulations. In addition, IMAGE Certification may be a mitigating factor in the determination of fines should the employer ever be found guilty of hiring unauthorized workers.
The advantage to homeland security of the IMAGE program is that industry self-policing will allow ICE to focus its resources on other critical aspects of infrastructure protection.
To request an information packet on the IMAGE program, go to http://www.ice.gov/exec/opaimage/image_program_request.asp.
