OCAHO Reduces I-9 Fine from $35K to $18K: USA v. Safe-Air of Illinois

USA v. Safe-Air of Illinois, Mar. 11, 2016- "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE or the government) filed a complaint in three counts with the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) on January 14, 2015, alleging that Safe-Air of Illinois (Safe-Air or the company) engaged in thirty-nine violations of the employment eligibility verification provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(b) and 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2(b). The government seeks civil money penalties of $34,969. ... Here, the company is small, there is no suggestion of bad faith, nor is there any history of previous violations. These factors weigh in favor of leniency. I consider as well the company’s financial situation, and conclude in light of the record as a whole and the statutory factors in particular, that the proposed assessment is unduly harsh. It will accordingly be adjusted as a matter of discretion to a result closer to the mid-range of permissible penalties. For the two violations in Count I involving failure to prepare I-9s, the penalties will be set at $550 for each violation. For the thirty violations in Count II, the penalties will be $450 for each violation. Because the seven violations in Count III involved unauthorized workers, the penalties for those violations will be $550 each. The overall total is $18,450."