Employers are prohibited under the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 from hiring unauthorized immigrants. To comply with IRCA, employers must verify new hires identities and eligibility to work in the United States and record this information on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

Not surprisingly, there is a growing tension in the relationship between business and government on the immigration question. Under both the Bush and the Obama administrations, inspections of workplaces targeting illegal employment of undocumented workers have increased. Compounding the problem for employers, the recently more coordinated activities of federal regulatory agencies has meant that an immigration audit can become a wage-hour or workplace safety audit as Homeland Security inspectors share their findings with Labor Department investigators.

Also thrown into this mix is the likelihood of more state legislation focusing on the questions of immigration, employment, and the residential rights of foreign born workers. Some of the new state laws and regulations already in place are highly controversial. Indeed, Arizonas immigration law will be reviewed by the Supreme Court in its next term. But whatever their merits, the effect for larger employers with multistate facilities of needing to comply with different laws in different jurisdictions could be a fracturing of employment practices at a time when a single standard might make more sense.

To help employers navigate the current tumult of immigration and employment law, this issue of Workforce Strategies looks at the problems surrounding employment eligibility verification, providing expert analysis and practical advice on employers obligations under IRCA, federal enforcement procedures and penalties for violations, compliance and risk-avoidance strategies, due diligence, and handling I-9 audits.