Generally speaking, if an employer is audited and discrepancies are found, the inspecting officers present the employer with ten days to remediate the issues. Most of the time, if the employer has been following best practices, correcting these issues such as presenting a Form I-9 for an employee is pretty easy.
Things change though if an employee repeatedly or knowingly violates the rules. According to ICE, “Monetary penalties for knowingly hire and continuing to employ violations range from $375 to $16,000 per violation, with repeat offenders receiving penalties, at the higher end. Penalties for substantive violations, which includes failing to produce a Form I-9, range from $110 to $1,100 per violation. In determining penalty amounts, ICE considers five factors: the size of the business, good faith effort to comply, seriousness of violation, whether the violation involved unauthorized workers, and history of previous violations.” Suffice to say, these penalties can really add up, so maintaining Form I-9 compliance is really important to your business!