As immigration reform becomes a major issue in this country, a lot of discussion centers on what role the employer has in verifying the work eligibility status of employees they hire. Last year President George Bush stated, "Business owners shouldn’t have to act like detectives to verify the legal status of their workers. So my administration has expanded a program called Basic Pilot. This program gives business access to an automated system that rapidly screens the employment eligibility of new hires against federal records. Basic Pilot was available in only six states five years ago; now this program is available nationwide."

So far, the Basic Pilot Program has not replaced the I-9 form system, but it has added another layer to the eligibility verification process for participating employers. After completing I-9 forms for new hires and within three days of the hire date, the employers query the pilot program’s web site, using information provided on the I-9s.

Because so much of a company’s important information is kept on computers, employers have to be mindful that a departing employee could cause havoc with the computer system before going out the door. A recent court decision provides a tool for employers to deal with this problem – the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

The case involved Jacob Citrin, managing director of International Airport Center (IAC), a real estate business. Citrin was responsible for identifying possible acquisition targets for IAC. The company provided him with a laptop computer to record data he collected on potential acquisitions. Citrin decided to quit IAC and go into business for himself, allegedly in violation of his employment contract which contained a noncompete agreement.

Before turning in his laptop computer, Citrin deleted all the data on it pertaining to potential acquisition targets. To ensure that the data could not be recovered he loaded a self-erasure program onto his laptop that overwrites all files and prevents their recovery. IAC said it had no other copies of the files Citrin erased (more on that later).

Preventing Sexual Harassment for Supervisors – June 28

How to Ask the Right Interview Questions – July 19

Coaching Employee Performance – August 23

Approaching Deadlines for Human Resource/Payroll Professionals

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