Krispy Kreme I-9 Audit Results in Fine

An Ohio doughnut factory was fined $40,000 for hiring illegal immigrants.

U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office fined a Monroe Ohio doughnut factory $40,000 for violations of immigration laws on July 7, 2009. The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation might have been fined an even greater amount if they hadn’t reached a settlement.

ICE conducted an I-9 Inspection of Krispy Kreme after receiving an anonymous tip through the Butler County Sheriff’s Office that revealed dozens of illegal aliens were employed at their doughnut factory only a few miles from Cincinnati at their Lawton Avenue plant in Monroe. The company had employed 25 unauthorized workers locally and in some cases was lacking required paperwork.

The Krispy Kreme plant is approximately 26,000 square feet and employs 90 people. It has been in operation since 1998 and produces all varieties of cake and yeast doughnuts.

Employers are required to complete and retain a form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record an individual’s identity documents and determine whether the documents appear to be genuine and related to the individual.

The audit also revealed violations to the Immigration and Nationality Act. In September 2007, ICE issued a notice of intent to fine and the fine was settled on July 7, 2009.

As part of the settlement, the company is revising its immigration compliance program and has agreed to begin implementing new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws.

In April 2009, ICE implemented a new comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation’s lawful workforce. Under this strategy ICE is focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing illegal workers. During the last week of June 2009, ICE announced as part of this initiative 652 businesses throughout the U.S. would be audited to determine their compliance.

The Obama Administration is expected to focus on business owners who are violators. In Butler County, employers were previously warned by posted billboards strategically located throughout the area that it was illegal to hire illegal immigrants.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

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