| Janitors have access to virtually all areas of a building, | | | | committed several felonies: document fraud, perjury |
| including your office, when no one else is around. | | | | on an I-9 form, and identity theft if the social |
| Your office is the center of your firm's brand, image | | | | security number or other personally identifying |
| and reputation in the community. Your office may be | | | | information used by the illegal alien belonged to |
| home to the firm's intellectual property, trade | | | | another person. By failing to verify that these |
| secrets, or proprietary information such as customer | | | | persons were eligible for work in the United States, |
| lists and price sheets. You may also keep the names, | | | | this cleaning contractor exposed its customers, |
| addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers | | | | including building owners, managers and tenants, to |
| and dates of birth of your clients and employees in | | | | significant criminal and financial liability under the |
| your office. Is this information safe? What do you | | | | Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. |
| know about your office cleaner? Has your janitor | | | | The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, 8 |
| been convicted of a crime of violence? Is your | | | | U.S.C 1324a(1), specifically prohibits the hiring of an |
| janitor an illegal or undocumented worker, a violent | | | | alien not authorized to legally work in the United |
| felon, a drug addict, a corporate spy, or an identity | | | | States. A much lesser-known section of this law, 8 |
| thief? | | | | U.S.C 1324a(4), provides that an entity that uses a |
| A single case of identity theft could cost your firm | | | | contract or subcontract to obtain the labor of an |
| thousands of dollars, thousands of hours of labor to | | | | alien knowing that the alien is an unauthorized alien |
| fix, and cause enormous damage to your firm's | | | | with respect to performing such labor, shall be |
| brand, image and reputation among your customers | | | | considered to have hired the alien for employment in |
| and employees. Identity theft statistics are | | | | violation of law. WalMart Stores, Inc. was reminded |
| staggering. The Javelin Strategy and Research Center | | | | of this law the hard way. While avoiding criminal |
| recently reported: | | | | charges, WalMart agreed to pay a record $11 million in |
| There were 10 million victims of identity theft in | | | | fines to the federal government to resolve charges |
| 2008 in the United States, a 22% increase over 2007 | | | | alleging the employment of illegal aliens by the |
| 1 in every 10 U.S. consumers has been victimized | | | | independent contractors WalMart retained to provide |
| by identity theft | | | | janitorial services. The investigation resulted in the |
| Up to 55% of victims take 4-12 months to | | | | arrests of over 350 allegedly illegal aliens. The cleaning |
| correct the damage from identity theft | | | | contractors that hired the undocumented aliens and |
| In 2008, existing account fraud in the U.S. totaled | | | | placed them in WalMart stores plead guilty to criminal |
| $31 billion | | | | immigration charges and agreed to pay a further total |
| The average victim loses between $851 and | | | | of $4 million in fines. |
| $1,378 out-of-pocket trying to resolve identity theft | | | | While no one action, or series of actions, can ever |
| 47% of victims have problems qualifying for a | | | | provide 100% protection against identity theft or |
| new loan | | | | other crimes committed by a janitor, there are |
| 70% of victims encounter problems removing | | | | several actions that must be taken to mitigate risk in |
| negative information from their credit reports | | | | connection with signing a contract for janitorial |
| Businesses across the globe lose $221 billion a | | | | services. |
| year due to identity theft | | | | Due diligence. Investigate whether the cleaning |
| Stolen documents and wallets account for almost | | | | contractor has ever been associated with hiring illegal |
| half of all identity theft (43%). | | | | aliens. The internet is a valuable tool in this regard. |
| Evidence developed during the past few years points | | | | Search the internet under the name of the company |
| to an unmistakable and irrefutable connection | | | | and check the U.S. Immigration and Customs |
| between illegal or undocumented workers employed | | | | Enforcement website. If a company has a history of |
| as janitors, and identity theft and other crimes. The | | | | hiring illegal immigrants, you would be well-advised to |
| crime of identity theft is generally committed for two | | | | hire a different contractor. |
| reasons; personal benefit or document fraud. There | | | | Criminal Background Check. Make sure the cleaning |
| have been a number of stories in the media about | | | | contractor conducts an extensive criminal background |
| janitors committing identity theft. | | | | check on all employees. Insist that appropriate |
| In Seattle, 2 janitors were accused of stealing the | | | | language covering this point be included in your |
| identities of 181 people and running up thousands of | | | | contract. |
| dollars in charges. The janitors said they stole the | | | | E-Verify. A criminal background check, without more, |
| information by rummaging through company files, | | | | may be insufficient to detect persons with criminal |
| including personnel files. In Florida, a janitor was | | | | records. Here's why. Some U.S. citizens, in order to |
| charged with stealing the identity of an attorney | | | | hide extensive criminal histories, will provide a cleaning |
| whose office he cleaned, selling shares of stock | | | | contractor with a fake name and false proof of |
| owned by the attorney, and running up $20,000 in | | | | identity. If a criminal background check is run using |
| credit card charges. | | | | this fraudulent information, the results may come |
| The U.S. Attorney for the western district of | | | | back showing no criminal history when in fact that |
| Washington reported that 2 janitors, while employed | | | | person has an extensive criminal record. The |
| at a janitorial company working at night in a U.S. Bank | | | | Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify System |
| branch, stole information on more than 200 bank | | | | confirms the identity of each employee by comparing |
| customers. Using that information, the janitors | | | | information from the employee's I-9 form against |
| opened credit accounts in the customers' names, and | | | | 444 million records in the Social Security |
| signed up for on line banking. Using the credit card | | | | Administration database and 60 million records in the |
| accounts, they purchased expensive items such as | | | | Department of Homeland Security's immigration |
| laptop computers, flat screen televisions and airline | | | | databases. E-Verify allows the contractor to |
| tickets. Using on line banking they paid their own bills | | | | determine whether that person is who he says he is |
| and transferred funds to checking accounts that they | | | | and confirms the reliability of the identifying |
| then drained. They also submitted change of address | | | | information that will be submitted for the background |
| requests on line so that the customers did not get | | | | check. In addition, E-Verify determines the eligibility of |
| their bank statements alerting them to the problem. | | | | each employee to work in the United States. |
| The indictment charged the janitors with more than | | | | Research indicates that illegal immigrants generally are |
| $200,000 in fraud. | | | | not "undocumented." They commonly possess bogus |
| While a significant portion of identity theft is | | | | documents such as counterfeit social security cards, |
| committed for financial gain, identity theft is also | | | | forged drivers licenses, fake "green cards," and |
| perpetrated for the purpose collecting personal data | | | | phony birth certificates. Experts believe that |
| to sell to document forgers or organized identify | | | | approximately 75 percent of illegal aliens use |
| theft rings. In New York, a janitor at public radio | | | | counterfeit social security cards to obtain |
| station WNYC was charged with stealing a list of the | | | | employment. The E-Verify System helps detect this |
| station's donors and selling it to an identity theft ring. | | | | fraud. Before signing any contract for cleaning |
| The sad truth is that many cleaning contractors hire | | | | services, make sure appropriate language requiring |
| persons that they know, or should know, are illegal | | | | the use of E-Verify is included in the contract. |
| aliens. Many cleaning companies simply choose to | | | | By following these simple suggestions, a building |
| accept identification documents presented by | | | | owner, manager or tenant can: |
| employment candidates at face value even when | | | | (1) significantly reduce the risk that a janitor |
| there is an obvious discrepancy. Failing to verify that | | | | employed by a cleaning service will engage in identity |
| employees are who they say they are and eligible for | | | | theft, corporate espionage, or other serious crimes |
| employment in the U.S. unnecessarily subjects building | | | | against persons or property in facilities under their |
| owners, managers and tenants to unacceptable risk | | | | control, |
| of harm and potential legal liability. The seriousness of | | | | (2) prevent cleaning service outages arising from |
| this risk is demonstrated by two recent cases. | | | | having their cleaning contractor shut down, |
| In November, 2009, more than 1,200 janitors | | | | imprisoned or fined by U.S. Immigration and Customs |
| employed by a janitorial services contractor were | | | | Enforcement, and |
| fired in Minnesota when they were unable to provide | | | | (3) avoid potential criminal liability and large civil fines |
| the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with | | | | arising from your cleaning contractor's illegal conduct. |
| proof of their legal status in the United States. The | | | | Copyright 2010, James Cleaning Service, LLC. All |
| vast majority of the 1,200 fired workers turned out | | | | Rights Reserved. |
| to be "undocumented." These illegal aliens may have | | | | |