Description

This webinar series will be viewed at the GCA Conference. No link will be provided.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 |  2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (EDT) | 8 AM - 9 AM HST
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 |  2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (EDT)| 8 AM - 9 AM HST

Description:

Recent federal immigration enforcement changes have significantly increased compliance risks for construction employers. In March 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement revised its Form I-9 inspection guidance, reclassifying many errors that were previously treated as technical into substantive violations. In many cases, employers no longer have an opportunity to correct these errors during an ICE I-9 audit. For contractors and subcontractors operating in high-turnover, multi-site environments, these changes materially increase exposure to audits, fines, and project disruption.

This two-part webinar series provides practical, construction-focused guidance to help employers understand the new enforcement landscape and strengthen their I-9 and E-Verify compliance practices. This series is designed for HR practitioners and HR generalists, payroll and onboarding staff, legal counsel, risk managers, executives, operations leaders, and others responsible for hiring, employment eligibility verification, workforce compliance, or responding to government inspections. The content is relevant for small, mid-size, and large non-residential contractors and subcontractors.

RECOMMENDED FOR FEDERAL PRIME AND SUBCONTRACTORS!

Webinar One: I-9 Compliance Essentials. What Changed and Why It Matters
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (EDT)

This session explains ICE’s revised Form I-9 inspection standards and what construction employers must do differently now. Topics include an overview of the 2026 enforcement changes, errors now treated as substantive violations, reduced or eliminated opportunities to correct I-9 errors during audits, common I-9 mistakes in construction hiring and onboarding, rehires and reverifications, managing project-based workforces, and recordkeeping and internal audit best practices.

Webinar Two: E-Verify, Subcontractor Risk, and Enforcement Readiness
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (EDT)

Part Two focuses on proper E-Verify use and how I-9 changes can increase enforcement risk across job sites and supply chains. Topics include E-Verify requirements and enforcement expectations, additional states with mandatory E-Verify for the construction industry, handling tentative non-confirmations (TNCs)/mismatches, aligning E-Verify practices with updated I-9 standards, managing subcontractor compliance and downstream liability, responding to Notices of Inspection, and practical steps to reduce financial and operational exposure.

By attending both webinars, participants will be able to:

• Explain recent enforcement and inspection changes affecting Form I-9 compliance and the resulting compliance risks for construction employers.
• Apply updated Form I-9 standards to construction hiring and onboarding scenarios, including rehires, reverifications, and project-based workforce practices.
• Identify common I-9 and E-Verify process errors (including TNC/mismatch handling) that increase enforcement exposure and audit findings.
• Evaluate subcontractor compliance risk and downstream liability across jobsites and supply chains related to employment eligibility verification practices.
• Develop an enforcement-readiness approach that includes recordkeeping/internal review practices and response protocols for Notices of Inspection to reduce financial and operational exposure. 

Featured Speakers

Bruce Buchanan
Senior Counsel
Littler Mendelson P.C.

Bruce E. Buchanan counsels employers on immigration compliance issues, conducts internal I-9 audits, represents employers in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspections and audits, Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER)/Department of Justice investigations, E-Verify issues, and employment-based visas. Also, Bruce practices labor law where he represents employers before National Labor Relations Board and U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division and in collective bargaining. Before focusing on immigration, Bruce served as senior trial specialist for the NLRB for 20 years, counseled clients on union-filed representation petitions, represented employers in collective bargaining, and advised on wage and hour and Family and Medical Leave Act matters.

In addition to his legal practice, Bruce regularly writes and speaks on immigration compliance and labor law issues for employers and served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law for 10+ years. Among his many publications, Bruce co-authored the book, I-9 and E-Verify Handbook, 2017 and 2024 editions, and was an editor of the Employer Sanctions of Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, 2024 edition. He was a longtime member of the Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Deepti Orekondy
Special Counsel
Littler Mendelson P.C.

Deepti Orekondy's practice primarily focuses on working with foreign individuals and multinational organizations in the area of business and family-based immigration law. She has a broad base of experience advising clients in pursuit of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. Her experience includes representing individuals and multinational organizations in filings with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of State (DOS), and Department of Labor (DOL).

Deepti previously worked as an immigration associate at a boutique law firm in Miami, where she practiced business and family-based immigration law. She also worked in Atlanta for an AmLaw 100 law firm.

Deepti served as the senior writing editor of the University of Miami Business Law Review. While in law school, she interned with Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the Department of Homeland Security and subsequently worked as a student attorney with the University of Miami Immigration Clinic, where she represented clients before USCIS and the Immigration Court.