CWS 3.0: September 17, 2014

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Secretly formed temp firms cost company almost $2 million

Grand America Hotels and Resorts agreed to forfeit $1.95 million after a group of managers formed temp firms to hire undocumented workers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah announced last week.

Lower- and mid-level managers at the hotel company created three temporary staffing firms to rehire undocumented workers terminated as a result of an audit.

U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement began an audit of Grand America in September 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The audit lasted about a year and found 133 undocumented workers. Grand America terminated the workers and received a warning. However, a group of its managers started the three temp firms — without alerting top executives — to rehire some of those workers, according to the office. The three firms ultimately rehired 43 undocumented workers, with most returning to their hotel jobs under different names and using fake documents.

Grand America discovered the temp firms and fired four operations managers and reprimanded two others, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In addition, the undocumented workers were not allowed to continue work at the hotel company.

Grand America Hotel and Resorts will not be prosecuted in exchange for its continued cooperation with the investigation, according to the office. But it must forfeit $1.95 million because of the alleged criminal conduct by employees who were acting on its behalf.

“The amount of the forfeiture was determined by looking at the total number of illegal aliens employed over the entire period of the investigation and determining the benefit gained by the corporation as a result of employing undocumented workers during that period,” according to the office.

In addition, the corporation is expected to take remedial measures that will cost around $500,000 to implement.