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DANBURY, Conn. – A Danbury cabinet manufacturing company, along with 11 other Connecticut businesses, has been fined for employment violations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Kingswood Kitchens Co. was fined $12,000 after an investigation and audit of employment documents, federal officials said in a statement.
Of the 12 businesses fined in the 2012 fiscal year, Kingswood Kitchens received the third highest fine out of a total of $132,584.25 in fines for the violating employers. The owner of Kingswood Kitchens was not available for comment.
"These settlements serve as a reminder to employers that HSI will continue to hold them accountable for hiring and maintaining a legal and compliant workforce," Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of HSI Boston, said in the statement. "My agency will continue to focus its attention on employers that are knowingly employing illegal workers and will continue to target specific industries and businesses known or alleged to hire illegals."
The inspection of Form I-9 documents is part of Homeland Security workforce enforcement strategy launched in 2009 that aims to reduce the demand for illegal workers and protect opportunities for legal workers, officials said in the statement. The strategy focuses on employers suspected of hiring an illegal workforce.
All employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each hired employee, which includes documenting the employee’s identity and employment eligibility.
The following Connecticut employers were also fined:
• Acranom Masonry Inc., Middlefield - $4,500 • Calabro Cheese Corp., East Haven - $45,000 • Contour Landscaping Co. Inc., Stamford - $8,104 • Gourmet Heaven Inc., New Haven - $5,891 • John J. Masi Co. Inc., Bridgeport - $3,276 • Leed-Himmel Industries Inc., Hamden - $2,241.25 • Melissa & Doug LLC, Wilton - $1,386 • Prostar Inc., Farmington - $10,472 • Quality Sales LLC, Hartford - $2,722 • Superior Plastics Extrusion Co. Inc., or Impact Plastics, Putnam - $34,000 Villa Brava Grocery LLC, Hartford - $2,992.
The agency conducted 18 inspections in Connecticut in 2012, up from 14 in 2011, seven in 2010 and one in 2009.
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