Work permit violations by employers will soon become “ticketable offences” carrying fines of up to $5,000.Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy announced the initiative as part of plans to strengthen the Department of Immigration’s enforcement powers on work permit violations.He told members of the Upper House that the Chief Immigration Officer would be given specific authority to impose civil-administrated penalties.“The objective is to introduce progressive disciplinary measures for employers who violate the Act,” said Sen Fahy.“Two specific civil penalty regimes will be set out in the legislation. This includes the establishment of absolute offences which will be dealt with as ticketable offences and also non-ticketable offences wherein civil penalties will be pursued by the courts.”He continued: “Tickets will be issued to offenders by the Chief Immigration Officer and a public register will be created wherein offences and offenders will be documented.“More serious cases will be referred to the courts. These matters too will be documented in the public register.”The maximum fine will be $5,000 for work permit violations. The courts, however, have the authority to issue fines up to $25,000.Said Sen Fahy: “Our aim is not to be draconian in our approach but rather to strengthen our compliance mechanism through updating our legislative infrastructure in an effort to encourage employers to comply. This will work in tandem with our ongoing effort to streamline work permit policies.”He stressed that Government “must ensure the protection and promotion of the Bermudian workforce”. After a detailed review of historical data it was determined that violations occur in three main areas.Employing a guest worker to engage in work which is different from the work specified in the work permit topped the list. The other violations include employing a guest worker who doesn’t have a work permit and falsifying or providing incomplete records or incomplete and invalid data on applications.“To combat violations and send a strong deterrent message to employers it will be necessary to enhance the Department of Immigration’s enforcement powers by providing for the imposition of civil-administrated penalties,” said Sen Fahy.After reviewing work permit violation regimes in other jurisdiction including Cayman and the UK, he said “the position that Bermuda seeks to adopt is consistent, though far more liberal”.Sen Fahy concluded: “We have commenced consultation with various stakeholder groups and over the coming weeks we expect to conclude our discussions and invite the Attorney General’s Chambers to produce the required Bill for consideration during the current legislative session.”