If you work as an undocumented or illegal immigrant, are you paid under table always?

Everyone assumes that if you are undocumented then you will be only be hired if you are paid under the table in cash, by companies such as landscapers, tree cutters, dishwashers, and convenience store sweepers. However, it seems that some undocumented hispanics work in many hospitals as housekeepers. They have to wear uniforms, a badge, and go on payroll (I assume)?

So are they undocumented or not? I can't imagine any hospital would take a risk in displaying these workers to patients and other staff if they were paid in cash under the table. I assume they have to be on payroll, even though they speak predominantly spanish and just keep their heads down.

Do corporations actually hire undocumenteds? I realize that some companies may hire contractors that employ undocumenteds which limits their liability. But I also suspect that some places, like universities and hospitals, actually hire undocumenteds with a TIN, put them on payroll with direct deposit, without checking if they can work legally... even though this puts these companies at serious risk of being sued by the government.

Can this be true?

ITINs, fake/someone esle's SSN, or employers turn a blind eye.

Wouldn't a large hospital be sued or fined by the federal government if they were discovered to have turned a blind eye?

There's exist the possibility. Usually the larger employer, the more stringent they are with documentation and e-verify requirements.

The govt has bigger and more important issues to deal with anyways.

Yes, the liability of hiring undocumented workers goes to the company that does the actual hiring. Often times they can get away with this because the government doesn't actually collect the I-9 documents; by law any company must screen potential employees with the I-9 paperwork, if they pass the screening, then they can work and the company must keep the I-9s secured for at least 3 years of hiring. Now, if for whatever reason the government suspects a ring of illegal workers then they begin investigating the company. Often they say that the documents were misplaced or destroyed and they had no knowledge of hiring undocumented workers. They end up not paying the fines and avoiding charges while of course the worker(s) are placed in removal proceedings.

Suspicion of the company only begins if it something that continues to happen or that it can be proven that they knowingly hired undocumented workers. Rarely do companies get punished for hiring undocumented immigrants.

The larger the company the higher the liability. They are more likely to have a larger number of undocumented workers and therefore more likely to be harassed by Ice and be charged for the crime.

Yes it is true, and undocumented people pay taxes as well with the TIN number.

I used to work at a retail store, I used a fake SSN. I was on the payroll and everything. The only people who have a problem are the ones who apply at companies that do background checks.

My friend (She's actually a legal resident now) got a job at a high tech Marketing company a few years back. She used a fake SSN too, and she was hired, but that's because they didn't do a background check.

E-verify is now done, aside from background check