I've seen and heard this kind of construction several times now and it always bugs me. When someone recommends something, surely the verb used in the subclause should be infinitive, so:
He recommended that they be separated.
... instead of:
He recommended that they are separated.
Is there any grammatical legitimacy to the latter expression, or is it just a kind of grammatical misunderstanding that is unfortunately coming to be used commonly?
And, could the latter expression have any possibile alternative meaning or is it just incorrect?