Because of President Trump’s focus on immigration enforcement, many employers are wondering how this affects them. Surprisingly, nothing has really changed for most employers. Since 1986, when President Ronald Regan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) into law, all employers in the United States have been required to verify that new employees are authorized to work in the United States. The authorization process is known as I-9 Verification.
Whether you have one employee or many, federal law requires new employees to complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than their first day of employment. Employers themselves must complete and sign Section 2 of Form I-9 within three business days of the date of hire, after reviewing the employee’s authorization documents. If a new employee does not or cannot produce acceptable documentation to show their authorization to work in the US, the employer should not allow that employee to continue working.
The I-9 Form contains several lists of documents, and the employee has a right to choose which documents to present. The employer must make an in-person, physical inspection of the documents provided by the employee and accept them if they are from the appropriate list, are current, and “reasonably appear to be genuine.” Employers are not required to investigate the validity of the documentation, but they must make a reasonable judgment based on their inspection of the documents.
Lastly, employers must keep a copy of the I-9 Form for three years after hire or for one year after termination, whichever is longer.
If you would like our team of HR Lawyers to help your business with I-9 verification compliance, please reach out. We’re happy to help!
