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Form I-9 Compliance: The ICE Turns Up the Heat
Posted: February 17, 2012
In the past, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) limited its enforcement sanctions to relatively small fines. Over the last three years, it has established a practice of significantly increasing the number of I-9 audits performed and of levying substantial fines on companies that fail to comply with federal regulations.
Below we are going to provide answers to the Five Big Questions (Who, What, When, How and Where) in regards to Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form) compliance.
- Who needs to complete a Form I-9?
- To remain in compliance with the federal regulations, all employees are required to complete a Form I-9 and provide eligibility documentation, no matter how short the term of employment.
- What documents can be used to verify employment eligibility?
- Employers may not specify which documents or combination of documents an employee submits to comply with employment eligibility requirements. Rather, an employer must accept any lawful document or combination of documents specified on the Form I-9 (page 5 of the current version (Rev. 08/07/09 available here)).
- When must an employee complete a Form I-9?
- Section 1 (Employee Information and Verification) of Form I-9 must be executed on the day that an employee begins work. In this section, the employee declares whether he or she is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or nonimmigrant authorized to accept employment. The employee MUST execute and sign this portion of the form BEFORE starting work. The remainder of the form (Section 2) must be executed and signed within three (3) business days of the start of the worker's employment with the employer.
- How Does An Employer Complete the I-9 Process?
- Section 2 (Employer Review and Verification) of the Form I-9 can be completed by an HR Representative or the on-site person responsible for management of the location where the new employee is assigned.
- Where Should Form I-9 Documents Be Kept?
- It is recommended by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that employers keep completed Form I-9s separated from the employee's regular personnel file. Further, forms for terminated employees should be kept in a separate file from active employees.
- Bonus 'W': When Should Form I-9s Be Discarded?
- For former employees, the employer should destroy all I-9s when the present date is more than three years since the date an employee was hired or at least one year from the date of termination of employment.
Want to know more? Read the full article by Ann Kontner at Employment Essentials
