The first quarter of the calendar year, Q1 in business lingo, is a great time to perform an internal audit of a company’s personnel records. I’m not talking about wading into the deep end of the personnel file cabinet and looking through all of the employee files; I’m talking about making sure the mandatory forms are correct, complete, and stored in an accessible manner. I’m talking about the USCIS Employment Eligibility Verification Form, better known as the “I-9”.

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the I-9.

1.    What is the I-9? The I-9 is an immigration form not a business form. US immigration law dictates that every business operating in the US, regardless of size or citizenship status, must complete I-9 forms for all new hires.

2.    Who completes the I-9 and when? Every new hire Employee MUST complete Section 1 on day 1. Employers must complete Section 2 within three (3) business days from the new hire’s first day of work. Section 3 is only used if the employer needs to reverify an employee’s eligibility to work or if the employee is a rehire within the last 3 years from the date the original I-9 was completed. I-9 Reverification must be done before the date the current employment authorization expires.

3.    Where should employers keep I-9s? A best practice is to keep the I-9s in a separate binder or eFolder separate from the employee file and easily accessible for an I-9 audit.

4.    How long do Employers need to keep I-9 records? Employers MUST retain employee I-9 forms for as long as the employee is employed by the employer. The records can be paper or electronic, but must be legible and able to be produced as a paper copy.

5.    Do Employers need to keep I-9s for terminated employees? YES, Employers must retain I-9 forms for terminated employees for either one (1) year after the employment relationship ends, OR three (3) years after the initial date of employment – which ever date is later.

6.    Which agency audits I-9 forms? The Department of Homeland Security through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is charged with performing I-9 inspections. DHS/ICE will issue a Notice of Inspection (NOI) to employers requiring the employer to produce some or all of the I-9 Forms attached to the employer.

7.    What are the consequences of failing an I-9 inspection? Employers receive ten (10) business days to correct technical or procedural failures, and will need to submit the corrections for verification, or DHS can impose monetary fines on the employer. The fines range from $218.00 to $27,894.00 PER VIOLATION. Employers with substantive violations, uncorrected audit failures, and/or employ unauthorized workers are subject to: forced business closure, higher civil fines, and criminal prosecution.

Most employers don’t perform internal I-9 audits to fix simple errors until it’s too late. Making an I-9 audit part of a business’s regular bookkeeping practice can save a company a lot of money and ensure that when an ICE audit happens that the employer can readily supply the requested documents. BridgehouseLaw LLP can help. Our firm can perform an I-9 audit, provide a list of discrepancies, and ensure employer I-9 compliance.

Please reach out to BridgehouseLaw at (980)219-5200 or to Crystal McBride at crystal.mcbride@bridgehouse.law for more information and a quote.