Employers are required to verify each new employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States at the time of hire. This is accomplished by both the employee and the employer completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The employer must ensure all sections of the Form I-9 have been completed and supporting documents have been provided within the first 3 days of work for which the employee will be paid. Using the form allows an employer to ensure it is hiring only U.S. citizens or aliens who are authorized to work in the U.S.
Form I-9 requires an employee to attest to their employment authorization. The employee must provide acceptable documents as evidence of identity and authorization to work. An employer reviews the documents to determine if they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee. The employer then records the information on the Form I-9. Form I-9 must be retained for a certain amount of time and produced if requested for inspection by the government.
A copy of Form I-9 may be accessed by clicking here. https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 The Form identifies an expiration date of October 31, 2022, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that employers should continue using this form until a new version is released. DHS also announced an extension of its policy allowing employers to inspect Form I-9 documents virtually, instead of by hard copy, through July 31, 2023. This process was put in place during the COVID national emergency and many employers continue to rely on virtual inspection during increased remote work.
