Changes Form I-9 Employment Verification: Stay Compliant!

If you are planning to hire employees any time soon, or if you hired remote workers at any point since March of 2020, this alert is for you. As of August 1, 2023, there have been some significant updates that will change the way companies must verify employment eligibility.

The Purpose of an I-9

Federal law requires employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of anyone they hire. The I-9 form is an attestation by the employer that they have examined the employee’s supporting documents (such as passport, driver’s license, social security card, etc.)

The End of the COVID I-9 Flexibilities

In response to the pandemic-driven remote work surge, the government temporarily allowed remote examination of documentation for new hires. Employees could simply show their documentation on a video call. These flexibilities have come to an end as of July 31, 2023. While this was a convenient measure during the pandemic, it’s time to adapt to the new era of employment verification.

Embrace the new DHS-Authorized Alternative Procedure

Remote work isn’t going away. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognizes that it isn’t practical to fly out to Albuquerque, New Mexico, just to examine someone’s passport in person, so they implemented an alternative procedure for examining documents remotely. The new rules can be confusing, so we’ve boiled down what you need to know in these simple steps for new hires.

1.     The employer must sign up for the government’s E-Verify program.

2.     New employees send their employer copies of their documents (passport, driver’s license, social security card, etc.) along with the new I-9 form with the employee portion completed. (We recommend sending the documents in a secure email.)

3.     To verify identity, the employer visually verifies the documents with the employee in a “live video interaction.”

4.     The employer completes their portion of the I-9 form. Note that the Form I-9 was revised as of 8/1/23 so be sure to use this version. This revised form includes a box for the employer to check, indicating that the alternative procedure was used.

For additional information and specifics on which employees are eligible, see the rules on the Alternative Procedure to Physical Document Examination.

Did You Use Remote I-9 Verification During the COVID Flexibility Period?

If you’re one of the employers who took advantage of the remote verification flexibility between March 2020 and July 2023, pay attention! By August 30, 2023, you must re-examine any documents that were verified remotely. Employers fall into two buckets:

1.     Employers who were enrolled in the E-Verify program at the time of hire may use the Alternate Procedure described above.

2.     Employers who were not enrolled in the E-Verify program at the time of hire must complete in-person physical document inspections for these employees. An authorized representative may be used to complete the verification.

Learn more about re-verification of employees hired between March 2020 and July 2023 here.

Stay Compliant and Informed We’ve got your back! To dive into all the juicy details about the changes, your responsibilities, and how to stay compliant, check out the wealth of information available on I-9 Central by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Register’s Optional Alternative 1 Document Examination Rule.

At Juna, we want to make your life easier and make you aware of changes in payroll laws. As always, make sure to adhere to any specific compliance obligations to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the U.S. Let us know if we can help with questions about the change or any payroll or accounting questions. info@junafinancial.com.