Don’t get sloppy when it comes to I-9s.  I-9 paperwork audits by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have spiked significantly of late.  The big risk in not having your I-9 paperwork in order is that ICE has been bringing cases against employers under criminal code rather than just civil penalties.  The agency says the focus on employers, rather than employees, is to “target the root cause of illegal immigration”. 

Regardless of whether employers are the root cause or not, poor documentation can cost you $2,000 per worker, and knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant can result in a $20,000 per worker fine. To prevent legal trouble, follow these dos and don’ts:

Do:

• Require all new hires to complete and sign the I-9 form.  You need to have a responsible employee countersign the document as well.

• Review employee documents to make sure they’re on the new version of the I-9’s list of acceptable documents and ensure visually that they appear genuine

• Establish a consistent procedure for completing I-9s and train your hiring managers on the procedure.

• Make copies and retain them of all I-9 documentation the employee provides you.  While only a few states make this mandatory, it is always a good idea.

• Keep I-9s and copies of documents for three years after the employee’s hire date or one year after their termination, whichever comes later.  Make sure you know your state’s document retention laws.

Don’t:

• Require specific documents or more than the I-9 requires. Only the employee should be choosing the documents, not the company.

• Use the expiration date of I-9 documents when making hiring or firing decisions.

• Forget to follow up on expiring document which limit the employee’s authorization to work.

• Put the I-9 in an employee’s file.  To protect against discrimination claims, keep it and supporting documents in a separate file.

Doing audits of I-9s on an annual basis and training staff are critical HR tasks.