Form I-9 and E-Verify, getting and staying compliant

Employers are required to complete an I-9 form for every person they hire and to update these forms when necessary. Periodically, the DHS, the Department of Labor and the Justice Department send Notices of Inspection to employers to audit their I-9 forms. If the I-9 forms are not completed correctly, an employer may be fined even if all their employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Beginning on May 7, 2013, all employers were required to use the newly released Form I-9. The new Form I-9 is longer and more complex than the previous version and comes with new rules affecting which documents may be used to verify the employment eligibility of workers. There are also new instructions and additional data fields for employees and employers. During this webinar participants identify the changes to the form and improve I-9 compliance overall. Whether your employees complete Form I-9 centrally or on the jobsite, this webinar is a must for anyone who is responsible for completing and signing Form I-9.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has cracked down on companies suspected of hiring illegal workers and greatly increased their number of annual audits. Most recently, the Indian company Infosys was ordered to pay a record $34 million settlement after allegations of systematic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes.

Implementing Form I-9 compliance and best practices while limiting your company's liability is a challenge faced by many employers. To help, DHS has posted links to various online resources. As good as these short videos are, I-9 compliance is a complex procedure, and although the videos do a great job in introducing employers to the basics, there are hundreds of technicalities that are not covered in their videos.

For example, there is a box on Part I of the form for persons who are non citizen nationals to check. I would venture to guess that 99.9% of employers (and probably most DHS employees) have no idea what a non citizen national is.

Also, many rules for completing I-9 forms are not listed in the law or even in the USCIS regulations. When can an H-1B employee who is changing jobs start working for the new employer? What forms does he have to present to show that he is authorized to be employed for I-9 purposes? These type of questions are not covered in the videos.

Today, in order to avoid astronomical fines for non-compliance, employers need to be ever so vigilant and diligent in their process. The webinar discussion will include a review of the penalties ICE and Office of Special Counsel (OSC) can impose. Additionally, the webinar will review paper versus electronic I-9 forms and the common missteps employers make in the process.

• Up-to-date I-9 compliance requirements
• Basic I-9 document review
• Recognize the effect of the new Form I-9 on hiring managers and field personnel
• Understand the new rules for acceptable documents used to verify employment eligibility;
• E-Verify - Pros & Cons
• Understand the impact the new Form I-9 will have on the use of E-Verify;
• Conducting a self-audit of your I-9 process
• How to avoid the common errors and omissions, including record keeping errors
• Update on Upcoming ICE I-9 audits
• Penalties for non-compliance
• Understanding Civil and Criminal Penalties
• Walking the fine line between vigilance and illegal overstep when seeking proof of citizenship
• Establish best practices for reducing risks and correcting errors when using the new Form I-9.

Form I-9

Background

Completing Form I-9

Storage and Retention

E-Verify

The big picture

Enrolment and Use

Additional Information

• CFOs
• Payroll and accounting managers
• Payroll processing professionals
• Employers and Business owners
• Human Resources Specialists and managers
• E-Verify Users
• Anyone interested in learning about the Form I-9