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I-9 Forms
If you are thinking about recruiting one or more personnel for your business, you are obligated to conform with the USCIS requirements for confirming the identity and employment eligibility of each person you employ.
Employment documents known as I-9 forms carry out the employment eligibility verification process. It establishes the “employment eligibility of persons being considered for employment." However, U.S. law also requires employers to not “discriminate against individuals on the basis of national origin or citizenship, or require different documents from an individual”, throughout the verification process.
All employees have the duty to complete Form I-9 at the time of hire (which is the beginning of employment), as long as they have been hired after November 6, 1986. The employer themselves are responsible to ensure that section one is completed properly. The employee must complete section one of the form not later than the close of business on their first day of work. The employer, in turn, has the responsibility to complete the form within three days of the start of employment, and ensure the accuracy of the documents provided for establishing identity and work eligibility.
You can terminate an employee who fails to provide the necessary document(s), or a receipt for a replacement document(s) (in the case of lost, stolen or destroyed documents), within three business days of the day employment starts.
You, the employer, must then retain I-9 Forms in your records for every new employee, unless:
- “The employee was hired before November 7, 1986, and has been continuously employed by you
- The employee is providing domestic services in your private household, and the services are sporadic, irregular or intermittent
- The employee is providing services as an independent contractor (i.e. carry on independent business, contract to do a piece of work according to their own means and methods and are subject to control only as to results for whom you do not set work hours or provide necessary tools to do the job, or whom you don’t have authority to hire and fire)
- The employee is providing services under a contract, subcontract, or exchange entered into after November 6, 1986. (In such cases, the contractor is the employer for I-9 purposes for example, a temporary employment agency)”
I-9 Forms are not filed with the U.S. government. Rather, you must retain I-9 records in your own files for 3 years after the date of hire or 1 year after the conclusion of employment, whichever is later.
I-9 Forms can be stored on the workplace to which they relate, company headquarters, or any other location, provided that the documents can be transmitted to the workplace within 3 days of an official request for production of documents for inspection.
To conclude, ensuring I-9 compliance is the key responsibility of all U.S. employers. It allows for a non-discriminatory workplace and fair and equal rights for all possible employees.
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