As an employer, you are required to have the I-9 Form filled out by you and your new employee. U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (part of the Department of Homeland Security) requires the form to be completed at the start of the employment relationship. The purpose of the form is to verify the identity of the individual hired for employment and make sure they are eligible to work in the United States.
The employee must sign the form stating they are eligible to work in the United States and provide documentation to verify their identity. The documents include a Driver’s License or Passport, Military or Student ID, Permanent Resident Card, Social Security Card, and Birth Certificate. The types of documentation submitted determines how many forms of identity must be shown.
The employer’s responsibility is to examine the paperwork to see if all documents appear to be genuine, write down the names and numbers of each type in the proper sections, and certify that they were reviewed. The employer must make sure the newest version is completed (currently expires March 2016) and retain for 3 years after date of hire or 1 year after termination of employment, whichever is later.
Do not have someone working with you as an independent contractor fill out a form I-9 as they are not an employee, and therefore are not subject to this requirement. If you have an employee living outside of the United States, they are not subject to this requirement either.
Employers failing to properly follow guidelines for the completion of Form I-9 may be penalized by fines and penalties. The amount of fines/penalties is based on if the errors are “technical” or “substantive.” Technical means it was more of a procedural error, rather than a blatant not following of the rules. For instance, if an employee forgets to enter a maiden name or birth date on the form. These errors are allowed a 10 day period to correct. On the other hand, substantive errors have no grace period. These types of errors include failing to have the form filled out at all, the form not being signed, or the employee not checking the box for citizen/immigration status.
Avoid the possibility of fines by establishing an employment procedure in which new hires fill out the form before the first day of work begins. This form can be accessed on our website at https://affordablebookkeepingandpayroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/i-9.pdf.
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