The Importance of Accurate I-9 Forms 

Human resources departments are responsible for much more than handling employee relations, ensuring hired people are properly trained, educating workers on their benefits, and yes, recruiting, hiring, and firing. They also have the significant obligation of ensuring their company is compliant with federal and state mandates, including a person’s eligibility to work in the United States. This compliance is especially important today because of increasing enforcement of such laws and the penalties for a failure to adhere to them, according to The Workplace Advisors, a national consulting and training firm specializing in human resources. 

Businesses can start protecting themselves and their employees by learning more about U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9, a federal document used to prove the identity and employment authorization of people hired to work in the United States. All U.S. employers must correctly complete this form for every person they hire to do work in the United States. It does not matter if the person hired is a United States citizen or is an alien, according to USCIS. 

Employees have a responsibility to ensure Form I-9 is properly completed, too. Citizen or not, they must attest to their employment eligibility and provide the hiring company with approved documents demonstrating their identity and ability to work in the U.S. Once completed by the worker, the employer must make a reasonable effort to identify the validity of the information and documents provided and record all information on Form I-9. Failure to follow these procedures can be annoying or absolutely damning for a company. Errors on Form I-9 related to properly documented employees could elicit fines ranging from $281 to $2,789 per violation, according to The Workplace Advisors. The firm says that employing or retaining workers not allowed to work in the U.S. could result in a fine between $698 to $27,894 per violation. 

“To reduce your exposure in case you are one of the 60,000 companies targeted for a Form I-9 audit in the next four years, we recommend reviewing your process for completing I-9s for new hires, training those who will be completing them, reviewing your recordkeeping practices, and doing an internal audit of your I-9s,” says The Workplace Advisors in a blog post. 

Audits pertaining to Form I-9 are carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During such an audit, ICE will check a company’s I-9 forms to prove it is following employment laws, not just documents related to employees in question, according to Experian. 

When it comes to employment law compliance, businesses do not have to go it alone. The Workplace Advisors suggests businesses work with legal counsel that understands immigration law not only to look over and approve of hiring practices, but also to establish a contact if ICE agents perform a search, investigation, or audit.