Employers take note: most of you will need to take significant action to update and/or correct your Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, in the coming weeks due to sunsetting temporary COVID-19 flexibilities relating to physical inspection of employee documents. Failure to take timely action could result in significant monetary and other penalties.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that its COVID-19 “flexibilities” relating to physical inspection of identity and employment eligibility documents, temporarily permitting remote and virtual review of such documents will be coming to an end as of July 31, 2023. Employers must ensure they complete physical inspection of any such documents and update their I-9s no later than August 30, 2023.
Before we explain what exactly employers need to do to comply, let’s first take a step back and clarify a few things about remote hires and the I-9 process. Prior to the onset of COVID, many employers encountered challenges properly executing I-9 verification for remotely hired employees who could not report to a company location for onboarding. I-9 rules have always required physical inspection of identity and employment eligibility documents in conjunction with the employer’s completion of its portion (Section 2) of the I-9 form – even for remote hires. This must take place on or before the 3rd day of employment. Therefore, for remote hires employers must engage an agent or authorized representative to...
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