Massachusetts employers must now notify employees within 48 hours after receiving an ICE Notice of Inspection concerning I-9 forms or other employment records. Governor Healey signed the PROTECT Act on August 5, and it took effect immediately. We’ll tell you what you need to know about the new requirement, plus five steps to consider taking now.

What Happened?

Employers will need to pay attention to Section 8 of the PROTECT Act. Specifically, the new Massachusetts law says, except as required by federal law, you must give written notice of the request to each employee in the state no later than 48 hours after you receive a Notice of Inspection from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding Form I-9 employment eligibility verification forms or other employment records.

• The 48-hour period starts when the notice arrives and covers requests for I-9s and “other employment records,” potentially giving the notice requirement reach beyond requests limited to I-9 forms. Massachusetts employers now may face two simultaneous deadlines: the traditional three-business-day federal period for responding to an ICE Notice of Inspection, and the new Massachusetts-specific 48-hour period for notifying employees.
• It applies to “each employee,” with no exceptions listed for employer size or location, and regardless of whether a particular employee’s records are part of the request.
• The new law was categorized as emergency legislation, which means it took effect immediately.
• The...

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