Forums
I have an I9 mess
Legal Forum
I have an I9 mess
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
I recently did an I9 audit at a new company I am working for. I was happy to see they had an I9 on almost everyone, but there are major areas incomplete. The old Training Manager who did orientation h
0
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54Discussion:DiscussionId18094
Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » I have an I9 mess
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 4/7/2000 7:07 AM EDT
|
Posts: 51
First: 2/18/2000 Last: 7/7/2004 |
I recently did an I9 audit at a new company I am working for. I was happy to see they had an I9 on almost everyone, but there are major areas incomplete. The old Training Manager who did orientation had no clue on I9s, had new employees fill out section 1 and she signed section three that she verfied the documents, but did not document what was viewed and left the other part of section 3 blank. I feel confident about my knowledge of I9s and don't worry we are employing anyone illegally, however if the INS came in we would be slapped with some major paperwork fines!!! I have asked some employees to show me the proper documentation and signed it with todays date. I plan on doing this for all employees (about 120). That way I can show a "good faith effort" if faced with an audit. Am I on the right track? Also, I was always confused on retention the 3 years or 1 year after terminated whichever is longer. With the retention do I need to have I9s on file for all employees hired after Nov. 6, 1986? Let me know before I go through a lot of headache!! |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 4/7/2000 11:30 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 399
First: 6/21/1999 Last: 9/14/2005 |
You should at all times have an I-9 on file for every active employee who was hired after November 6, 1986 regardless of how long they have been with the company. After they terminate employment, if they have been with you for two years or more, you may destroy the I9 one year after their termination. If they have been with you less than two years, you may not destroy the I-9 until three years after the hire date or one year after termination date, whichever is longer. |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 4/11/2000 1:11 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2217
First: 6/16/1999 Last: 12/13/2001 |
Well, you are off to a good start, because you are tackling the problem. I generally concur with the prior response. You should be careful, however, to the extent you come across an employee who can no longer provide the required documentation (although the I-9 form was completed at the time). If that happens, get some advice before taking action.
As far as administration, a good way to handle I-9 record keeping is to keep all I-9's in one binder. Active employee should be in one section. Inactive employees should be placed in a separate section, subdivided by year of termination. Each year, just throw away the expired year's "year of termination." You might also want to separately note those I-9's where the work authorization expires, so you can stay in compliance with the law. |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 5/29/2009 5:30 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 16
First: 7/26/2007 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I have a similar situation but in my case the previous HR Administrator failed to fill out the Certification area in section 2 of the form. I believe they saw all the documents (they've even included copies) however they did not sign off.
Do I have to go back and review all the documents and sign off with the current date? |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 5/29/2009 8:50 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
" I have a similar situation but in my case the previous HR Administrator failed to fill out the Certification area in section 2 of the form. I believe they saw all the documents (they've even included copies) however they did not sign off.
Do I have to go back and review all the documents and sign off with the current date?" I would request the employee to bring current documents and certify as of today's date and attach a note as to the circumstances. I was told that it was better to correct when found than to ignore, so that you would be able to show due diligence once the issue was found. When I walked into a company we took over, I faced this same issue, except many of the employees were gone or the documentation weren't there. I printed up a slip that stated why the I-9 was not filled out correctly at time of takeover (ee gone and/or lack of documentation). For those that I had documention for, I filled it out using the current date and attached a slip as to why I had done that -- especially for terminated ees. If the employee was current, I asked for the documentation at that point. At the end of the looking/disclosure period, we closed that company and opened a new one and required all current employees to be re-hired and got a new I-9 under the new company name. |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 7/27/2009 10:01 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 7/27/2009 Last: 7/27/2009 |
In doing an ongoing audit of our files I found people with missing information and/or no information. With that said, since we are not allowed to request a particular document, does this also stand for those people who are not US Citizens? Are we allowed to ask for their Authorization to Work card? |
|
|
I have an I9 mess
posted at 7/27/2009 11:24 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Not sure that there is such as a thing as an "Authorization to Work" card. There are alien registration cards and/or passports which may authorize work.
You are only required to verify an employee's legal right to live and work in the US. So long as the employee presents a document from column A on the I-9 form and one from column B (or one from column C) and the documentation appears genuine and is current then you have fulfilled your obligations under IRCA. For those missing information, you should contact those employees and have them present satisfactory documentation and complete another I-9 as may be appropriate. |
Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » I have an I9 mess
