New Form I-9 to be Published

CORRECTION: USCIS will publish the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, by Nov. 22, 2016 -- NOT Jan. 22, 2017. Employers may continue using Form I-9 dated 03/08/2013 N. through Jan. 21, 2017.  By Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use the revised form. Employers should continue to retain and store previously completed forms for existing and former employees in accordance with guidance provided on I-9 Central.

Source: US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Justice Department Releases Educational Video About Discrimination in Employment Eligibility Verification

The Justice Department announced today the launch of a new educational video to assist employers in avoiding charges of discrimination in the employment eligibility verification form I-9 process and in the use of E-Verify. The video also helps educate employees about their legal rights. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) within the department’s Civil Rights Division enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employers from discriminating against work-authorized individuals in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral for a fee, regardless of their citizenship status or national origin. The law also prohibits discrimination during the form I-9 and E-Verify processes.

OSC developed its latest video to address issues that frequently arise from calls to its hotline and charges filed. Employers sometimes incorrectly believe that they need to request more documents than are necessary for the employment eligibility verification form I-9. Additionally, employers using E-Verify may improperly request specific documents due to misunderstanding of E-Verify requirements. OSC’s new video highlights some practices that are not permissible and may lead to claims under the anti-discrimination provision.

 

“We believe this video will help both employers and employees across the country understand employment eligibility verification rules,” said Gregory Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Federal law prohibits discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process, and the Justice Department is committed to enforcing the law.”

 

The video may be viewed at http://youtu.be/VNHFDusJqRg

 

The latest OSC video is part of OSC’s educational video series that can be found here: http://go.usa.gov/2P6m. OSC also operates a hotline for employers and workers, frequently providing guidance to employers on how to avoid discrimination and educating employees on rights protected by the anti-discrimination provision. OSC offers live webinars for both employers and employees to educate employers on avoiding workplace discrimination and to educate employees about their rights. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration law, call OSC’s worker hotline at: 1-800-255-7688 (1-202-616-5525, TTY for the hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at: 1-800-255-8155 (1-202-616-5525, TTY for the hearing impaired); send an e-mail to: osccrt@usdoj.gov; or visit OSC’s website http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.

 

Source: DOJ

 

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Georgia Company to Resolve Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced that it reached an agreement with Poulan Pecan, resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Poulan Pecan is a supplier of pecans located in Poulan, Ga. 
 

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division initiated its investigation of Poulan Pecan in 2012, based on a claim by an individual who called a department hotline and complained that the pecan-producing company requested specific documentation from her to establish her work authorization. The department’s investigation concluded that Poulan Pecan discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens by requiring specific and more documents than necessary from them when completing the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, while not imposing similar requirements of U.S. citizens. 

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Poulan Pecan will pay $500 in civil penalties and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of one year. Designated Poulan Pecan officials have already completed training by the Justice Department on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The case settled prior to the Justice Department filing a complaint in this matter.

 

“Individuals should be treated equally during the employment eligibility verification process,” said Gregory Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This means not placing additional requirements, documentary or otherwise, on individuals based on their citizenship status.”

 

Source: DOJ

 

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Form I-9 Webinars: The Revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9

The revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, Rev. 03/08/13 N is now available for immediate use by all employers. To help inform employers of the revisions, USCIS is offering free educational webinars that highlight the new features of the form, including the new fields and format. The webinars also include a detailed overview of how to use Form I-9. To meet the demand, an additional webinar has been added this week on Wednesday, March 13 at 2 pm.

 

Here is the schedule of webinars.

You may also want to review the Federal Register Notice, the updated Handbook for Employers (M-274) and the USCIS press release. 

 

Source: USCIS

 

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

New Form I-9 Released

USCIS has published the long awaited release of a new Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9 ‘(Rev. 03/08/13)N’. Since it’s been over three and a half years since USCIS last released a new version of the Form I-9, this post seeks to help you understand what you can expect to see on the new Form I-9 and to help you start thinking about how it might impact your hiring and on-boarding process.

By way of background, nearly a year ago, USCIS published the first draft of the new form. Then in August, USCIS proposed a few updates to the draft after reviewing over 6000 public comments. As a quick overview, here are the key changes you can expect to see on the new form:

• New data fields, including the employee’s foreign passport information, phone number and email address;
• Expanded form instructions; and
• Revised form layout, increasing the paper form from one to two pages.

The new edition of the Form I-9 will take effect immediately on publication. However, employers can continue to use the previous versions of the Form I-9 (Rev. 08/07/09 and Rev. 02/02/09) for 60 days after the new Form I-9 is released. This means you must start using the form no later than May 7, 2013.

If you’re an employer, the change that will impact you the most will be the new fields. You’ll have to train hiring managers to understand the significance of the new fields, and apply compliance rules that ensure your forms continue to be filled out properly. Yes, the new fields do mean that the U.S. government has made the most complicated one-page form in the universe even more complicated!

Employers who process their I-9s manually typically rely on the USCIS instructions as their sole source of guidance. If this is your situation then it is critical for you to read and understand the expanded instructions released with this new form.

Given that the new Form I-9 will impact the hiring process, the more you hire, the more you will be affected. Many companies are thinking about taking this opportunity to go electronic. Since you are required to integrate a new Form I-9 into your business process, why not examine how an electronic I-9 solution can do most of the implementation work for you while dramatically improving both compliance and efficiency? If you are ready or willing to switch to an automated I-9 system, make sure the system you adopt is poised to implement the new Form I-9 and meets or exceeds electronic Form I-9 requirements.
 
USCIS has updated their I-9 Central website with new instructions tailored to the new version of the Form I-9. There you will find an important announcement about the Handbook for Employers (M-274), the 70 page long instruction manual on how to navigate the complicated Form I-9 rules and requirements. It looks like employers will have to wait at least a few days before gaining access to an updated M-274.
 

The Handbook for Employers (M-274) guide to using the Form I-9 is in the process of being updated to correspond to the new form and will be released next week [presumably the week of March 11]. Please follow the instructions on the new form until the handbook is updated.

 

You can access the Department of Homeland Security’s notice published in the Federal Register informing employers of the new Form I-9 here.

Source: USCIS

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Continue to Use the Current Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification

Source:  US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Website

Until further notice, employers should continue using the current Form I-9 even after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number expiration date of August 31, 2012 has passed.

THOMAS HOUSTON associates will provide updated information regarding the new version of the Form I-9 as it becomes available from the USCIS.

Download a copy of the current Form I-9

THOMAS HOUSTON associates, inc. provides assistance in Form I-9 compliance. For more information please call 1 (800) 330-9000 or click here to schedule a convenient time to receive a call from a member of our Sales Team.

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Form I-9 Handbook Available in Spanish

SOURCE:  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [uscis@public.govdelivery.com]

A Spanish version of the Handbook for Employers (M-274), Instructions for Completing Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form) is now available.

Similar to the Handbook for Employers (M-274) in English, the Spanish Handbook for Employers (M-274) gives answers to Form I-9 questions. The Spanish Handbook for Employers (M-274) includes instructions on how to complete, and retain Form I-9, provides lists of acceptable employment authorization and identity documents, and gives specific guidance for recruiters.