Flexibility Ending July 31, 2023

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has introduced that employers may have 30 days to adjust to Type I-9 employment eligibility verification bodily doc examination necessities when COVID-19 flexibility sunsets on July 31, 2023. This solutions two urgent questions employers and attorneys have been asking:

• Will the short-term I-9 flexibility be prolonged once more past July 31, 2023?
• The reply is “no”
• Will employers have greater than three enterprise days to conduct bodily examination of paperwork that have been examined remotely when short-term flexibility ends?
• The reply is “sure” – employers may have 30 days till August 30, 2023

Since March 20, 2020, there was an exception to the in-person I-9 verification necessities, permitting documentation to be nearly reviewed for sure distant staff. Pursuant to ICE’s announcement, the exception will now not be in impact after July 31, even for workers who haven’t returned to the office. These staff’ I-9 paperwork have to be bodily reviewed in particular person by August 30, 2023.

For at the very least a 12 months, DHS and immigration attorneys have been encouraging employers who’ve been utilizing the short-term flexibility to arrange for the top of that program. On Could 1, 2023, the White Home introduced that the COVID-19 Public Well being Emergency would finish on Could 11, 2023, so this announcement is just not wholly sudden. Now, with lower than three months to go, all employers should put together for compliance.

Employers ought to:

• Put together a listing of all staff who have been verified nearly
• Decide who will probably be conducting the in-person verifications and the way the corporate will probably be reaching out to the affected staff
• Prepare employees on the right way to replace I-9 types after the in-person evaluation. The nearly accomplished I-9s ought to have been annotated within the Extra Info subject with “COVID-19” as the explanation for the delayed in-person inspection. This have to be up to date by annotating “paperwork bodily examined” with the correct date and the title of the one who carried out the evaluation in Part 2 of the I-9 or in Part 3 (for reverification), as applicable.
• Make sure that employees are conscious of the particular guidelines concerning I-9s for people who’re eligible for computerized extensions of labor authorization or who’ve work authorization based mostly upon their standing.
• Take into account whether or not the corporate will use approved brokers to conduct a number of the obligatory doc examinations and the way the corporate will implement that course of.

Whereas the emergency COVID-19-related I-9 flexibility is ending, DHS continues to be contemplating various procedures for inspecting I-9 paperwork. On August 18, 2022, DHS issued a proposed rule on this subject and is reviewing all of the feedback it acquired.

This info is supplied with the understanding that Payroll Companions is just not rendering authorized, human sources, or different skilled recommendation or service. Skilled recommendation on particular points ought to be sought from a lawyer, HR guide or different skilled.