labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services or USCIS has given employers  a few more weeks to start using the new I-9 form.

 

Effective April 3, 2009 every U.S. employer will be required to use a revised version of the employment eligibility verification form – more familiarly known as the I-9 form.

 

According to an interim rule that was published by the USCIS in December, 2008, employers were required to begin using the form on February 2, 2009. That deadline has now been delayed by 60 days.

 

According to unnamed sources at the USCIS, the delay will provide adequate time to complete a full review of the new form and the employment verification requirements. A notice of the delay will appear in the Federal Register.

 

Employers are invited to comment on the new rule for 30 days, until March 4, 2009.

 

A number of employment law and regulatory deadlines set in the last few months of the Bush Administration have been postponed in recent days. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel even issued a memo to federal agencies, suggesting that they take 60 to 90 days to review the policies and make sure they were consistent with President Barack Obama’s standards.

 

The biggest change in the I-9  is expected to remain the same. Employees will not be able to use expired identification documents to verify their work eligibility.

 

Employers must complete a Form I-9 for every newly hired employee. The forms verify thee workers identity and authorization to legally work in the U.S. The interim final rule as published would slightly alter the documents an employer can accept from a new employee for I-9 purposes.

 

Many employers have already switched over to the new I-9 forms. Until March 4, 2009, employers who continue to use the old I-9 form will not be subject to fines.

 

As always, employers are urged to not use the I-9 as a screening tool. Doing so may be illegal discrimination under the law. Employers should have new employees complete an I-9 only after a job offer has been made and accepted.

 

Employers are permitted to make copies of supporting documents for the I-9 and keep them on file. However, if the employer does so, the I-9 files should be separate from the employees personnel file.

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