Well it’s 2023, so seems like a good time for a big update to the I-9 Authorization to Work in the US form – right?  Well, not really – but it doesn’t really matter because it’s happening.  Yep, the Feds just released the new Form I-9 on August 1st.  But before you break out in a cold sweat – because it is already after August 1^st, don’t worry.   You’ve got plenty of time to transition because you can keep using the old one until October 31, 2023.  But, even with the extended deadline, it’s important that you get on board as soon as possible – because there is a lot to do.

Now just like in the past, the updated form still has two parts: Section 1 for your employees to complete and Section 2 for you, the employer, to fill out.  Section 2, your section, has to be completed no later than 3 days after the person starts; so be sure to calendar that deadline for all your new hires.  Oh, and don’t forget to make sure to keep all the I-9s and their supporting documentation in a file separate from the personnel files.  They can’t be mixed in with the other personnel documents.

You may remember (or actually may or may not know) that back during the pandemic, temporary accommodations were put in place around how you process the I-9 form.  Basically the rule had always been, you look at the supporting documents (sometimes a driver’s license or passport or something similar) – anyway you would look at the physical documents, complete the form, make a copy of the documents and file the copies with the form.  Now the call out here is that you had to look at the physical documents, because when you sign your name on the I-9 form you are saying, under penalty of perjury, that you personally saw the docs.

But during the pandemic, a lot, and I do mean a LOT of people started working remotely.  So many in fact that companies were hiring people remotely that they had never met in person.  So that made the I-9 document inspection thing really difficult – actually it was impossible.  But to everyone’s surprise, the Feds gave everyone a break. They rolled out new guidelines allowing employers to temporarily use electronically or remotely reviewed docs.  So things like pdf’s and photos became the norm.  But, I think we all kind of mentally left out the word ‘temporarily’ when we where thinking through this process.  But finally, with the ending of the pandemic emergency period, so ends the remote verification option.