Comments on: I-9 auditor says, ‘Most companies fail this test’

By: John

John — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:05:02 +0000

I am an HR manager and we hired a company who did a manual inspection of our I9’s. Half our I9s were not filled out correctly or missing information. Luckily, we were able to fix them just in case of an audit. If anyone is interested, the company is legalemployer.com.

By: Debi

Debi — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:25:57 +0000

Cynthia,
The information that was presented at the time of I-9 verification is still valid. There is no need to update any I-9’s for current employees unless their citizenship has changed or their “legal right to work in the U.S.” proof provided expired. In that case you need to verify their “current” eligibility and update the I-9 with the new information that is not expired.

I hope this helps.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:23:13 +0000

When I took over last year as HR administrator one of my first tasks was to make our HR files compliant. In the process I did an I-9 audit and obtained verification from then-current employees who had not completed I-9s for the previous administrator and had no verifications on file.

I am now conducting another audit, just to be on the safe side, and have a question about current employees. Many of our employees have been with the company since it’s inception and have driver’s licenses on file that are now expired. Do I need to update their file with new information, or is the license presented at the time of hire still considered valid for I-9 purposes?

Thanks for your help.

By: Lana

Lana — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:14:29 +0000

I talked with social security due to some non match letters we had received, social security said the procedure they recommended was to verify all current employees through them – for 3 or 4 you can call for more it must be submitted in writing – for data match then verify all new employees through e-verify. I have been very satisfied with the program and have used for all types of employees (legal aliens, permanent residents, and naturalized citizens) without issue for serveral years beginning when it was a pilot program called S.A.V.E.. I would recommend it for all.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:23:42 +0000

In re-reading Lana’s response, I see that she verified her current employees with Social Security, not E-verify. I don’t personally know what the legalities are concerning that practice.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:22:03 +0000

To shed light on Lana’s response, E-verify is NOT to be used on any current employees. It can only be used on new employees. Perhaps the requirements were different when it was a Pilot program and she began using it, but it cannot be used that way now.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:36:52 +0000

Lana, you said that you verified all current employees with Social Security. Have you verified any current employees through E-Verify? As a federal contractor we may soon need to E-Verify not just new hires, but also current employees (hired after 1986) who are directly involved in work related to the government contracts (if it becomes a “rule” in September). I am wondering if you – or anyone else reading this – has E-Verified current employees, and how you facilitated this process (did you contact the employees, or were you easily able to find their filed I-9s and simply do it without them even needing to know, or what?). Thanks!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:22:33 +0000

We use e-verify and it works great. As others have said, I get pretty much instant responses. They were using this program before I started with the company, so I’m not certain about the audit requirements.

As for I9 forms and ID’s… We keep both the I9 and the ID’s in a separate place from the employee files. The I9 forms are in a binder in one cabinet, and the ID’s are in a separate binder in a different cabinet. By keeping them separate, if we did have an audit we would not be giving them that extra info, but we have the ID’s to reference if we needed for other stuff. (Since we have employees across the states, we sometimes need to send a copy of and ID for other business related stuff, so it’s helpful for us to have them on file.) If you do keep copies, I highly recommend keeping them separate from the I9 forms.

By: Lana

Lana — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:59:19 +0000

I use E-Verify – I began using it when it was still a pilot program and like it alot. To begin I verified all current employees with Social Security and then verify all new employees upon hire with the e-verify program. I did not have to submit to an audit, but covered myself none-the-less.

By: Jen G.

Jen G. — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:35:30 +0000

Do any other companies out there deal with a large amount of legal foreign workers? We have a sinigicant amount of H2B and J-1 visa holders. Does the E-Verify program seem to work well with these employees or are there more hiccups that make it not worth it?