Form I-9 Expires August 31st

The federal government’s Form I-9, used by HR departments across the country to verify workers’ employment eligibility, is expiring at the end of this month.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to extend the current version of the form (marked 8/31/2019) without changes, although minor clarifications will be made to the form’s instructions. The agency has directed employers to continue using the current version of the form despite the expiration date until a revised version is available.

Here are three of the proposed revisions:

• Employers may designate anyone to be an authorized representative to complete Section 2 of the form. The employer is still liable for any violations committed by the designated person. Employers face difficulties in completing I-9s for remotely hired workers and need more-specific instructions to clarify who may serve as an authorized representative to complete the form.
• Writing “N/A,” or not applicable, in the identity-document columns is no longer necessary. When entering document information in the List A column (or, alternatively, in the List B and List C columns), you will not need to enter “N/A” in the columns that are not used. “The requirement to enter ‘N/A’ in certain portions of the form could be burdensome and unclear,” Fay said. “Now, for example, if you have an employee present a U.S. passport, which is recorded in the List A column, you do not need to write ‘N/A’ in all of the fields in the List B and List C columns.”
• The form’s List C documents that establish employment authorization do not include a worker’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The List C documents include a Social Security card and birth certificate, while the EAD (Form I-766) providing temporary employment authorization to work in the United States is a List A document.