What every employer needs to know about I-9 audits

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to put I-9 audit and its compliance into perspective for employers. The paper explains what an I-9 audit is, what it means for employers, who is responsible for maintaining its forms, types of businesses most targeted for I-9 audits, what happens when notified that one is being audited, what type and how much penalties does a business incur if it fails to comply, the difference between technical and substantive violations, factors that Immigration and Customs Enforcement considers for determining penalty amounts against employers, what businesses should do if targeted with I-9 audit, business owners’ I-9 audit rights and how to proactively avoid being targeted by an I-9 audit.

Design/methodology/approach

The content of this paper was generated through practical experience, interaction with corporate entities and HR staff members, as well as industry knowledge and observations.

Findings

Every audit is different. It should be expected that all details be examined closely. In the recent case of a business subjected to an I-9 audit, auditors closely examined details of sections 1 and 2 of the I-9 forms for all new hires but did not examine section 3 for re-hires. This reinforces the importance of employers keeping careful track of records for all new hires. All employee I-9 forms should be filed together in a binder or file folder separately from employees’ HR file. While re-hires were not examined, this is no excuse for not properly re-verifying and tracking this information.

Originality/value

This paper was developed because of the interactions with companies that are facing the issue of I-9 audits. The author developed his responses to help HR leaders and managers better understand and address the challenges as well as the process associated with I-9 audits.

Citation

Basso, R. (2019), "What every employer needs to know about I-9 audits", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-11-2018-0093