Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently confirmed
that employers should be provided 10 days to correct technical or
procedural paperwork violations following a government I-9
audit.
ICE categorizes I-9 errors into two groups: substantive
verification failures and technical or procedural verification
failures. Substantive errors arise when, for example, Section 2 of
the form is not signed or when an employee fails to indicate his or
her citizenship status. These errors are not subject to the 10-day
correction period and an employer found in violation could face
significant penalties.
Technical or procedural violations, on the other hand, include
situations where, for example, an employee fails to enter his or
her address, or birth date in Section 1 of the form. These mistakes
– often referred to as "paperwork errors"
– are considered less troublesome and are subject to the
10-day correction period provided the employer has made a good
faith effort to comply with the form's requirements.
Employers' compliance with the Form I-9 is under increased
scrutiny. Indeed, ICE has issued more I-9 audit notices this year
than ever.
Although only one page, compliance with form I-9 can be deceptively
difficult. But meticulous compliance with the form's
requirements is essential to avoiding significant penalties down
the road. To that end, employers should train the employees who
administer the I-9 process. A good starting point includes
requiring those employees to be familiar with the Handbook for
Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9. The Handbook
provides step-by-step instructions for completing the Form I-9 and
can be found at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services'
Web site: http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf.
Prudent employers will also audit their existing I-9s to make sure
they identify and address mistakes.
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