DHS Releases Advance Copy of Final Electronic I-9 Regulation
- United States
- 07/22/2010
Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an advance copy of its final regulation providing the rules for signing and storing I-9 employment verification forms in an electronic format. The rule, entitled “Electronic Signature and Storage of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification,” finalizes the interim rule issued by DHS in June 2006. The final regulation makes only minor changes, several of which are favorable for employers using electronic I-9 programs, to the 2006 interim rule. The changes include:
- Clarification of the rule that an I-9 form must be completed within three business (not calendar) days;
- Clarification that employers have the choice of using paper, electronic systems, or a combination of paper and electronic systems to complete and retain I-9 forms;
- Clarification that an employer may change from one electronic storage system to another as long as the systems meet the performance requirements contained within the regulations;
- Modification of the audit trail requirements for electronic I-9 systems to delete the previous requirement that employers maintain an audit trail of each time an I-9 form is viewed electronically. Under the final rule, an audit trail will only be required when an I-9 form is created, completed, updated, modified, altered, or corrected, and not when it is accessed or viewed without any change;
- Modification of the requirement that a printed transaction be produced for an employee when section one of an electronic I-9 form is signed electronically. A printed confirmation of the transaction will now be required only when requested by the employee.
BAL Comment
We are happy to see that the final regulation slightly reduces some of the burdens of using electronic I-9 storage systems that were initially imposed by the 2006 interim rule. Given the significant increase in I-9 audit activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it is critically important that any employer using or considering the use of an electronic I-9 program review the program to ensure that it meets all of the requirements of the DHS electronic I-9 regulations. I-9s created and retained by a system that does not comply with the regulations can potentially be considered invalid if audited by the government. Please contact your BAL representative if you need any assistance regarding the electronic I-9 requirements.
