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| For Immediate Release |
Contact: Andy Deloney |
December 18, 2007
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517/377-3931 |
Make sure you’re using the new I-9 forms.
Employers that use older versions of the I-9 after Dec. 26 could face fines from the Department of Homeland Security. The amended I-9, or employment eligibility verification form, features a shortened list of acceptable documents that establish both an employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States.
The revised I-9 is dated June 5, 2007; the date appears in the bottom right corner of the form.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, unveiled the revised version November 7. It also released an updated handbook to help employers complete the I-9.
DHS removed five documents from the list (and added one) to help streamline the hiring process. The agency said those documents it removed lacked features to deter counterfeiting, tampering and fraud. It said the new list should help employers conform their document-acceptance practices to the law.
Note: You don’t have to complete new I-9 forms for current employees, unless their work authorization is about to expire.
To re-verify authorization for those employees, employers must examine the acceptable documents listed on the I-9 that verify their work eligibility. U.S. employers have been required since 1986 to complete the I-9 form for each newly hired employee. Employees choose from a lengthy list of documents to prove their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Congress passed a law more than 10 years ago directing regulators to reduce the number of acceptable documents. The then-Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1997 came up with a list of documents to eliminate, but the I-9 form wasn’t updated to reflect the list until this year.
Link to the new I-9 form by visiting www.restaurant.org/immigration
Founded in 1921, the Michigan Restaurant Association represents more than 4,500 Michigan foodservice establishments. The foodservice industry plays an integral role in Michigan’s economy, employing more than 436,000 people and creating more than $11.3 billion in total annual sales. For more information, call (517) 482-5244.
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