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Reverification is a critical piece of any I-9 compliance program – and it’s the employer’s responsibility to get it right. In this episode, we explain the basics, offer some best practices and discuss how technology can help ease the burden of compliance.
The Workforce Wise™ Podcast from Equifax Workforce Solutions helps employers save time, reduce risk and increase profits. Our experts and industry leaders reveal insightful human capital solutions for HR, payroll, tax and compliance needs. Listen now and get empowered to deliver immediate value to your organization. Learn more and listen to other episodes at workforce.equifax.com
Announcer (00:01):
You're listening to the Workforce Wise™ Podcast from Equifax, where we help you better manage your workforce by saving time, reducing risk, and focusing on increasing profits.
Jason Fry (00:12):
Hello and welcome to the Workforce Wise Podcast. I'm your host Jason Fry. Today we'll be talking about reverification of Form I-9s through I-9 management. I'm joined by Brian Elfrink who is Senior Director of Product Management. He's responsible for a ton of things when it comes to the Form I-9, including legislative updates, making sure that we're tracking everything that's going on in the world of I-9 management and also the strategic direction of our I-9 product. Welcome Brian.
Brian Elfink (00:42):
Thank you Sir. I'm incredibly happy to join you on this very first edition of the Workforce Wise Podcast.
Jason Fry (00:48):
So like I mentioned, we're going to be talking about reverifications of Form I-9 today. And I think that as far as Form I-9 goes, reverification is something that a lot of people know about, but a lot of people don't know a lot about. So Brian, when you're talking to clients and when you're seeing them kind of interact with the systems and their day to day operations, what kind of is your experience with how they feel or what they know about reverification?
Brian Elfink (01:16):
Yeah, and Jason, I think that's a great way to put it. There are varying degrees of understanding of the implications of reverifications. You have those that are a bit more savvy with the understanding of the programmatic controls that are necessary for I-9. And then you have those employers that really don't even understand the basics.
Jason Fry (01:37):
So let's talk a minute about just what the top level basic requirements are for reverification and honestly what we mean when we talk about reverification to begin with.
Brian Elfink (01:47):
Yeah, so reverification is essentially a requirement of work eligibility as it pertains to Form I-9 and compliant regulations that the government has issued for all employers. And ultimately, what a reverification pertains to is under certain employment eligibility situations, you have an employee who is only eligible to work in the United States for a specified period of time, based on the eligibility form or work authorization documentation that they have available. So a primary example of that would be an individual here as an alien authorized to work in the United States. And the documentation that they have to prove their employment eligibility comes along with an expiration date. So that is a set period of time that they're eligible to work in the United States, and in order to continue their eligibility to be employed in the United States, they have to perform the reverification of their employment eligibility documents.
Jason Fry (02:45):
I think that's a key thing for employers to understand, that reverification is really only for the eligibility to work document. So a list A document, it's like a foreign passport, gives you the ability to work inside the U.S. and proves your identity. But the piece that may need reverification is the eligibility to work. Same thing with the [inaudible 00:03:05] document, it proves your eligibility to work in the U.S. and those have an expiration date.
Brian Elfink (03:09):
That's absolutely correct. And one other thing that I would add to that is, you may run into instances where that individual employee is presenting new documents. So they may not be the same type of document that they originally presented when you first performed the initial Form I-9. And once they've received those additional new documents, potentially new documents, to serve as those employment authorization documents, again, they may be different than what was originally provided on the first Form I-9.
Jason Fry (03:40):
Right. And I think that's a key point for employers to remember too that just the same way that you are not able to ask for a specific document when you do the Form I-9 the first time, you are not supposed to ask for a specific document when you do the reverification. So an employee can come in with a different piece of documentation showing their eligibility to work in the U.S. and the employer, as long as it's an acceptable document, has to accept what that employee has brought to them.
Brian Elfink (04:08):
And essentially, this is a great opportunity to talk about the utilization of a software management tool like Equifax I-9 Management that actually guides an employer through the process and the steps of performing reverification, so that they don't have to understand all these crazy applications and rules about proper guidance and completing on reverification. They can leverage a system that can guide them through that process.
Jason Fry (04:33):
Right. And I think it's important too to know that they have options when they're doing that reverification. There are a couple of these different ways to handle the reverification on the employer's side, that's possible for them to use Section 3 on Form I-9, which is specifically for reverifications. But at the same time, if they're more comfortable just completing a brand new I-9, it's completely possible and acceptable for them to complete a new I-9 for that employee when they show the new documentation.
Brian Elfink (05:02):
And then aside from the trickiness that can be exposed during the reverification process itself, relative to the types of documents that can be presented, there's also the fact that this requires some kind of monitoring, right?
Brian Elfink (05:18):
So a great example I think we can use, is just a generic employer or size that says, if you've got an employee population of 10,000 employees, let's say for example you're a larger employer, you have 10,000 active employees on your payroll, a certain percentage of those, let's say 10% of those employees are here on a work authorization documents. How are you going to track all of those expiration dates associated with those particular employment authorization documents those employees provided when they initially onboarded with the employer? It requires an ongoing constant evaluation of those expiration dates.
Brian Elfink (05:58):
And so if just another example of where employers can derive value from an electronic system like I-9 Management, because what are you going to do otherwise? Are you going to track those in your Outlook as reminders on your calendar? Are you going to create a spreadsheet with 5,000 lines of expiration dates and track those manually? It can become a really cumbersome exercise for employers to maintain programmatic oversight of these types of requirements associated with Form I-9. Just another example of, even though the process itself can be complicated, just understanding when you need to kick that process off is complicated too well.
Jason Fry (06:39):
Well, and it's not just one person that you're communicating with. And which, I think for me it would be different if it was just something I had to do, so a task that I had to do by myself, but it's not. And it's not for the same reason that when you do Section 2 of Form I-9, the employee has to be there. You follow the same rules when you're doing Section 3 or a brand new I-9 for an employee for reverification, you have to have that employee standing in front of the person who is signing off on Section 2 or Section 3. And that person has to physically touch the documents, make sure that they appear true and accurate and pertain to the person who's standing in front of them.
Jason Fry (07:16):
So as we move to a world where we are seeing more and more, especially large and medium sized companies centralize their HR services and become more of a shared service that handles Form I-9, specifically as one of the functions inside of that centralized HR structure, we're seeing more and more difficulty with employers, finding employees and finding managers at an individual location, to do Section 2 or Section 3.
Jason Fry (07:45):
So I think that the tracking is one thing, but the communication is another thing. Because when you're thinking about this, it's reverification specifically, it's something that you have to be out and ahead of. You have to be out ahead of this because you're communicating to an employee, you're communicating to whoever is completing that Section 2 on your behalf, and then you're also having to schedule that employee with a definite time in time. It's the same rules. If that verification goes out of date, then you are subject to the same fines and penalties that you would had you employed someone who wasn't authorized to work. Because again, it's the employer's responsibility to verify not only their identity but also their eligibility to work inside the U.S.
Brian Elfink (08:28):
Yeah, and I think it's important too, to talk about one of those last facts that you just spoke about, which is the implications, right? From the employer's perspective, from the employee's perspective, because it's not just potentially an issue with the compliance of the employer's Form I-9, but it's also the impact to the individual, right?
Brian Elfink (08:49):
So if you're in an instance where you have these individuals as part of your workforce and we're not assisting them in preparing for that expiration of that document, and ultimately the need for reverification, they could end up not being a part of that workforce anymore, because they're no longer eligible to work in the United States. So you've got an immediate impact to an individual and potentially their family, as well as the loss of a contributor to your workforce as an employer. So there are some serious implications aside from the potential fines associated with not following proper compliance that are really impactful.
Brian Elfink (09:29):
And I think it's really relevant to Equifax essentially, because one of our focus areas is helping people live their best financial lives. And part of that is helping them to be and stay employed. And I think this is a great opportunity where Equifax can really essentially help those employees maintain employment within the United States that helps them provide for their families.
Brian Elfink (09:56):
So I think it's a critical component of an ongoing compliance management aspect of Form I-9 and just another relevant topic for why potentially using a software management tool, like I-9 Management is so critical for employers to think about.
Jason Fry (10:11):
Right. And I think that it's also key to understand from an employer's perspective that this requirement is for every employee who is working on some type of work authorization document, not just the ones where you're sponsoring their visas. So outside of the process that an employer would have to go through to make sure that the visa is good, true, correct, maintained properly, Form I-9 sits on top of that. And it is completely separate processed. So even if an employer has the appropriate controls to make sure that for employees where they're sponsoring a visa, that those visas get taken care of and they check the boxes to make sure those visas either get extended or changed or the different visa type, even though they're going through that process, they still have to do Form I-9 and make sure that the reverification is done and done timely.
Announcer (11:02):
To get even more out of today's episode, make sure you get your free tools like webinars, eBooks, videos, and more at equifax.com/wise.
Brian Elfink (11:13):
So we talk about the increase in homesite enforcement actions by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the fact that the government is really putting a hard line focus around immigration. And this could have direct implications, that type of activity on employers and their Form I-9 compliance procedures. And so now is a perfect time to evaluate internal standard operating procedures. Make sure that you have the right programmatic controls in place to help you ensure that you're meeting all of those regulations associated with Form I-9 and ongoing compliance.
Brian Elfink (11:56):
And I would say that reverifications is one of those critical components of that standard operating procedure that needs to be in there as it is a substantive error that is finable, in terms of an offense from an I-9 regulation perspective. So that's a critical component of any standard operating procedure that any employer would want to put in place.
Jason Fry (12:21):
It's also one thing that employers need to be mindful of when we're talking about reverifications, is that it can be a knowing employment offense, which is not just civil but also can be criminal. So if they are continuing to employ someone that they know should not be employed, that can rise to the level of a criminal offense, which is a whole different ball game for the HR practitioners specifically, and another just of the many reasons that it's important not just to take Form I-9 seriously, but also the reverification process seriously. Because if you've got reverifications pending and you don't act on them, then you knowingly are continuing to employ someone who does not have a valid work document. And like I said, that's a completely different ball game from the civil penalties that can be levied against an employer.
Brian Elfink (13:15):
So I think ultimately there are a lot of implications from an employer perspective as it pertains to reverification and ongoing programmatic oversight of the Form I-9 protocols within their four walls. And so on top of the standard operating procedures, I think it's imperative employers look to efficiencies that can be gained, especially at the larger size employers where you've got more distributed employment across multiple locations to leverage as much automation in the process as you can. And that's another area that Equifax I-9 Management really excels at, in terms of creating efficiency and automation when you bundle our I-9 solution with The Work Number®.
Jason Fry (14:00):
Right.
Brian Elfink (14:00):
So the value The Work Number can provide to I-9 programmatic oversight comes in multiple facets, right? One of which is, you can actually influence your location level hierarchy and management of the employees in those locations through the ongoing contribution to The Work Number and create some efficiency in that automation.
Jason Fry (14:21):
And I think another important thing to talk about, we're talking about notifications of the employees, is the timing that you're starting to do it. It's been our experience that employers generally will want to start either 180 days out or 90 days out from the expiration of the documents, sending those first notifications out internally and to the employee. And that way it gives everyone enough time for it to be just something that happens and not something that is last minute, "Oh forgot it. Oh I don't have it." And you can really set yourself up for success if you start that notification process at least 90 days out. And that gives you plenty of time both to notify the employer's staff, so your HR staff to know that the reverification is coming up. And also the employee. Day to day employees may just not remember that they need to bring in additional documentation. Honestly, they may not know they need to bring in additional documentation.
Jason Fry (15:18):
So it gives you a way to communicate that need to both internal HR and internal employees, that is something that happens. And it just becomes easier to take care of if you're notifying employees on a regular cadence. So we usually suggest at least 90 days out for the first notification, and the notifications every 30 days thereafter, and one 15 days before the expiration of the documents.
Jason Fry (15:43):
And that reverification can be done at any time there on that timeline. You don't have to wait until the last day to do the reverification. You can do the reverification as soon as the notifications go out, if the employee has the appropriate documentation to have that reverification completed.
Brian Elfink (15:58):
Yeah, 100% agree. I think any opportunity that you can grant to the employee to provide them ample notification in advance of that expiration date, so they can take all the appropriate steps necessary to make sure they have everything lined up to meet those requirements themselves. So let alone the process of completing the reverification, but providing them ample time to prepare whatever may be necessary to get to that point in time to where they are actually able to process that reverification with the right documents.
Jason Fry (16:30):
And I think that that's absolutely correct and what I've seen in the marketplace too. But another thing that employers need to be mindful of is that it's at the end of the day, their responsibility. So when they are doing something like selecting a vendor for compliance, if they want to outsource it to an electronic software or use an electronic software, for their I-9 management, it's incumbent on the employer to make sure that the vendor they're choosing is reputable, above board, has systems and processes in place like the reverification notices, that makes sure that we are reaching out to the employer to keep them on the right time schedule. Because again, the employer's responsibility is key here and that they are the ones that are responsible for making sure that their workforce is both who they say they are and eligible to work inside the U.S.
Jason Fry (17:22):
Well guys, it looks like we're about out of time for today. I'd like to thank Brian for joining me on the Workforce Wise Podcast. And I hope that you guys enjoyed the topic and that you were able to take away some best practices that you can use in your organization as you're looking at Form I-9 management and the reverification process specifically.
Announcer (17:40):
Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard today, be sure to subscribe to the Workforce Wise Podcast and don't forget to download your free tools at equifax.com/wise. While you're there, check out our other episodes and sign up for a live tech demo to see our solutions in action.
Announcer (17:59):
And to keep our lawyers happy, you should know the information provided on the Workforce Wise Podcast is intended as general guidance and not intended to convey specific tax or legal advice. For tax or legal information pertaining to your company and its specific facts and needs, please consult your own tax advisor or legal counsel.
Announcer (18:17):
The views expressed are those of the discussion leaders and do not necessarily reflect official positions of Equifax. Investor analysts should direct inquiries using the contact us box on the investor relations section at equifax.com.