DHS’s COVID-19 I-9 Flexibility: What Employers Must Know
DHS allowed temporary remote I-9 document verification during COVID-19, but employers must still complete in-person checks once operations resume.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a notice that it would be flexible regarding Form I-9 and document verification requirements during COVID-19. While this change was meant to ease the burden on employers, it is important to note that specific rules must be followed to remain in compliance.
Normally, DHS policy requires employers to verify an employee’s identification and authorization documents in their physical presence. With the COVID-19 outbreak making this practice difficult, DHS allowed employers that had implemented physical distancing policies to verify identity documents remotely.
This measure did not relieve employers of their obligation to verify documentation in the employee’s physical presence; employers still needed to fulfill the normal requirement for all employees verified remotely once normal operations resumed. When this occurred, employers were instructed to enter “COVID-19” as the reason for the delay in the Section 2 Additional Information field.
Employers using CRC’s online I-9 form documentation service were able to use additional features added to help reduce the burden of tracking this update, including a checkbox at the top of Section 2 titled “Operating remotely, physical inspection delay, COVID-19.” Checking this box allowed the employer to upload a copy of the documents. Once normal operations resumed, customers were notified to complete their physical inspections and mark them as complete on their forms.
This post reflects DHS guidance current at the time of its original publication in April 2020.
If you have any questions about DHS’s announcement or CRC’s I-9 fulfillment, please reach out to our Sales team.
