Was your New Year's resolution to get a new form?

You are in luck. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has made it easy...I give you the revised Form I-9. The deadline for employers to begin using this revised form is January 22, 2017. USCIS can issue financial penalties to employers for failure to use the correct form. In fact, fines for use of the incorrect form increased about 96% in 2016. (Paperwork violations related to the I-9 Form could cost your business up to $2,156.00 per violation, with a minimum penalty of $216.00.) Employees can locate the new Form I-9 at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

It should also be noted that the cost of unlawfully employing immigrant workers can be significant. The Justice Department can impose a minimum penalty of $539.00 per violation, up to a maximum of $4,313.00 per violation. (Of note, the aggregate penalty for multiple violations is currently capped at $21,563.00, and no one wants to write that check.) Therefore, employers would be wise to use the proper I-9 Form prior to January 22, 2017 and to strictly adhere to the rules regarding hiring and completion of the Form. Looking for a best practice to avoid problems? Implement a training program for those staff members that will be charged with insuring proper completion of the I-9 Forms.

Foley & Foley offers a complete suite of training programs for the benefit of our clients. Our comprehensive "Hiring Practices" training program provides the information that employers need to insure correct completion and retention of I-9 Forms.