If you don’t yet have the new Form I-9, you’re well behind schedule. The Form I-9 has always been a complicated document, and it’s recently been updated. Employers and HR managers need to be vigilant in detecting mistakes when employees complete the form in order to ensure they remain compliant with the law. Here are a few of the most common mistakes you’re likely to see on a Form I-9:
Misplacing List A, B and C Document Information
The document information for list A, B, and C is sometimes switched around. For example, the data from a U.S. passport might be accidentally listed as a list B document although it is a list A document. This is concerning because employees who submit a document from list A only need to submit one document. Employees who do not submit a list A document will need to submit a document from both list B and list C.
Another mistake employers might make is asking employees for a specific document. Employers must present the complete list of acceptable documents from lists A, B, and C—they can’t specify which document they would like to receive.
Submitting Incomplete Forms
One common mistake is simply not completing all of the fields. For example, it’s easy to accidentally overlook the fields for U.S. immigration status and when the employee’s work authorization will expire. HR managers should take care to look over each and every field on the form to ensure it’s been filled out.
Mistaking Dates
Just admit it—not every employee will read the Form I-9. This leads to filling in the wrong information sometimes, including employees putting their birthdays where the date should be in section one.
Completing the Form Too Late
The initial verification must be done within three days after hiring is official—no exceptions.
Still don’t have the new 2017 form? You can download it here.