• Within three business days of the date of hire , review original documents establishing identity and work authorization, and complete Section 2 . The lists of acceptable documents (List A, or a combination of List B and List C) appear on the I‑9 itself. Employees choose which acceptable documents to present. Key points : • A sole proprietor does not complete an I‑9 for themselves, but an owner who is an employee of a separate legal entity (e.g., corporation, LLC taxed as a corporation) must have an I‑9 on file. • Employers must retain each I‑9 for the later of :
• Three years after the date of hire, or • One year after employment ends.
I‑9s must be made available for inspection by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Labor, and the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the U.S. Department of Justice. Employers may complete and store I‑9s on paper or in compliant electronic systems, including systems that use electronic signatures and electronic storage. Federal rules allow conversion of paper I‑9s to electronic formats, provided integrity, accuracy, and audit‑trail requirements are met. Civil penalties for I‑9 and employment‑verification violations (both paperwork and knowingly hiring/continuing to employ unauthorized workers) are set by statute and periodically adjusted for inflation, and can be significant. Willful or “pattern or practice” violations may result in criminal penalties . Avoiding immigration‑related discrimination The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) and Title VII prohibit certain forms of employment discrimination based on national origin or citizenship/immigration status. At a minimum: • Employers with four or more employees may not discriminate in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee based on national origin or citizenship/immigration status (for work‑authorized individuals), or because of I‑9 documentation choices. • Employers must treat all employees the same in the I‑9 process: • Do not request more or different documents than those listed on the form. • Do not demand specific documents (for example, a “green card” from non‑citizens). • Do not reject documents that reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person presenting them. • Do not refuse to accept a document just because it has a future expiration date.
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