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EMPLOYEE RECORDKEEPING &

I-9 COMPLIANCEPresented by Monica Weimar,

PHR, SHRM-CP

• File Types

• File Retention

• Storage Options

• Granting Access

• Record Destruction

• Form I-9:

• Acceptable

Documents

• Penalties & Other

Considerations

• E-Verify

• Audits

Agenda

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File Types

• Application, resume, and interview notes

• Signed job description and employment offer

• Signed handbook acknowledgement form

• Performance evaluations

• Status changes (positon and pay changes)

• Training completion certificates

• Disciplinary documentation

Basic Personnel File

• Insurance and medical enrollment forms

• Beneficiary designation forms

• Retirement plan enrollment documents

• Medical documents from temporary leaves of absence

• Continued health insurance documents (COBRA)

• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave documents

• Pre-employment test results

Medical / Benefits File

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• Form W-4

• Timesheets (if printed)

• Pay increase/decrease documentation

• Paid and unpaid time off records

• Wage garnishment documentation

Payroll File

• One per injury

• First Report of Injury claim form

• Medical documents including doctor’s notes and

insurance information

Workers’ Compensation Claim File

• Keep current employee and terminated employee

files separately

• Alphabetized in a 3-ring binder

Form I-9 File

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File Retention

Best Practices

• Maintain applications, resumes, and other records related to the refusal to hire

for one year from decision date

• Maintain employee files for the length of employment and 7 years after

termination

• Generally satisfies all retention requirements

• Meets most state’s statute of limitations on tort, fraud, and contract claims

Form I-9 Retention Requirements

Retain for as long as the employee is employed, and the later of the following:

• 3 years after the hire date, or

• 1 year after termination

An easy way to assess the appropriate destroy date:

• Enter the date the employee started work + 3 years = answer A

• Enter the employee’s termination date + 1 year = answer B

Store until the later date, A or B

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Benefits Information:

6 years

post-employment

Safety & Injury

Information

(non-toxic exposure):

5 years after

record creation

Payroll Records:

5 years

post-employment

Other File Retention Periods

Storage Options

• Security

• Disaster Recovery

• File Access

• Organization

Paper Storage Considerations

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• Employee’s request

• Record accessibility

• Confidentiality

• Security controls

• Audit request

• Record management and

destruction

• Signatures

• Electronic W-4 and I-9

Forms

Electronic Storage Considerations

Granting Access

File Access

• No federal law requiring an employer to provide access

• Many states require that an employer provide an employee access to their file

• Recommend company policy where state regulations don’t exist

• Why create this policy?

• What to include?

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Record Destruction

Form I-9

• The purpose

• Why further discussion is necessary

• Current edition states: ”03/08/2013” at the bottom

Form I-9

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Form I-9 Updates

• Current edition is scheduled to expire on 3/31/16

• Propose changes were announced last November

• Final form & changes have not yet been published

• Use the current form until a revised form is

published

• Proposed changes to create a “smart” form

Who Completes Form I-9

• Employer or employer representative

• Section 2 must be completed by the individual that reviewed the IDs

• Notary public acting as an employer representative

• Discuss this with a notary ahead of time, as some cannot complete section 2

• No notary is required

When is a Form I-9 NOT Required

• Non-Employees such as volunteers, unpaid interns, and independent contractors

• Employees:

• Hired before 11/6/1986

• Hired for casual domestic work in a private home

• Providing labor to you who are employed by a contractor providing contract

services (e.g., employee leasing or temporary agencies);

• Not physically working on U.S. soil

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Section 1: Employee’s

Responsibility

Section 2, Part I: Employer’s

Responsibility

Section 2, Part II: Certification

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Section 3: Reverification

and Rehires

Form I-9: Acceptable Documents

Employees must present: one ID from

List A; OR one ID from List B and List C

List of Acceptable Documents

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List A of Acceptable Documents

Lists B &C of Acceptable Documents

List of Acceptable Documents

• Documents must be unexpired

• Documents must be presented within 3 business days of hire

• Photocopied documents are not acceptable

• Receipts in lieu of IDs

• Accept documents that reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the

person presenting them

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Issuing Authorities

Document Type Issuing Authority

U.S. Passport / Passport Card U.S. Department of State

Permanent Resident Card U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Employment Authorization Card U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Driver’s License / State-Issued ID Any state, territory, or Canadian government authority

Social Security Card U.S. Social Security Administration

Birth Certificate U.S. Department of State

Form I-9: Penalties & Other Considerations

• Employer

• Civil penalties and civil document fraud

• Criminal penalties

• Unlawful discrimination claim

• Employee

Penalties

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Unlawful Discrimination

• It is illegal to discriminate based upon citizenship or immigration status

• Laws prohibit employers from hiring only U.S. citizen or lawful permanent

residents

• Employers may not require “proof” prior to an accepted job offer

• Choice of document

Allowed Candidate Questions

• Acceptable employment application questions:

• Are you authorized to work lawfully in the United States for [Company

Name]?

• Will you now or in the future require [Company Name] to commence

(“sponsor”) an immigration case in order to employ you (for example, H-1B

or other employment-based immigration case)?

→This is sometimes called “sponsorship” for an employment-based visa status.

E-Verify

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E-Verify Requirements

• Requires copies of documents provided for the I-9 and a social security number

• Optional for most U.S. employers

• Required by federal or state law:

• Federal contractors and subcontractors if the contractor contains the Federal

Acquisition Regulation E-Verify clause

• Required in: Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, and South Carolina

• Required for some employers, based on size in:

Georgia and Tennessee

Form I-9: Audits

• Why audit

• When to audit

• What is generally found in an audit

Conducting an Internal I-9 Audit

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• Determine priorities

• Organize documents

• Reach out to each employee without an I-9 or with

an incomplete I-9

• Corrections

• Terminated employees

• Recording the audit

Internal I-9 Audit Steps

Monica Weimar, PHR, SHRM-CPHR Specialist

Monica has held roles as an HR Generalist and

Payroll and Benefits manager at a large ski resort,

providing HR guidance to more than 500

employees. She also has HR experience in the

healthcare field. Monica is the HR Committee

Chair for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of

Central Oregon, and holds a Bachelor of Science

degree from Linfield College.

Thank you!