As part of my ongoing efforts to educate local businesses on employment law issues, I will present on the new USCIS Form I-9 at the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce later this month. This new I-9 form becomes mandatory starting TODAY: September 18, 2017. Starting Monday September 18, 2017, all employers must use the form dated 07/17/17 for all new hires on and after that date. Not sure you have the current version? Look in the bottom left corner of the form. Remember that using an out of date form is a violation that could lead to fines and penalties under the USCIS regulations in the event of an audit. Many employers incorrectly assume that they only need to complete an I-9 for foreign workers. WRONG. You need to complete an I-9 for every new hire since November 1986, and you could face hefty fines and forfeitures for failure to fill out the paperwork properly. While the form does not look significantly different from the previous version, it is critical for all employers to always use the current form then in effect. Remember, you don’t need to re-verify all of your existing employees just because the form changed, only if there’s been a new hire or a re-hire. If you want to talk more about this, join me September 28th in Lewiston, or contact your local Maine employment lawyer. You can sign up here: https://business.lametrochamber.com/events/details/hr-thursdays-the-new-i-9-form-its-new-bark-and-how-to-avoid-its-bite-like-anti-discrimination-claims-7560.
You can find the new form on the USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central