I-9 Employment Verification Information:
Practically every employer needs to collect and maintain I-9 paperwork on every employee they hire, and they must obtain this paperwork within 3 days of the start date. The paperwork must be kept on file in case the company is ever audited by the Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, the paperwork alone has no way of guaranteeing that any employee is legitimately documented, and an audit will take much more time as a result.
An I-9 verification takes I-9 documentation much further by providing verification and proof that the employee is in fact legally authorized to work in this country. By integrating with both the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, an I-9 verification provides an electronic paper trail that can prove the legitimate status of all employees and can satisfy an audit quickly and easily. In addition, it proves that the employee is providing real documentation and telling the truth about their status, giving more credibility to them as an employee.
Several states already require I-9 verifications in addition to paperwork, and other laws are in the works that would require them for additional states or for certain classes of federal workers.
