UPDATE: DHS recently extended its temporary policy permitting flexibility in certain I-9 requirements to December 31, 2020. The policy, issued earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, affords employers some flexibility in completing Form I-9 to account for a remote workforce and the difficulty some employees may currently face in renewing identity documents.
Original Blog Posted on May 6, 2020 (below):
On May 1, 2020, DHS issued a temporary policy permitting employers to accept certain expired List B documents when verifying employment eligibility, recognizing that employees may currently have difficulty renewing documents such as a state driver’s license. Typically, a List B document, which establishes an individual’s identity, must be unexpired for an employer to accept it when completing Form I-9. In certain cases where the actual document is not available, an employer can accept a receipt for the document (such as to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged document), but must reverify the employee’s eligibility later.
Effective May 1, 2020, employers may treat List B documents set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, that have not been extended by the issuing authority, as if the employee had presented a valid receipt for the document. The document should be recorded in Section 2, with “COVID-19” noted in the Additional Information Field. Within 90 days after the temporary policy terminates, the employee must present a valid unexpired document to replace the expired document.
Where the issuing authority has already extended document expiration dates because of COVID-19, the document is an acceptable List B document through the extension timeframe, and is not treated as a “receipt.” The document’s expiration date should be recorded in Section 2, and “COVID-19 EXT” noted in the Additional Information Field.
Kristin A. Zech is an employment lawyer with Berenzweig Leonard, and leads the firm’s Immigration Practice. She can be reached at 703-940-3788 or kzech@berenzweiglaw.com