Required New Hire I-9 Form Changes

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, that must be used by all employers beginning January 22, 2017, for all new hires. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) prohibits employers from hiring people, including U.S. citizens, for employment in the United States without verifying their identity and employment authorization on Form I-9. 

The revised Form I-9 is also easier to complete on a computer. Enhancements include drop-down lists and calendars for filling in dates, on-screen instructions for each field, easy access to the full instructions, and an option to clear the form and start over. When the employer prints the completed form, a quick response (QR) code is automatically generated, which can be read by most QR readers. Instructions for completing the form can be found here.

Failure to complete the form can lead to civil penalties of $216 to $2,156 per form not completed and up to six months incarceration.

Note: Employment-related law can be a complicated web for doctors of optometry to stay in compliance. The new COA Legal Services Resource Program offers COA members up to one-half hour (30 minutes) of telephone and research work per month with an attorney at Wilke Fleury, COA’s legal counsel, at no cost in the areas of employment and other laws related the practice of optometry. Simply call Wilke Fleury at 916-441-2430, provide your COA member number and ask for any of the three following attorneys: Steve Marmaduke, Daniel Baxter or William Gould.