April 24, 2025 • 23 mins
It’s important for U.S. employers to effectively manage Form I-9 compliance. And with increased immigration enforcement, the scrutiny organizations face could be higher, too.
Now is the perfect time to reconsider your strategy for preventing I-9 compliance fines and other penalties. From conducting an internal I-9 audit to ensuring you have the most effective software to enhance your approach, there’s no shortage of best practices to help ensure your compliance.
Workplace compliance expert Dr. Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, CEO of People Culture Data Consulting Group, joins HR Break Room® podcast host Ariana Stark to discuss simplifying Form I-9 compliance with:
- an overview of recent I-9 updates
- a breakdown of the most common I-9 errors
- tips and insight for ensuring I-9 compliance
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:14):
HR Break Room is brought to you by Paycom,
empowering employees nationwide with HR
and payroll tech in one easy app.
Learn how Paycom simplifies business for your
entire workforce at Paycom.com.
-Hello everyone and welcome to the HR
Break Room, Paycom's podcast dedicated
to having quick conversations on the hot
(00:35):
topics in HR.
I'm your host, Ariana Stark.
If you work in HR, you definitely know
about the Form I-9. But with immigration
enforcement ramping up,
organizations could face higher scrutiny
and a higher chance of federal audits.
To help you ace I-9 compliance, let's
take a deeper look at what these forms
(00:55):
mean, its recent updates and
the most common mistakes employers make with
it. And I know the perfect person
to help.
Our guest today is Dr. Paola Cecchi-
Dimeglio.
She's a renowned author, scientist
and global expert in AI,
Big Data and behavioral science.
She holds dual positions at Harvard
University and is the CEO
(01:17):
of People Culture Data Consulting
Group, a worldwide organization
that solves complex workforce problems
through AI-driven solutions.
She'll share her deep knowledge of I-9
compliance to help us navigate what's
to come.
With that, let's jump into the HR Break Room.
Paola, thank you so much for joining us today.
(01:38):
-Thank you so much for having me. -Well, let's
get right into it. So
in simple terms, Form I-9
is a U.S. citizenship and immigration
document used to verify
an employee's identity and eligibility
to work.
So let's just start off by
going over who must complete a Form
I-9. -So think
(02:01):
about everyone,
U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen.
That's extremely important to
have the I-9
Form being completed.
The employee work authorization
attestation
on the form is critical.
You can, for example, provide, you know, proof of
(02:21):
license or — and work
permit
or one document to encompass
everything. The employer
has to,
you know, verify the authenticity —
that it's genuine and that it's
you, really, the person.
Any detail in the I-9 compliance
is extremely important to be
(02:43):
filled. -So why
do you think I-9s are so
important today specifically?
-Well, you know it helps — you
have to see it as your tool in
your tool kit. It helps you as an
employer to verify the
ID
of that individual. Is it him or her,
that person? And
(03:05):
does this person have the right to work
in the United States?
And so you are really covering
yourself up, you know, like
it's more easy to verify
that everything is in order.
It really helps you to be compliant,
and
to know that if there is any
issue, you can correct it right away.
(03:27):
Because a failure to non-comply
can lead to an audit,
to fine,
to penalty, and you can
even go
to sentence of imprisonment.
So when you're an employer, you really try
to, you know, limit any
type of exposure.
(03:48):
-Absolutely, and I mean you just want the best
for your employees and for your company, so it
makes sense.
So,
you know, we kind of mentioned earlier (03:54):
What are some recent
updates to Form I-9? Let's get into that
that employers should be aware of.
-So the first and foremost,
if we look back, I want you to have in
the — keep back of your mind, OK, what
happened in the last five years
and how that changed everything.
So first and foremost,
(04:15):
since August 1, 2023,
we have
had a moment during
the pandemic where situation have
changed a little
and the DHS also have
changed what was possible. But
since that date in 2023,
we are back to what happened pre-pandemic.
(04:38):
So you are required,
as an employer, to verify the
ID
of your
employee in-person unless,
again, unless you use E-Verify
process.
You also need to be
aware that
in the Section 2 of the
I-9 form,
(04:59):
there is a new box
that have been included
saying there is an option to confirm
that remote documentation
have been examined. That's very
important. And the most important among
everything else:
the lengths of the document move
from 15 page
to eight pages.
So, you know, that sounds
(05:23):
simple, but all those elements
have been the big change since
we have reinstated
the process post-pandemic.
-OK wow, so I mean that is a huge
change, taking it down that many pages.
So what impact do these
just different changes have on
an organization and their employees?
(05:46):
-Well — so what
you have to think is, you know,
the process is
moving from 15 to eight pages.
We're making sure that we are getting
all the information that were
necessary in a minimum amount
of pages
and streamlining the verification
(06:06):
process while you're maintaining compliance
standard,
I think was the big
idea behind it.
One element that, I will say,
that employer and employee have to think,
you know, about that is
the important information
has to be provided, has to be accurate
and it is on the responsibility of
(06:27):
both of them — employer and employee — to
verify the accuracy of those documents.
-Absolutely, thank you for breaking that down — all those
new updates to be aware of and
be prepared for. So as we
do see more efforts
from states to just mandate
the use of E-Verify, and you mentioned
that was,
you know, the online system that confirms
(06:47):
an individual's work authorization,
what should employers
consider when they are using E-Verify?
-So first and foremost, you know, E-Verify
is a tool in your toolbox
who help you
making sure that you can prevent any type
of error. So that's a
great tool to have, right? -Right.
(07:08):
-So what is important to have is E-Verify
use the same document that what you have on the
I-9 form to verify this employee
eligibility.
And so
e-verification is
something that
allow you
to not see the past history
of the employee, and that is extremely
(07:28):
important, related, you know, to the idea of
data privacy, who have access within your
organization.
So that really simplify it.
The other element is
company who...
I will say use E-Verify
for all their employees
have to designate a
(07:49):
hiring site. And why? Because you
just don't wanna have cherry-picking,
"I'm just going with those site and that's it."
No, all the site that you are
using have to be registered
and have to be available to all your employees.
That's very important.
-OK, well thank you for explaining that.
So with, you know, so many eyes
on I-9 compliance,
(08:12):
what typically triggers something like
an audit?
-An audit. Who wanna have an audit in
this life? No one. But,
you know, I will say that there are
few elements that trigger
an audit, and three particularly
that I will pay attention to.
The first one is a complaint of
(08:32):
your current and former
employee. The second
one, I will say, is flag
raised about the business by immigration
authority.
And the third one is really
what we refer to oftentime as
"industry vulnerability,"
meaning, you know, some employer
(08:53):
in some sector are more likely
to be in a violation of I-9
and those one are
under more scrutiny
than other sector.
-OK, so going off of that,
what are, you know, some
of the common I-9 errors
that maybe could be avoided
(09:13):
to also avoid an audit?
-So, you know, spelling
mistake, from your name
to your address;
having a wrong combination
of documentation between section
A, B and C;
making sure that you are giving
the right type of document and not excessive
document, I will say it is important;
(09:35):
making sure that
you are not having late
physical inspection of the documentation
when the employee is coming;
missing some of the deadline
related to work authorization;
and one element that I think
oftentime we forget, but is critical,
is making sure that
if you are doing any
(09:56):
type of correction on the document,
you need to have a
date and an initial
next to it.
Those one, I will say, are
extremely common.
The other thing is, you know, sure enough,
not verifying the document.
And also not
supervising the employee when they are
(10:16):
filling those documents.
And
something that is an easy fix:
inadequate training to your
workforce, right? Not telling them what
they have to do
and not giving them guidance
in filing all the section
properly.
-Wow, yeah, I mean it makes sense, you know, having
training and just knowing what —
(10:38):
what to look for and what to be aware
of and careful for,
it makes sense. So
what could happen to an organization
that doesn't maintain I-9 compliance?
-Well, first of all,
I do not wish anyone to be in that
situation, right, because
there is fine and penalty
(10:59):
that are foreseen under I-9
as a noncompliance administrated
by the DHS.
And you have to be aware that
the DHS has a
right
to apply
those fine and penalty case by
case. Right,
so that's something that is extremely important.
(11:21):
The basis for penalty
can be multiple, but the most common
are, you know, inaccurate completion
or failure
to provide the form,
including
the I-9 form that you have for
your
current employee, right, not retaining
them properly.
The other one is, as
(11:42):
an employer, continuing to employ —
knowingly —
someone who do not have the right
to work in
the United States.
-Wow. -And
just the last things for you to
have in the back of your mind when the DHS
will review that, what happened
is they're gonna send you a notice. You
(12:04):
don't wanna see that in your mailbox.
And you have 30 days to
respond to that notice.
And based on that,
you know, the penalty and the fine that you can get
will change. If you're a large
organization, if you're making really good effort
to solve any type of issue, what
is the background of
the employee, the violation that is in
(12:26):
place — and all of that will impact
the severity of the penalty
that you will be
constrained to pay
if you are found that,
during the audit,
you have been in violation
of the I-9 form.
And, you know, one
(12:47):
element that is oftentime...
forgotten is
the administration never forget.
When you have been a bad
actor once
they just wanna make sure that you will follow
through.
And so making
sure that you're keeping
(13:08):
a trail
is very important when you
are in an audit situation because you can learn
from it, right?
And, you know, I will say that
you have different type of
penalties. Some of them come from the
violation of the form. Others
come from the fact that you are a first
or second or, you know,
repeated offender, and so all of
(13:30):
that is
extremely important to have
in the back of your mind.
Because at the end of the day,
when you are an employer,
you are exposing yourself
to,
you know,
I will say up to six months
(13:51):
of imprisonment, and
when you're on the executive and manager side
you can up to five years. And
so all of that has to be taken
into account,
right? It's extremely
important to realize that
you have a way through
the audit
to prevent to pay those penalty and
(14:13):
even go to be submitted
to go to jail, right?
-Well, absolutely. It's just, you know, very
high stakes and sometimes very simple,
you know, errors.-Yeah.
-So what should employers do
to identify and fix I-9
errors?
-So, you know, the most easy one is
be prepared
(14:36):
to run if something happened.
So what I mean here
is
you have to see yourself as a supportive
who's gonna run behind
it, so you have to gather
all the information you need to have for all your
employee. You do that,
you collect all the I-9s,
you verify them,
(14:58):
and you audit and you review them.
Like, OK, what are the error?
Now that we have spot in
this audit, what can we learn from
it and how can we progress
in the next —
unfortunately audit if that has to happen,
but at least do a preventive
(15:18):
one internally.
What is important also
is to make sure that,
you know, you are capturing
not only the process and what
you have learned from it,
but you are also documenting
how people have, you know, what are the
most common error that are coming,
(15:40):
such as, you know, the expiration
of the employment date
and so on,
but also making sure that you retain
those documents.
And again do not forget, if you made any
type of modification,
your initial and the date,
right?-Right.
Yeah, just keeping track of all of that and —
(16:00):
I mean it makes sense to be
prepared and
have that peace of mind that you can
get when you are prepared and you
anticipate something like that.
So what other things should employers do
to really help ensure that they stay compliant?
-Again, the first thing is
if you can have a software,
(16:21):
go and use it. And you know the Paycom
software is a great tool
helping you to avoid a lot of headache,
so go for it. I
will
always be an advocate of
that. The second things I will
say is
post-audit you have to
really understand, OK, what works
(16:42):
and what didn't work? Why
was it effective and why it was not
effective? And if you see a gap,
how can I solve it as easily
as possible with the less internal
friction that I have?
And I will say bring the software in,
and if you don't have it, bring it in.
Like, do not question yourself.
That is money well spent that
(17:04):
will save you a lot of a headache along
the way. And from
that,
you know, making sure that you are operating
with a new standard. OK, what
is it that we have learned?
Now let's say you're
bringing Paycom software in. OK,
what can we do in the adjustment of the error
that we make in the past that now we have also
(17:25):
a tool helping us?
And I think
doing that thoroughly
with, you know, timing of
audit, the process, who have to be
involved,
when they have to be involved, what is the role of
everyone, is extremely important
because you can set up then —
When are the next training
happening? When do they need to be triggered
(17:47):
so we are making sure that
we can educate via
training our employee and know, "Hey,
this is the importance of I-9
form because I'm not the only one
being responsible. You're also jeopardizing
your ability to work within the company
to, you know,
see a future growth, so we are
(18:08):
all responsible in that way."
And I think when you do that
training —
and I do think objectively compliance
should be fun
because they are
on you, a part of
"We are doing an audit. What work?
What doesn't work? How can we improve?"
And
it is,
(18:29):
I will say, to some extent
your own responsibility as an
employee and as an employer to say "What
can we do to grow together?"
And high compliance is part of
the things, right?
We are holding hand to hand and we're gonna
make sure that
I can grow within this company and I'm helping
the company to be fully
(18:50):
into the legal track of compliance.
-Absolutely. Well, you know, having
that training like you said and
given the right tech and tools, that can really
help an organization simplify
that, you know, compliance
component and just
kind of take that — give them that ease
back and
have that peace of mind again like
(19:11):
we mentioned.
What should employers be
doing to — when they're vetting
I-9 compliance software and tools that
can help them stay on top
of it without having to stress about
forgetting the little details? -So,
you know, I will say that the software, when you're
looking at vendor —
first, the reputation.
(19:31):
Right? -Right. -That's one element.
But you have to make sure that
the vendor is reliable
in what they're doing. You cannot —
literally you cannot just roll the dice.
Let's be transparent over it.
Things are changing too quickly
to let it be and say "Oh, I'm gonna
take a smaller player." You cannot. You have
(19:51):
to go with
big reliable name
like Paycom is one of them, you know,
and I think that's something
that is extremely important to
have and to know. For example,
you know, the Patriots is one of
your clients
and they rely on it, and
so that trust from other company
using the software also show
(20:13):
"Well, we know that they are dealing
with complex situation and that they are
having your back." So that's one
element, reputation, and also
the other client.
The other element that — I will say that come
into play is, you know, making sure
that there are sensitive data who
are protected and that the software
is also taking care of that.
(20:34):
Knowing that the vendor
is also providing type of
training to your workforce to know
and to keep up with the change.
All of that sounds,
you know,
not necessary at first, but
along the way with the change
happening —
not just today but overall in
(20:55):
the legal and HR landscape —
you wanna make sure that you have an ally
with you
helping you to outperform your task
as an organization
and will have your back.
-Absolutely. I really like that you brought that
up about having an ally because it
really is a partnership, you know, the —
the tools you use and,
(21:16):
you know, just
the software that you have,
that is like a partnership
and you can do it together. You don't have to do it alone.
You know, there are things out there like
Paycom that can help and
tools, and again like you said, training, which is
just so important, so.
Well, before we wrap up, is
there anything else you'd like to mention about this
(21:36):
topic that we didn't get to cover?
-I will say
two things. The first one is I-9
form
should be easy.
Don't make it harder,
you know,
don't make it harder. Use the right tool
in your toolbox.
And the second thing, make sure that
(21:57):
the vendor you have are the right
right ally. At the end of the day, I
think when you have that in the back of your mind as
an employer,
you are making the right choice.
-Absolutely.
Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Paola.
It's such a pleasure to have you.
-Thank you so much for having me.
-And thank you, listeners for tuning into our
conversation today.
(22:18):
And if you need to enhance your I-9
compliance strategy, Paycom's single
software has the perfect tools to do it.
Our onboarding experience walks
new hires through essential documents
like Form I-9 before Day
1 so they can make an immediate
impact. Plus, our E-Verify® tool
provides instant and automatic
(22:38):
I-9 verification right in
our single software so you don't need to
worry about switching between separate
systems. And finally, to
ensure everyone in your organization
is on the same page about I-9s,
Paycom Learning makes it easy to
create, deliver and complete
training about important compliance
topics anytime,
(22:59):
anywhere.
We hope you will return to the HR Break Room
very soon.
-Be sure to follow and subscribe to HR
Break Room on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
or wherever you listen.
For more episodes, visit HRBreakRoom.com
or follow us on social media. Thanks for tuning
into this episode, and we can't wait for you to
join us again inside the HR Break
(23:21):
Room.
HR Break Room is brought to you by Paycom,
empowering employees nationwide with HR
and payroll tech in one easy app.
Learn how Paycom simplifies business for your
entire workforce at Paycom.com.
-Hello everyone and welcome to the HR
Break Room, Paycom's podcast dedicated
to having quick conversations on the hot
(00:35):
topics in HR.
I'm your host, Ariana Stark.
If you work in HR, you definitely know
about the Form I-9. But with immigration
enforcement ramping up,
organizations could face higher scrutiny
and a higher chance of federal audits.
To help you ace I-9 compliance, let's
take a deeper look at what these forms
(00:55):
mean, its recent updates and
the most common mistakes employers make with
it. And I know the perfect person
to help.
Our guest today is Dr. Paola Cecchi-
Dimeglio.
She's a renowned author, scientist
and global expert in AI,
Big Data and behavioral science.
She holds dual positions at Harvard
University and is the CEO
(01:17):
of People Culture Data Consulting
Group, a worldwide organization
that solves complex workforce problems
through AI-driven solutions.
She'll share her deep knowledge of I-9
compliance to help us navigate what's
to come.
With that, let's jump into the HR Break Room.
Paola, thank you so much for joining us today.
(01:38):
-Thank you so much for having me. -Well, let's
get right into it. So
in simple terms, Form I-9
is a U.S. citizenship and immigration
document used to verify
an employee's identity and eligibility
to work.
So let's just start off by
going over who must complete a Form
I-9. -So think
(02:01):
about everyone,
U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen.
That's extremely important to
have the I-9
Form being completed.
The employee work authorization
attestation
on the form is critical.
You can, for example, provide, you know, proof of
(02:21):
license or — and work
permit
or one document to encompass
everything. The employer
has to,
you know, verify the authenticity —
that it's genuine and that it's
you, really, the person.
Any detail in the I-9 compliance
is extremely important to be
(02:43):
filled. -So why
do you think I-9s are so
important today specifically?
-Well, you know it helps — you
have to see it as your tool in
your tool kit. It helps you as an
employer to verify the
ID
of that individual. Is it him or her,
that person? And
(03:05):
does this person have the right to work
in the United States?
And so you are really covering
yourself up, you know, like
it's more easy to verify
that everything is in order.
It really helps you to be compliant,
and
to know that if there is any
issue, you can correct it right away.
(03:27):
Because a failure to non-comply
can lead to an audit,
to fine,
to penalty, and you can
even go
to sentence of imprisonment.
So when you're an employer, you really try
to, you know, limit any
type of exposure.
(03:48):
-Absolutely, and I mean you just want the best
for your employees and for your company, so it
makes sense.
So,
you know, we kind of mentioned earlier (03:54):
What are some recent
updates to Form I-9? Let's get into that
that employers should be aware of.
-So the first and foremost,
if we look back, I want you to have in
the — keep back of your mind, OK, what
happened in the last five years
and how that changed everything.
So first and foremost,
(04:15):
since August 1, 2023,
we have
had a moment during
the pandemic where situation have
changed a little
and the DHS also have
changed what was possible. But
since that date in 2023,
we are back to what happened pre-pandemic.
(04:38):
So you are required,
as an employer, to verify the
ID
of your
employee in-person unless,
again, unless you use E-Verify
process.
You also need to be
aware that
in the Section 2 of the
I-9 form,
(04:59):
there is a new box
that have been included
saying there is an option to confirm
that remote documentation
have been examined. That's very
important. And the most important among
everything else:
the lengths of the document move
from 15 page
to eight pages.
So, you know, that sounds
(05:23):
simple, but all those elements
have been the big change since
we have reinstated
the process post-pandemic.
-OK wow, so I mean that is a huge
change, taking it down that many pages.
So what impact do these
just different changes have on
an organization and their employees?
(05:46):
-Well — so what
you have to think is, you know,
the process is
moving from 15 to eight pages.
We're making sure that we are getting
all the information that were
necessary in a minimum amount
of pages
and streamlining the verification
(06:06):
process while you're maintaining compliance
standard,
I think was the big
idea behind it.
One element that, I will say,
that employer and employee have to think,
you know, about that is
the important information
has to be provided, has to be accurate
and it is on the responsibility of
(06:27):
both of them — employer and employee — to
verify the accuracy of those documents.
-Absolutely, thank you for breaking that down — all those
new updates to be aware of and
be prepared for. So as we
do see more efforts
from states to just mandate
the use of E-Verify, and you mentioned
that was,
you know, the online system that confirms
(06:47):
an individual's work authorization,
what should employers
consider when they are using E-Verify?
-So first and foremost, you know, E-Verify
is a tool in your toolbox
who help you
making sure that you can prevent any type
of error. So that's a
great tool to have, right? -Right.
(07:08):
-So what is important to have is E-Verify
use the same document that what you have on the
I-9 form to verify this employee
eligibility.
And so
e-verification is
something that
allow you
to not see the past history
of the employee, and that is extremely
(07:28):
important, related, you know, to the idea of
data privacy, who have access within your
organization.
So that really simplify it.
The other element is
company who...
I will say use E-Verify
for all their employees
have to designate a
(07:49):
hiring site. And why? Because you
just don't wanna have cherry-picking,
"I'm just going with those site and that's it."
No, all the site that you are
using have to be registered
and have to be available to all your employees.
That's very important.
-OK, well thank you for explaining that.
So with, you know, so many eyes
on I-9 compliance,
(08:12):
what typically triggers something like
an audit?
-An audit. Who wanna have an audit in
this life? No one. But,
you know, I will say that there are
few elements that trigger
an audit, and three particularly
that I will pay attention to.
The first one is a complaint of
(08:32):
your current and former
employee. The second
one, I will say, is flag
raised about the business by immigration
authority.
And the third one is really
what we refer to oftentime as
"industry vulnerability,"
meaning, you know, some employer
(08:53):
in some sector are more likely
to be in a violation of I-9
and those one are
under more scrutiny
than other sector.
-OK, so going off of that,
what are, you know, some
of the common I-9 errors
that maybe could be avoided
(09:13):
to also avoid an audit?
-So, you know, spelling
mistake, from your name
to your address;
having a wrong combination
of documentation between section
A, B and C;
making sure that you are giving
the right type of document and not excessive
document, I will say it is important;
(09:35):
making sure that
you are not having late
physical inspection of the documentation
when the employee is coming;
missing some of the deadline
related to work authorization;
and one element that I think
oftentime we forget, but is critical,
is making sure that
if you are doing any
(09:56):
type of correction on the document,
you need to have a
date and an initial
next to it.
Those one, I will say, are
extremely common.
The other thing is, you know, sure enough,
not verifying the document.
And also not
supervising the employee when they are
(10:16):
filling those documents.
And
something that is an easy fix:
inadequate training to your
workforce, right? Not telling them what
they have to do
and not giving them guidance
in filing all the section
properly.
-Wow, yeah, I mean it makes sense, you know, having
training and just knowing what —
(10:38):
what to look for and what to be aware
of and careful for,
it makes sense. So
what could happen to an organization
that doesn't maintain I-9 compliance?
-Well, first of all,
I do not wish anyone to be in that
situation, right, because
there is fine and penalty
(10:59):
that are foreseen under I-9
as a noncompliance administrated
by the DHS.
And you have to be aware that
the DHS has a
right
to apply
those fine and penalty case by
case. Right,
so that's something that is extremely important.
(11:21):
The basis for penalty
can be multiple, but the most common
are, you know, inaccurate completion
or failure
to provide the form,
including
the I-9 form that you have for
your
current employee, right, not retaining
them properly.
The other one is, as
(11:42):
an employer, continuing to employ —
knowingly —
someone who do not have the right
to work in
the United States.
-Wow. -And
just the last things for you to
have in the back of your mind when the DHS
will review that, what happened
is they're gonna send you a notice. You
(12:04):
don't wanna see that in your mailbox.
And you have 30 days to
respond to that notice.
And based on that,
you know, the penalty and the fine that you can get
will change. If you're a large
organization, if you're making really good effort
to solve any type of issue, what
is the background of
the employee, the violation that is in
(12:26):
place — and all of that will impact
the severity of the penalty
that you will be
constrained to pay
if you are found that,
during the audit,
you have been in violation
of the I-9 form.
And, you know, one
(12:47):
element that is oftentime...
forgotten is
the administration never forget.
When you have been a bad
actor once
they just wanna make sure that you will follow
through.
And so making
sure that you're keeping
(13:08):
a trail
is very important when you
are in an audit situation because you can learn
from it, right?
And, you know, I will say that
you have different type of
penalties. Some of them come from the
violation of the form. Others
come from the fact that you are a first
or second or, you know,
repeated offender, and so all of
(13:30):
that is
extremely important to have
in the back of your mind.
Because at the end of the day,
when you are an employer,
you are exposing yourself
to,
you know,
I will say up to six months
(13:51):
of imprisonment, and
when you're on the executive and manager side
you can up to five years. And
so all of that has to be taken
into account,
right? It's extremely
important to realize that
you have a way through
the audit
to prevent to pay those penalty and
(14:13):
even go to be submitted
to go to jail, right?
-Well, absolutely. It's just, you know, very
high stakes and sometimes very simple,
you know, errors.-Yeah.
-So what should employers do
to identify and fix I-9
errors?
-So, you know, the most easy one is
be prepared
(14:36):
to run if something happened.
So what I mean here
is
you have to see yourself as a supportive
who's gonna run behind
it, so you have to gather
all the information you need to have for all your
employee. You do that,
you collect all the I-9s,
you verify them,
(14:58):
and you audit and you review them.
Like, OK, what are the error?
Now that we have spot in
this audit, what can we learn from
it and how can we progress
in the next —
unfortunately audit if that has to happen,
but at least do a preventive
(15:18):
one internally.
What is important also
is to make sure that,
you know, you are capturing
not only the process and what
you have learned from it,
but you are also documenting
how people have, you know, what are the
most common error that are coming,
(15:40):
such as, you know, the expiration
of the employment date
and so on,
but also making sure that you retain
those documents.
And again do not forget, if you made any
type of modification,
your initial and the date,
right?-Right.
Yeah, just keeping track of all of that and —
(16:00):
I mean it makes sense to be
prepared and
have that peace of mind that you can
get when you are prepared and you
anticipate something like that.
So what other things should employers do
to really help ensure that they stay compliant?
-Again, the first thing is
if you can have a software,
(16:21):
go and use it. And you know the Paycom
software is a great tool
helping you to avoid a lot of headache,
so go for it. I
will
always be an advocate of
that. The second things I will
say is
post-audit you have to
really understand, OK, what works
(16:42):
and what didn't work? Why
was it effective and why it was not
effective? And if you see a gap,
how can I solve it as easily
as possible with the less internal
friction that I have?
And I will say bring the software in,
and if you don't have it, bring it in.
Like, do not question yourself.
That is money well spent that
(17:04):
will save you a lot of a headache along
the way. And from
that,
you know, making sure that you are operating
with a new standard. OK, what
is it that we have learned?
Now let's say you're
bringing Paycom software in. OK,
what can we do in the adjustment of the error
that we make in the past that now we have also
(17:25):
a tool helping us?
And I think
doing that thoroughly
with, you know, timing of
audit, the process, who have to be
involved,
when they have to be involved, what is the role of
everyone, is extremely important
because you can set up then —
When are the next training
happening? When do they need to be triggered
(17:47):
so we are making sure that
we can educate via
training our employee and know, "Hey,
this is the importance of I-9
form because I'm not the only one
being responsible. You're also jeopardizing
your ability to work within the company
to, you know,
see a future growth, so we are
(18:08):
all responsible in that way."
And I think when you do that
training —
and I do think objectively compliance
should be fun
because they are
on you, a part of
"We are doing an audit. What work?
What doesn't work? How can we improve?"
And
it is,
(18:29):
I will say, to some extent
your own responsibility as an
employee and as an employer to say "What
can we do to grow together?"
And high compliance is part of
the things, right?
We are holding hand to hand and we're gonna
make sure that
I can grow within this company and I'm helping
the company to be fully
(18:50):
into the legal track of compliance.
-Absolutely. Well, you know, having
that training like you said and
given the right tech and tools, that can really
help an organization simplify
that, you know, compliance
component and just
kind of take that — give them that ease
back and
have that peace of mind again like
(19:11):
we mentioned.
What should employers be
doing to — when they're vetting
I-9 compliance software and tools that
can help them stay on top
of it without having to stress about
forgetting the little details? -So,
you know, I will say that the software, when you're
looking at vendor —
first, the reputation.
(19:31):
Right? -Right. -That's one element.
But you have to make sure that
the vendor is reliable
in what they're doing. You cannot —
literally you cannot just roll the dice.
Let's be transparent over it.
Things are changing too quickly
to let it be and say "Oh, I'm gonna
take a smaller player." You cannot. You have
(19:51):
to go with
big reliable name
like Paycom is one of them, you know,
and I think that's something
that is extremely important to
have and to know. For example,
you know, the Patriots is one of
your clients
and they rely on it, and
so that trust from other company
using the software also show
(20:13):
"Well, we know that they are dealing
with complex situation and that they are
having your back." So that's one
element, reputation, and also
the other client.
The other element that — I will say that come
into play is, you know, making sure
that there are sensitive data who
are protected and that the software
is also taking care of that.
(20:34):
Knowing that the vendor
is also providing type of
training to your workforce to know
and to keep up with the change.
All of that sounds,
you know,
not necessary at first, but
along the way with the change
happening —
not just today but overall in
(20:55):
the legal and HR landscape —
you wanna make sure that you have an ally
with you
helping you to outperform your task
as an organization
and will have your back.
-Absolutely. I really like that you brought that
up about having an ally because it
really is a partnership, you know, the —
the tools you use and,
(21:16):
you know, just
the software that you have,
that is like a partnership
and you can do it together. You don't have to do it alone.
You know, there are things out there like
Paycom that can help and
tools, and again like you said, training, which is
just so important, so.
Well, before we wrap up, is
there anything else you'd like to mention about this
(21:36):
topic that we didn't get to cover?
-I will say
two things. The first one is I-9
form
should be easy.
Don't make it harder,
you know,
don't make it harder. Use the right tool
in your toolbox.
And the second thing, make sure that
(21:57):
the vendor you have are the right
right ally. At the end of the day, I
think when you have that in the back of your mind as
an employer,
you are making the right choice.
-Absolutely.
Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Paola.
It's such a pleasure to have you.
-Thank you so much for having me.
-And thank you, listeners for tuning into our
conversation today.
(22:18):
And if you need to enhance your I-9
compliance strategy, Paycom's single
software has the perfect tools to do it.
Our onboarding experience walks
new hires through essential documents
like Form I-9 before Day
1 so they can make an immediate
impact. Plus, our E-Verify® tool
provides instant and automatic
(22:38):
I-9 verification right in
our single software so you don't need to
worry about switching between separate
systems. And finally, to
ensure everyone in your organization
is on the same page about I-9s,
Paycom Learning makes it easy to
create, deliver and complete
training about important compliance
topics anytime,
(22:59):
anywhere.
We hope you will return to the HR Break Room
very soon.
-Be sure to follow and subscribe to HR
Break Room on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
or wherever you listen.
For more episodes, visit HRBreakRoom.com
or follow us on social media. Thanks for tuning
into this episode, and we can't wait for you to
join us again inside the HR Break
(23:21):
Room.
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