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7 tips to help restaurant managers navigate immigration compliance

With the Homeland Security FY 2020 budget calling for an additional $313.9 million for the hiring of an additional 1,000 officers and more than 600 supporting personnel, now more than ever, businesses in the food service industry should focus on correctly managing Forms I-9 while onboarding new employees.

June 20, 2019

By Brian Elfrink, director of I-9 product management, Equifax Workforce Solutions

It's no secret: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up enforcement. Nationwide, ICE worksite enforcement jumped more than threefold in the first nine months of FY 2018. Restaurants with high-volume hiring needs can often find themselves with a lot of paper and a lack of process.

With the Homeland Security FY 2020 budget calling for an additional $313.9 million for the hiring of an additional 1,000 officers and more than 600 supporting personnel, now more than ever, businesses in the food service industry should focus on correctly managing forms I-9 while onboarding new employees. Mandated by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and legal authorization to work of all paid employees in the United States.

While completion of the form can be tricky, storing and maintaining the Forms I-9 is equally important. The Department of Homeland Security mandates that employers must have a completed Form I-9 on file for all employees hired after November 6, 1986, as well as keep Form I-9 for terminated employees for three years after the hire date or one year after the termination date, whichever date is later. With the American Restaurant Association reporting that 2018 restaurant employee turnover ticked past 70% in 2018, that's a lot of paper to keep track of.  

And whether an employer onboards 50 or 5,000 workers, businesses of all sizes  may face stiff financial penalties from potential errors made on each Form I-9 in the event of an audit. 

Below are seven tips to help restaurants managers stay compliant.

1. When the retention requirement has been met, the Form I-9 for that former employee should be appropriately discarded, because ICE can levy fines on incorrect Forms, even those that are past their required retention dates. This means that the process for how managers and HR teams collect, store and purge the Forms I-9  is almost as important as correctly completing the Form I-9 for each hire. 
2. Invest in ongoing, local training on Form I-9 completion. This is especially important when paper forms are still being used.  An estimated 60-80% of paper Form I-9s were missing, incomplete or contained errors within organizations across the country, according to an industry expert with the law firm Jackson Lewis, PC.  
3. Stay organized:  Know where your Forms I-9 are securely stored for all locations and have a plan for regular review of those files
4. Find known issues now: Conduct  a self-audit  of the Forms I-9 for your employee base 
5. Reinforce consistency: Make sure all hiring managers have access to the current version of the M-274 Handbook. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes the M-274, the Handbook for Employers which covers everything from why employers must complete Form I-9, to guidance for each section, and more.
6. Use the right Form: Don't make copies of an old paper copy of a blank Form I-9. USCIS often issues new versions of Form I-9 and using an expired version is considered an error and subject to penalty. In fact, as of 8/31/19 a new version of the form must be in use.
7. Automate the process: Consider a digital platform that can help with Form I-9 governance by helping guide accurate and timely completion, electronically storing forms, and auto-purging those that have met their retention requirements. 

Cover photo: iStock