For the second time in a year, our affiliated non-profit association, the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), has filed written comments with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a request for public input on whether the agency should make permanent its current temporary policy of allowing employers to remotely examine Form I-9 identity and work authorization documentation. It had previously filed comments with DHS last year in response to a request for public input to help the agency “better understand” employers’ and employees’ experiences with the remote verification process.
The latest comments are in response to a proposed rule published by DHS that would create a path to make permanent the current temporary remote verification policy, but which stops short of establishing a permanent process for now and instead envisions a “pilot program” with no definitive parameters.
Our comments incorporate firsthand accounts from companies about their positive experience reviewing I-9 documentation remotely under the temporary policy, and express strong support for making this option permanent. Given the actual experience both DHS and employers have gained under the temporary policy, we contend that a pilot program is simply unnecessary before making the policy permanent.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.