NAPBS Volunteer of the Month

Congratulations and thanks to Laura Randazzo, the NAPBS Volunteer of the Month.

Volunteers play a vital role within NAPBS, working alongside staff members and other volunteers to jointly achieve the association's goals. Through our Volunteer Recognition Program, we highlight the contributions of our volunteer workforce.

Laura Randazzo, VP of Compliance with Aurico - a CareerBuilder company, has been selected as the December 2016 NAPBS Volunteer of the Month. Randazzo is currently serving on the BSCC, Finance and Advocacy Committees. Learn more about Randazzo in this interview.

Know someone in the NAPBS community who deserves special recognition for their dedicated volunteering efforts? Nominate your favorite volunteer as Volunteer of the Month. Nominees should have made a significant and outstanding contribution to the NAPBS community. Submit nominations to volunteer@napbs.com and provide the volunteer's name, company, details regarding their volunteer accomplishments, and why you think they should be recognized.

Aurico Webinar: Managing Changes to the Form I-9

Recently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). By Jan. 22, 2017, employers must only use the new Form I-9 (on new employees.) To ensure compliance with USCIS, Aurico has made the new Form I-9 available for all clients and partners in the Customer Forms Library within the WebACE™ Platform.The old version of the Form I-9, which expired on March 31, 2016, may still be used until January 21, 2017.

Aurico hosted a Webinar on November 17, 2016 titled Managing Changes to the New Form I-9 to provide education on the Form I-9 process.  Aurico provides electronic I-9 and E-Verify products. The electronic I-9 product through Aurico will accommodate the new form I-9 on or before January 21, 2017.

Aurico Webinar: E-Verify . . . Form I-9's Companion

Aurico will be hosting an upcoming Webinar on E-Verify on Wednesday, December 16th at 1:00pm CST.  This webinar is the accompaniment to the previous Form I-9 webinar on October 29th.  The I-9 webinar can be accessed HERE.  The Webinar will focus on the following topics

• Your responsibility in regards to E-Verify
• Directives from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
• Complying with the retention and disposal schedule of NARA
• The earliest you can run an E-Verify case and more . . .

REGISTER HERE to secure your seat for this informative presentation on E-Verify.

AURICO WEBINAR: THE REAL DEAL ON FORM I-9

Aurico will be hosting an upcoming Webinar on Form I-9 on Thursday, October 29th at 1:00pm CST.  The Webinar will focus on the following topics:

• Common mistakes made while completing the Form I-9 
• Completing an I-9 on a new hire before they start working for pay
• When and how to use the various Form I-9's
• Understanding the recent changes and updates in E-Verify
• Federal and state perspective on E-Verify

REGISTER HERE to secure your seat for this informative presentation on Form I-9.

I-9 NEWS: DACA AND DAPA EXPANSIONS IMPACT EMPLOYERS

In November 2014, President Obama announced the expansion of two similar immigration acts: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA). Each act has been modified to allow more people to benefit from their protections. DAPA has implications for all employers while DACA continues to impact hiring managers who seek younger employees. The DACA expansion went into effect 90 days after the President's announcement, while DAPA will be expanded 180 days following his executive action decision.

Candidates may qualify for DACA if:

• They entered the US prior to their 16th birthday
• Have lived in the country continuously since June 15, 2007
• Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012
• Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or three or more other misdemeanors
• Do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

Candidates may qualify for DAPA if:

• They have lived in the United States continuously since Jan. 1, 2010
• Have no lawful status on Nov. 20, 2014
• Were physically present in the United States on Nov. 20, 2014
• At the time of making a request for consideration of DAPA, had on Nov. 20, 2014, a child of any age or marital status, who is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident
• Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors
• Do not otherwise pose a threat to national security
• Are not an enforcement priority for removal

E-Verify News

As of Jan. 1, 2015, employers will have access to E-Verify records that were created on or before Dec. 31, 2004.

The E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system will delete data more than 10 years old on an annual basis, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced.

For example, on Jan. 1, 2016, USCIS will dispose of records created on or prior to Dec. 31, 2005, and this process will continue in subsequent years.

The deletion is being conducted to comply with the National Archives and Records Administration’s retention and disposal schedule, to minimize security and privacy risks.

Recommendations:

Legal advisors are counseling employers that have been participating in the program since Dec. 31, 2004, to consider taking measures to archive their data.

USCIS has created a Historic Records Report that affected users can download and save for archival purposes, however, this report will only be available until Dec. 31, 2014, so users should download the report before then.

USCIS Updates E-Verify User Manual for Employers and Enhancements to the Program

The new manual provides guidance on E-Verify processes and outlines the rules and responsibilities for employers enrolled in E-Verify. All users must follow the guidelines set forth in the 'E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding for Employers (MOU)' and the rules and responsibilities outlined in the manual.

On November 18, 2013 Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced an enhancement to the E-Verify program that will help combat identity fraud.  The enhancement will identify and deter fraudulent use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) for employment eligibility verification.  As stated in the press release, “This enhancement provides a critical safeguard to the E-Verify system by detecting and preventing potential fraudulent use of SSNs to gain work authorization.”  Employers may be entering information into E-Verify that appears valid, such as a matching date of birth, name and SSN, but was in fact stolen, borrowed or purchased from another individual.  This new safeguard enables USCIS to lock a SSN that appears to have been misused by an individual, protecting it from further potential misuse in E-Verify.

E-Verify Experiences Serious Technical Glitch

E-Verify had experienced a serious technical glitch on October 22, 2013, and the online system used to verify workers’ identity and employment authorization erroneously gave employers Tentative Nonconfirmations for all employees who provided U.S. Passports or U.S. Passport Cards. For some employers, that meant a nearly 40-percent TNC rate.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has provided the following guidance to employers: “If you created a case for an employee who provided a U.S. Passport or Passport Card and received a Tentative Nonconfirmation, close the case as ‘Invalid because the data entered is incorrect.’”

Proposed E-Verify Bill

On April 26th, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced H.R. 1772, which would mandate the use of the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system to evaluate the legal status of new hires by companies with 10,000 or more employees. The bill would provide that a person or entity is considered to have complied with the legislation, notwithstanding a technical or procedural failure, if there was a good faith attempt to comply.

Read more here.

E-Verify Survey

On April 30th, the National Restaurant Association and ImmigrationWorks USA released a survey of restaurant

owners, which found that:

·    23% use E-Verify to check the immigration status of new hires;

·    80% would recommend E-Verify to a colleague;

·    79% responded that the E-Verify system has been 100% accurate; and

·    55% responded that the pool of applicants seeking employment in their business has not changed

since starting to use the E-Verify system.

Read the results of the survey here.

E-Verify

On February 4th, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) introduced H.R. 478, which would make the E-Verify employment eligibility verification program permanent and mandatory for all employers. The bill would also require that employers use the system on employees no later than 14 days after employment.

Click here to view the bill

USCIS Launches Spanish-language I-9 Central on USCIS.gov

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a Spanish-language version of I-9 Central, an online resource center designed to provide information and assistance related to the most frequently accessed form on USCIS.gov: Form I-9, Employee Eligibility Verification.

This free, easy-to-use website provides employers and employees simple one-click access to resources, tips and guidance to properly complete Form I-9 and better understand the Form I-9 process.

The launch of the Spanish I-9 Central is the most recent in a series of resource guides related to USCIS employment-related forms and processes. These resources include E-Verify Self Check, a service that allows workers and job seekers in the United States to check their own employment eligibility status online, and an updated “Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form
I-9 (M-274).” Both are also offered in Spanish.

To read more, click here.

E-Verify State Requirements

States continue to mandate E-Verify for all or a large segment of their employers. The following states require or will soon require all employers to participate: Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi and South Carolina. Other states, including Georgia and North Carolina, require most employers to participate. A third category of states require E-Verify for public and state employers. Please review this article for further details about E-Verify requirements: http://www.cis.org/e-verify-at-the-state-level

Electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify: A Perfect Pair

Although E-Verify and Form I-9 are separate programs, they’re a perfect pair. Many companies use E-Verify to cross-check social security numbers to ensure employment eligibility, but are at risk of costly government audit of Form I-9. Aurico can help.

We frequently hear concerns about Form I-9 ranging from incorrect completion, decentralized completion challenges, manual paperwork processing and storage issues. Then there’s E-Verify. Companies use this Internet-based system for government contracts, to comply with state requirements or to simply verify that their workforce is authorized to work in the US. 
E-Verify is closely linked to Form I-9 and exists to strengthen the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process that all employers must follow. While participation in E-Verify is voluntary, completion of Form I-9 is required of all employers.

While Form I-9 requires employers to collect information, there is no way to verify that the information employees provide is valid or that the documents presented are genuine. E-Verify protects employers in this situation.

By adding E-Verify to the existing Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process, a company can benefit from the peace of mind of knowing that it maintains a legal workforce.
Form I-9 must be kept by the employer either for three years after the date of hire, or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. The form must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials.

E-Verify must be completed within three business days after an employee has been hired and after offer acceptance and Form I-9 completion. In fiscal year 2011, 98.3% of employees were automatically confirmed while 1.7% received initial system mismatches.

Although E-Verify and Form I-9 are two separate programs, they’re a perfect pair. Many companies use E-Verify to cross-check social security numbers to ensure employment eligibility, but are at risk of costly government audit of Form I-9. As a result, companies of all sizes are looking to Aurico to provide a platform to electronically capture Form I-9 information to ensure it is input correctly, stored digitally and easily accessible.

Learn more about electronic I-9 and E-Verify services provided by Aurico: http://www.aurico.com/Aurico_Services/ElectronicI-9_E-Verify.asp

Sources:
www.uscis.gov

E-VERIFY NEWS

E-Verify News:  ICE Issues New Wave Of I-9 Inspection Notices 

In a new round of inspections to determine if employers in the United States are violating employment laws by hiring unauthorized workers, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—recently issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to various employers around the country. The NOIs give businesses notice that ICE will conduct inspections for compliance of Employment Eligibility Verification Forms (Form I-9s) that require employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.