Temporary Policy for I-9 List B Identity Documents During COVID-19 Pandemic

As individuals across the country have been ordered to shelter-in-place, many have been unable to renew their driver’s licenses, ID cards, or other forms of identification. This poses a challenge to employers verifying work authority and completing Form I-9s for new hires. Because of this, the Department of Homeland Security issued a temporary policy regarding expired List B identity documents.

As of May 1, 2020, List B identity documents set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not otherwise extended by the issuing authority, may be treated as if the employee presented a valid (unexpired) document for Form I-9 purposes. Common List B documents include driver’s licenses, government issued photo ID cards, and school ID cards.

If you encounter a List B document that expired on or after March 1, 2020, simply record the document information in Section 2 under List B as applicable and write “COVID-19” in the Additional Information Field.

You must require the employee to present a valid unexpired document to replace the expired List B document within 90 days of DHS terminating this temporary policy (the policy’s expiration date is TBD). If necessary, the employee may choose to present a different List A or List B document. In that case, enter the new document information in the Additional Information Field. When the employee later presents the updated version, enter the required document information in the Section 2 Additional Information Field and initial and date the change.

If the issuing authority has extended the expiration deadline for an expired List B document, enter the true expiration date in Section 2 along with “COVID-19 EXT” in the Additional Information Field. Then, attach a copy of the website or other notice indicating that the issuing authority has extended the documents. For driver’s licenses and state IDs, you can find these notices on the Motor Vehicle Administration or Department of Motor Vehicles websites. The employee is not required to later present an updated version of the document in this scenario.

If you use E-Verify, simply report the expired documents as you normally would.

Going Forward

Though hiring may not be at the forefront of most employers’ minds right now, this temporary policy change will make it easier for employers to remain compliant with their Form I-9 obligations.

myHRgenius and Thompson Coe continue to monitor these new HR laws and their impact on employers and employees throughout the country.  For more information, including webinars, primers, summaries and podcasts on COVID-19 go to www.myhrgenius.co or www.thompsoncoe.com or call 651-389-5080.

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