Employment Law Blog

DHS Provides Form I-9 Guidance During COVID-19 Pandemic

The stay-at-home orders that are in place across the nation have made the renewal of a state driver’s license, state ID card, and other Form I-9 List B employment eligibility verification documents challenging. In response, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a temporary policy providing guidance for expired List B identity documents when completing the I-9 form.

Starting on May 1, 2020, List B documents that are set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, which haven’t been already extended by the issuing authority can be treated as though the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes.

If an employee provides an acceptable List B document that has expired on or after March 1, 2020 and has not already been extended by the issuing authority, the employer should record the document information in Section 2 and enter the word “COVID-19” in the Additional Information Field. When the employee eventually produces an unexpired document, the employer should update the Additional Information Field with the new document information and initial and date the changes made.

In the case that an employee presents a List B document that has been extended by the issuing authority, the employer should enter the expiration date of the document in Section 2 and enter “COVID-19 EXT” in the Additional Information Field.

Guidance from the DHS will be updated as needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, contact the attorneys at McBrayer.

Cynthia L. Effinger, Member with McBrayer, is located in the firm’s Louisville office. Ms. Effinger’s practice is concentrated in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation. Her employment law practice is focused on drafting employment manuals and policies, social media, wage and hour, non-compete agreements and workplace discrimination. Ms. Effinger can be reached at ceffinger@mcbrayerfirm.com or (502) 327-5400, ext. 2316.