Have You Been Using E-Verify for More than 10 Years?
On January 1, 2016, the E-Verify Program began annually deleting transaction records that are more than 10 years old from the system at the end of the calendar year. This means that employers lose access through the system to any cases created prior to December 31st of each year that is a decade before the current year (i.e. – 2011 records and the end of 2021). To assist employers who wish to retain these records, the Program created a Historic Records Report that an employer can access within the system and which includes all transaction records for cases more than 10 years old. If an employer has not kept its own records, the company can download the Historic Records Report but generally must do so before December 31st.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the E-Verify Program announced that it is extending the date for E-Verify employers to download case information from the Historic Records Report to June 4, 2021. Of interest, this is 4 days after the remote employee Form I-9 flexibility policy is presently scheduled to expire.
While it is a best practice to record the E-Verify case verification number each individual Form I-9 to which it relates and/or attach a copy of the query results, it is prudent for an employer to retain the Historic Records Report. Human Resources should docket a reminder for the end of each December to download its Historic Records Report and keep the Report with the company’s Form I-9s; if you have not done so last year, you now have a little more time.