WHAT’S HAPPENING

On January 21, 2020, the United States experienced its first case of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which has since spread to all 50 states with over 8,000 individuals having been infected as of the date of this writing. In response to the rapid spread of the virus, local, state, and government officials have called for the closure of many schools and businesses and encouraged individuals to practice “social distancing”. In order to adhere to the social distancing recommendations many businesses have closed their physical locations and are requiring all or most employees to work remotely.

This situation has led to a host of immigration compliance concerns, one of which is how employers can remain compliant when completing Form I-9 for new hires working remotely, since the I-9 process requires in-person, physical inspection of documentation in the presence of the new employee in order to verify a new hire’s identity and employment authorization.