E-Verify Delay Means Time to Get I-9 House in Order

Delayed again: for the 4th time in 2009, the U.S. government
has delayed the start of mandatory E-Verify compliance, extending the deadline
from June 30 to at least Sept. 8.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice recently asked a federal court in
Maryland for a stay, where the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed suit against
the law, saying it needs more time to review the rule and its
implications.  The stay was granted on
Tuesday.

THE PROBLEM: delaying the inevitable.  As I continue to discuss I-9 compliance with
dozens of employers and their attorneys, I am flabbergasted at how these
extensions seem to take the wind out of the sails of those companies
understanding the critical need to establish a compliance plan BEFORE E-Verify
becomes mandatory.

THE SOLUTION: it remains my admittedly self-serving opinion
(given that I have been conducting audits for the last decade and a half) that
ALL U.S. EMPLOYERS should establish an internal I-9 compliance protocol beginning
with a comprehensive audit, moving on to digitization of all paper I-9s, and
integrating a turnkey application, such as I-9 Advantage, into the hiring
process.

P.S.  I-9 audits are
the single most boring thing I have ever done in practicing law, and a constant
reminder of why I could have never followed my father’s footsteps in accounting…(-;