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104.000 - Verification of Employment Eligibility

UCSC:APO:CAPM 1/17

A. THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires that all employees hired on or after November 7, 1986 and continuing employment as of July 1, 1987 must provide to their employer original documents as evidence of identity and authorization for employment in the United States.  It is a federal crime to knowingly hire an individual who is unauthorized to work in the United States.

B. RESPONSIBLE OFFICES

  1. The Home Department is responsible for verifying that an academic employee is authorized to work in the United States. For the purposes of this policy, a Home Department is a unit that hires and processes pay for academic employees. A list of authorized Home Departments can be found in the PPS User Manual, Appendix J.

  2. The Home Department is the office of record for I-9 Forms.

C. VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

  1. Employees hired on or after 7/1/87 and working in the United States must be verified within 3 business days of the date of hire, with the exception of those individuals listed in CAPM 104.000.D.

  2. For the purpose of employment verification timing, the “date of hire” for an academic-year (9-month) employee is the first day of service or the date the employee receives the first university paycheck, whichever comes first.

  3. Every new employee must provide acceptable documentation of identity and employment eligibility and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 under penalty of perjury to attest that the documents are genuine and relate to them. The Home Department representative must complete and sign Section 2 of Form I-9 under penalty of perjury to attest that:

    a. the documents have been examined;

    b. the documents appear genuine;

    c. the documents relate to the individual; and

    d. to the best of the representative’s knowledge, the individual is authorized to work in the United States.

  4. As a federal contractor, the University must use the E-Verify employment verification system to verify the work status of an employee who is hired on or after November 7, 1986 and is directly performing work under a federal contract or subcontract that contains an E-Verify requirement clause. Employment verification for these individuals is subject to the requirements of the E-Verify system (see http://www.uscis.gov/everify).

D. INDIVIDUALS EXEMPT FROM VERIFICATION

  1. Employees hired prior to 11/7/86 are not subject to verification unless there has been a break in service since that date. Under the terms of the Act, the following situations do not constitute breaks in service, so re-verification is not necessary:

    a. Approved paid or unpaid leaves of absence;

    b. Promotion, demotion, pay raise, or transfer from one unit of the employer to another unit;

    c. Temporary layoff for lack of work;

    d. Participation in a strike or labor dispute;

    e. A period of disciplinary suspension that is followed by reinstatement for wrongful termination.

    f. Transition to emeritus status at retirement;

    g. Recall of an emeritus appointee to active service.

  2. Intercampus transfers are not subject to verification unless there has been a break in service or the work authorization has expired.

  3. Independent contractors are not subject to verification. A contract may not be entered into or extended for the purposes of hiring an unauthorized alien in an employment capacity.

  4. Guest lecturers who are on campus for two weeks or less are not subject to verification when they receive no compensation or benefit other than an honorarium and/or reimbursement for transportation and subsistence.

  5. Unpaid volunteers are not subject to verification. If their status changes to salaried, or if sufficient benefits (e.g., retirement system and insurance coverage) are received so as to allow an inference that one is an employee, they must be verified for work authorization. Volunteers are not entered into the Payroll/ Personnel System. Courtesy, Visiting, or other without-salary appointments which are entered into the Payroll/ Personnel System are subject to verification.

E. VERIFICATION PROCESS

  1. The most current version of Form I-9 available on http://www.uscis.gov must always be used. The entire form, including the instructions page, must always be presented to the employee.

  2. See page 2 of the most current Form I-9 for a list of acceptable verification documents. The employee must provide any document from List A or a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C. Federal regulations state that the employer may not specify which of the allowable documents the employee presents.

  3. If necessary, Section 2 may be authorized by a human resources professional at another institution acting as an agent of UCSC. A notary public is NOT authorized to verify employment eligibility.

  4. If the name of the employee differs among the verification documents, the employee must produce original documentation which confirms that the verification documents refer to the same person (a marriage certificate, for example). If additional documentation is required for this reason, the Home Department must keep a copy of the additional document(s).

  5. If the employee cannot provide the necessary documents, federal regulations permit an extension if, within 3 business days of the date of hire, the employee provides an acceptable receipt proving that the employee has applied for the necessary documents. Acceptable receipts that can serve as proof of temporary employment eligibility are:

    a. Receipts for the application of a replacement document from List A, B, or C where the document was lost, stolen, or destroyed. The employee must present the replacement document within 90 calendar days from the date of hire.

    b. The arrival portion of a Form I-94 with an attached photo and a temporary I-551 stamp, which is a receipt for a List A document. When the stamp expires, or if the stamp has no expiration, one year from the date of issue, the employee must present the Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card.

    c. The departure portion of the Form I-94 with a refugee admission stamp, which is a receipt for a List A document. The employee must present, within 90 days from the date of hire, Form I-766, or a List B document and an unrestricted Social Security Card.

    When the employee provides an acceptable receipt, the Home Department representative should record the document title in Section 2 and write the word “receipt” and any document number in the “Document #” space. When the employee presents the actual document, the Home Department representative should cross out the word “receipt” and any accompanying document number, insert the number from the actual document presented, and initial and date the change. If the employee is unable to provide the required documentation within the specified period, the employment must cease and the Home Department must separate the employee.

F. RE-VERIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH TEMPORARY WORK AUTHORIZATION

  1. Non-immigrants with temporary work authorization must present new documentation for re-verification no later than the expiration date of the documents presented at the time of hire. If the employee is unable to provide the required documentation by the expiration date, employment must cease and the Home Department must separate the employee.

  2. When presented with new documents extending the period of employment eligibility, the Home Department must complete Section 3 using the most current version of Form I-9, either on the original form or a new form if necessary.

  3. A Home Department may choose to complete an entire new form when re-verifying employment eligibility. However, U.S. citizens and permanent residents must not be asked to present new documents for re-verification unless they have had a break in service to the university on any campus.

  4. The USCIS provides for an automatic extension of employment authorization for a period of 240 days for H-1 non-immigrants who have filed timely applications for extension of status. The automatic extension of employment authorization is valid only for a visitor who continues employment with the same employer. If the USCIS fails to adjudicate the extension within the 240-day period, the individual may apply for an interim employment authorization as described in the regulations. The Academic Personnel Office and International Scholar and Student Services will assist Home Departments in determining expiration dates of employment eligibility for non-immigrants.

G. UPDATING VERIFICATION AFTER A BREAK IN SERVICE

The Home Department must verify employment eligibility any time an employee is re-hired after a break in service to the university on any campus, regardless of the duration of the break. Note that the situations outlined in section D.1. of this policy do not constitute breaks in service.

  1. If the original Form I-9 is more than three years old, or if the break in service has been more than one year, the employee must present verification documents and sections 1 and 2 of a new Form I-9 must be completed.

  2. If the original Form I-9 is less than three years old and the break in service has been less than one year, the Home Department may examine the original Form I-9 and determine whether the employee is still eligible to work on the basis of the documents provided at that time.

    a. If the Form I-9 does not show continued eligibility, the employee must present new verification documents and sections 1 and 2 of a new Form I-9 must be completed.

    b. If the Form I-9 does show continued eligibility, the Home Department may complete Section 3 only using the most current version of Form I-9, either on the original form or a new form. If not using the original form, the Home Department should also write the employee’s name in Section 1.

H. NON-DISCRIMINATION

It is against the law to discriminate in the recruiting, hiring, or discharging of anyone other than an unauthorized alien because of such individual's national origin or citizenship status. Employment eligibility verification is the last step in the hiring process, and assumptions about national origin or citizenship cannot be part of the selection process.  The refusal to hire an individual because the documents presented have a future expiration date may also constitute illegal discrimination.