It is unclear as to what it will take for an organization to understand the exposure and risk related to Form I-9 compliance and employment eligibility verification. It is further a mystery as to why many organizations have yet to streamline processes and to budget for automation and integration in order to minimize such risk.
Issue number one; Risk. Currently those organizations processing paper Form I-9 for employment eligibility are at risk of the documents being subject to discrimination, tampering, fraud, identity theft and disaster recovery concerns.
Issue number two; Brand Identity. Brand identity in the marketplace is compromised when an organization is subject to audits or the inuendo of non-compliance as it relates to employment eligibility and immigration or even worse...fined and/or criminal prosecution.
Issue number three; Audits. The increase in audits by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security), and the fines associated with non-compliant documents and inappropriate completion. Most organizations do not have a budget for the high fines that are issued when found non-compliant and the audits are not industry specific or related to size. Playing "Russian Roulette" and betting on the odds of not getting an audit; is not the answer.
Issue number four; Accuracy in Completion. All the training and support implemented in order to get an organization, in particular, those with multiple locations, to ensure accuracy in completion of the paper Form I-9 have found that errors still prevail. The issue of remote hires and appropriate completion of Section 2 by a trusted third party agent is still a struggle for many organizations. The task of getting a full scope and understanding of the 70+ page handbook for each nuance of the I-9 is another frustration, not to mention the added mandates in many states for E-Verification for employment eligibility.
In closing, the above referenced issues are just the tip of the iceberg. The ICEman Cometh...and in my humble opinion, those most impacted by and responsible for the employment eligibility process need to step up and recognize the gamble being taken when the best possible solutions for compliance are overlooked or not on the table for budget discussion to ensure accuracy and continuity in completion and subject their organization to risk.
Not to mention the wave of the future for many business services will be in the cloud and will certainly force organizations that want to continue to succeed in their industry to leverage cloud based software applications in all facets of an organization moving forward.