HomeArchive by Category "Immigration"

Use the New I-9 to Document Authorization to Work

A new year brings a good opportunity to remind employers that there is a new version of the U.S. government’s “Employment Eligibility Verification” form, better known as I-9. All employers are required to verify that every person they hire is eligible to work in the U.S. Employers must view documentation provided by the employee to establish the employee’s identity and work authorization. These documents must reasonably appear authentic and must pertain to the employee.

The new form looks different from older versions but it’s basic functionality is the same. One nice feature is that the new form is a fillable PDF, meaning you don’t have to hand write everything into the form. The new form is dated August 1, 2023 and employers are required to use the most recent version. For this reason, I always recommend downloading a fresh form each time you hire someone new.

Like many things, reading the directions is a good idea, here are the Instructions for Form I-9. There is a list in the instructions which is particularly helpful, I’ve copied it verbatim below:

All employers must:

  • Make the instructions for Form I-9 and Lists of Acceptable Documents available to the employee when completing the Form I-9 and when requesting that the employee present documentation to complete Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire. See page 5 for more information.
  • Ensure that the employee completes Section 1.
  • Complete Section 2 within three business days after the employee’s first day of employment. If you hire an individual for less than three business days, complete Section 2 no later than the first day of employment.
  • Complete Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire when applicable.
  • Leave a field blank if it does not apply and allow employees to leave fields blank in Section 1, where appropriate.
  • Retain completed forms. You are not required to retain or store the page(s) containing the Lists of Acceptable Documents or the instructions for Form I-9. Do not mail completed forms to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It’s important to have a standard, repeatable process in place at your business to be sure that important things like I-9 are completed correctly every time. We developed an I-9 SOP that may help you to achieve this, find it on our I-9 page.

_________________________________________________________________________________
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Use the New I-9 to Document Authorization to Work appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal.

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Logo

Employers Can Register to Connect with Authorized Job Candidates

Asylum seekers continue to make their way to the U.S. southern border and eventually to places such as New York City. Many of these people want to find work in the U.S. but the process for them to gain proper work authorization was a roadblock. On September 20th, the Biden administration granted parole to about 472,000 Venezuelans who were already in the country, many in New York. Parolees, from Venezuela and other countries, in the U.S. can apply for work authorization online which can happen quickly and may provide authorization for up to 5 years. Read more about the parole process:

With these changes, many of the asylum seekers in New York will soon gain work authorization if they have not already. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), through its Workforce Development division, launched this portal for businesses to notify the State if they are interested in hiring newly-authorized individuals. Once the information is in NYSDOL’s system, Regional Business Engagement staff will contact businesses to gather information about the company and open positions as well as provide additional business support services. Find additional information from NYSDOL about this process at: Asylum Seeker Employment Efforts | Department of Labor (ny.gov)

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Logo

The Best Way to Start the Day: The Importance of a Greeting Within the Hispanic Culture

By Mary Bess Lewis

Growing up in South America has taught me a lot about how a greeting can really set the tone in the workplace. In Bolivia, where I grew up, when a new person arrives to a situation it is expected of that individual to go around the room and greet every single person there with a handshake, a kiss on the cheek and a small verbal greeting. It wouldn’t matter how long it took to greet 25 people at a party, it was still the right thing to do!

Hispanics living in the USA know that the culture is different here, however the greeting or ‘saludo’ could be a great way to connect with your team and inspire the workplace to be more welcoming for all cultures involved. Starting the day off with a simple, “Buenos días” shows respect and is as polite as teaching our children to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. But it should be more than just words tossed in the air. A greeting should also have some kind of physical touch: a handshake, a pat on the back, a fist bump, a touch on the arm. This is not invasive or crossing any healthy boundaries. This is simply to show warmth. The Hispanic culture is naturally caring and friendly. This kind of proximity to another person helps extinguish hostility and allows an individual to look into another person’s face to sincerely ask how they are doing.

However, a genuine greeting can take time. Even though employees are clocked-in, they should still be allowed time to greet everyone in the room. It’s a small investment with positive returns. The atmosphere in the room will be lighter and friendlier. We could learn a lot from the Hispanic culture in this regard. Sincere greetings are not just for Hispanics; a warm greeting shows our family, friends, and colleagues that they matter in our small world. I have lived in the United States now for 20 years, and I have seen how people from this culture respond positively to a warm greeting with a light physical touch. It warms everyone’s day.

To help get you started, here are some simple phrases in Spanish: ‘Buenos días (think ‘D’ for donuts; we eat donuts in the morning, so this phrase is Good Morning); ‘Buenas Tardes’ (think ‘T’ for English teatime which is in the afternoon = Good Afternoon); and ‘Buenas Noches’ (think “N” for nachos we eat at Night – Good Evening or Good Night). If all fails and you can only remember one phrase, ‘Buen Día’ (Good Day) is pretty much universal for all times of day. Hispanics will be very gracious with you as you learn to ‘greet’ in a new way. Mistakes may happen and can be uncomfortable at first, but the simple fact of trying, will bring a new connection inspiring growth and unity into the workplace.

For later: The phrase “Adios” is literally translated “to God” and it is like a blessing in which we send off our fellowman that ‘he may go with God’.

_________________________________________________________________________________
By Mary Bess Lewis, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post The Best Way to Start the Day: The Importance of a Greeting Within the Hispanic Culture appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal 

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Logo

Ag Workforce Challenges: Becker Forum is January 10th

Register now for the premier Ag Workforce event in New York, Becker Forum is moving online but will continues with the January 10, 2022 date. Register here and look for “Becker Forum.”

Our agenda includes:

  • Albany Legislative Update
  • Producer Strategies to Manage Overtime and Labor Costs
  • Workforce Development: How will we find and develop skilled employees for the future?
  • What Drives H-2A Workers?
  • Update on Farm Unions and Collective Bargaining
  • Washington Legislative Update
  • TN Visa Workers
  • H-2A Tax Issues
  • NY Labor Research Preliminary Findings

Time is short, register now!

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Logo

Start Using the New I-9 Form

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Service released a new version of Form I-9 on January 31, 2020. You should start using the new form right away for all new hires, download it here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

A good practice is to always download the latest I-9 form when you hire a new employee. Don’t keep an old copy of the form around, the form changes rather frequently, sometimes more than once a year. You can access more best practices at our web page titled “Authorization to Work.” There you can download an I-9 standard operating procedure (SOP) that will help you to establish a simple and repeatable business process for completing I-9 consistently and accurately.

_________________________________________________________________________________
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Start Using the New I-9 Form appeared first in The Ag Workforce Journal 

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Logo