In a move that will require roofing contractors and other employers to review, and in many cases update, their I-9 Employment Eligibility Confirmation forms, the Dept. of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced recently its COVID-19 -related flexibilities for completing forms expires July 31. That means employers will then have 30 days to comply with all physical inspection requirements for employees who were hired remotely during the pandemic.
On March 20, 2020 -- at the beginning of the pandemic lockdowns -- the USCIS announced employers could verify the employment eligibility of new hires who would be working remotely by examining copies of their documents. Employers could confirm their identity and ability to work in the U.S. and defer the actual, physical inspection of the originals until the company’s normal operations resumed.