The Department of Homeland Security updated their requirements for completing Form I9 to accommodate those working remotely.
The Payroll Department has consulted with the General Counsel to determine the best way to proceed.
We have outlined steps below to guide departments through the process.
What You Need to Do
All new and re-hired employees must work with their hiring department to complete Form I9.
The department should determine if a full Form I-9 is truly needed. If the employee is a rehire and has completed an I-9 in the last 3 years at UConn, and the basis of employment is the same, then the department can complete Section 3 of the Form I-9 with no input or documents needed from the employee. If you are unsure how to complete Section 3, or if you are unsure if the employee completed an I-9 in the last 3 years, please reach out to i9@uconn.edu, and we will be happy to provide guidance.
If a full I-9 is needed, the employee is still required to complete and sign page 1 of Form I-9 by their date of hire.
If the employee is working on campus, even in a hybrid/part time capacity, they must follow the pre-COVID protocol of presenting a fully completed and signed Section 1 to their department administrator by day 1 of hire, and employment eligibility/identity document(s) by the third business day from their date of hire. The administrator will then complete Section 2 and send a copy of page 1, page 2 and copies of the document(s) to the Payroll Department via the secure OneDrive link.
If the employee is still working remotely 100% of the time due to COVID19 precautions, departments can still follow the remote completion rules:
Departments should complete section 2 based on the copies that have been securely received. In section 2 the following comment should be noted in the “Additional Information” box: “Due to COVID19, copies of documents were examined on <date>.”
Departments should send this preliminary form with the proper note in the “Additional Information” box and document copies to payroll using this link: Upload I9 here
Once normal business operations resume, the employee has 3 days to present their original documents in person to the UConn representative who originally completed section 2. A second comment must then be included in the “Additional Information” box in section 2, stating “Original documents physically examined on <date>.” Remember, you MUST examine the new employee’s original documents in person within 3 days after we resume normal, on-site operations.
If the employee was on a short term appointment and is no longer with the University and therefore you cannot meet in person to review original documents, please make a note in the “Additional Information” box as follows “contract expired prior to normal business resuming.”
The final form I9 with appropriate comments, signatures if still needed, and copies of documents if not previously provided must be sent Payroll using this link: Upload I9 here
If the employee is working remotely and will never come to campus, the employee should follow the standard remote working guidelines and work with a notary/local university to complete page 2.
Please note employees should not send I9s to payroll directly.
A great resource for Form I-9 questions is the training presentation on the UConn Payroll website available here: i9 Center.
Please remember to use the new form available here, this is the only form that is acceptable: Form I-9. Form I-9s submitted on the old form will be returned to the departments.