I-9 Verification FAQs

Why are we making this change?

The primary reason for making this change is to increase visibility into incoming new hires and, therefore, strengthen Harvard's ability to comply with I9 requirements.

In addition, this is bringing much needed administrative efficiencies to the schools by enabling department administrators to process new hires earlier and in fewer steps, eliminating manual workarounds and enabling earlier provisioning. This is also improving the new hire experience as they no longer need to take time to visit campus prior to their official start date.

Why couldn't we make this change sooner? Why now?

The change is possible because Equifax now manages the online I-9 form (section 1) for all Harvard employees. After consulting with OGC, it was determined that employees can be entered into the system once section 1 is completed with Equifax (but not before), provided there is a strong post-audit compliance process in place.

Which employee classes can be hired into a paid paygroup with only Section 1 complete?

Initially, all employee classes, except Student Employees (D,G,W) and DCE employees (B), are included. The new process will eventually cover all employee classes, but implementation is phased.

Can I continue to follow my current process?

If you are using the Hire Form, you can continue to wait until new employees complete their I9 verification to submit the form to the HR Systems. However, please know that the University will discontinue the use of the unpaid paygroups starting with "H" (e.g. HRA) and the "Incoming Employee" role in MIDAS (except for transfers). 

New hires will now be hired in their paid paygroup; you will no longer need to "flip" them to paid status, but you will need to monitor their I-9 verification completion. 

Will the process differ if you use I-9 Central for processing I-9s?

The process remains consistent, whether using the Central team or processing locally. Departments are responsible for following up with non-compliant employees and handling any related PeopleSoft transactions.

How can I monitor new hires to see if they still need to complete Section 2 of the Form I-9? 

Use the I-9 and New Hire Monitoring dashboard on the Workforce Insights tile in PeopleSoft. See the I-9 Section 2 field. Access to the dashboard is automatically granted to those who have department-level access to at least one department in PeopleSoft (role: 'PS^HR^ALL^Kibana Viz' - about 1,700 users).

What happens if a new hire doesn't complete section 2 of the I-9 form ahead of hire? 

Section 1 of the I-9 form expires in Equifax after 30 days, the new hire would need to re-enter Section 1 data prior to completing Section 2.

For the daily notifications that go to the manager, how is the manager identified?

The email goes to the employee's Supervisor ID on Job Data, but if Supervisor ID is blank, then then it goes to the Reports To listed on the employee's position (if one exists).

Which administrators will receive the daily email notifications?

The administrator email goes to anyone who:
•    Has department-level access to the employee receiving the email
•    Is not faculty or in grade 062, 063 or 064, unless job function is ‘HR’
•    Does not have university-wide access

NOTE: Admins who have administrative oversight into the I-9/hiring process should be using the I-9 and New Hire Monitoring dashboard to monitor compliance rather than the emails.

Where do employees who are late completing their I-9 go to complete it?

Employees at risk of being switched to unpaid status can either go to their department or to Central Payroll (even if the school is not currently using Central Payroll for their I-9 verifications). We will offer a fully remote review, eliminating the need for in-person meetings. Central Payroll is also working on a timeline to onboard more schools into the centralized model.

What action/reason should be used to move the employee back to a paid paygroup?

Use the action/reason: DTA/UPD (Unpaid to Paid Pay Group)

What action/reason to use for non-compliant I-9 terminations?

TBD

What is the policy/process for handling terminations due to non-compliance?

TBD