Oftentimes, there is a right way to do something, a wrong way, and an easy way.
The easy way isn’t wrong, per say, but it is a shortcut. Every day, we make decisions—like with employment eligibility verification, for example--about how big of a risk we want to take and whether we should do it easy, right, or wrong
That is, at the end of the day, the whole purpose of risk management—to assess the risk and determine if the benefits of taking it are worth the consequences of being caught doing it. Some companies, typically Silicone Valley tech startups, are quite comfortable assuming a high-risk profile.
Recall Uber, which blatantly and directly violated local laws around the world, assuming a massive risk profile but, in doing so, broke into previously impenetrable markets around the world. For them, the risk of a local violation, which they could play for time and fight in court, was worth the benefit of (illegally) tapping into urban transportation markets.
But not all companies have VC-funded war chests, and not all of them are quite so comfortable operating on the edges of permissibility…or going off the deep end. Some companies do their darndest to ensure they are in compliance with prevailing regulations and, if given two choices between the right way and the easy way, would take the right way every time.
Some might call it overly cautious, others simply prudent. Regardless, maintaining a low risk profile is a priority among businesses large and small, and employment eligibility verification is an important arena in which businesses must make this choice.
TrendSource Remote I-9 Verifications Get it Right the First Time
TrendSource Remote I-9 Verifications are an efficient and effective means of doing it right the first time, leaving nothing to chance. A local Field Agent in TrendSource’s nationwide, proprietary database is paired with a company’s New Hire to complete Section 2 of Form I-9 in person as required by law.
Yes, there is currently a (temporary) option to phone it in—literally, remote New Hires can complete Section 2 of Form I-9 through a video chat platform. But this is a temporary allowance brought on by COVID and its attendant disruptions to daily life and business. It is not permanent.
There is some talk that this allowance will, however, become permanent eventually. Maybe.
But accepting that this will be the case is a risky move. It’s one that bets on the federal government to be consistent, it’s one that requires a leap of faith when it comes to compliance. And it’s not a leap companies should feel comfortable making.
This is because, eventually, they will have to recomplete I-9s for all their recent hires and that will be an administrative mess.
Better to get it right the first time.
