Roy Maurer is an online editor/manager for SHRM and he recently posted an article titled, “E-Verify to Begin Deleting Older Records in 2015,” which discusses E-Verify’s new policy. As of January 1, 2015, E-Verify users will not have access to their records that were created on or before December 31, 2004. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that E-Verify will delete data more than 10 years old at the beginning of each new-year. In other words, E-Verify will only house records that are at most 10 years old at any given time. Older records will be deleted at the beginning of each year. The National Archives and Records Administration has retention and disposal schedules in the hopes of reducing security and privacy risks. E-Verify is implementing this new feature to comply. Maurer links to the USCIS Historic Records Report that E-Verify users should download before December 31, 2014 for their archival purposes. The author also notes that USCIS recommends that employers keep the Historic Records Report with any corresponding 1=9 Forms. Kevin Lashus, the president of the SHRM Austin Chapter suggest that employers seek advice from counsel on downloading the Historic Records Report and do so at the end of every calendar year. Citing Lashus, Maurer writes, “However, an employer that must undergo an 1-9 audit or finds itself under investigation in the future ‘can claim as an affirmative defense that it successfully received a work authorized result for a new hire for one who is now identified as unauthorized. Once USCIS has disposed of the E-Verify records, the employer has only its own archives to support its defense,’ Lashus said.” However, Maurer also notes that, “The agency itself will retain E-Verify records associated with any current ongoing investigations and employers should prepare for that possibility, Lashus said.” If your firm uses E-Verify to compare information from an employee’s I-9 or Employment Eligibility Verification to millions of government records, the clock is ticking until your records may be lost. To avoid legal repercussion, archive your records in your own space to hold on to dated information. Before you know it, it might be gone.

Author: Dana Millio