(a) General. Pursuant to sections 274A(a)(5) and 274A(b) of the Act, a state employment agency as defined in §274a.1 of this part may, but is not required to, verify identity and employment eligibility of individuals referred for employment by the agency. However, should a state employment agency choose to do so, it must:

(1) Complete the verification process in accordance with the requirements of §274a.2(b) of this part provided that the individual may not present receipts in lieu of documents in order to complete the verification process as otherwise permitted by §274a.2(b)(1)(vi) of this part; and

(2) Complete the verification process prior to referral for all individuals for whom a certification is required to be issued pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) Compliance with the provisions of section 274A of the Act. A state employment agency which chooses to verify employment eligibility of individuals pursuant to §274a.2(b) of this part shall comply with all provisions of section 274A of the Act and the regulations issued thereunder.

(c) State employment agency certification.

(1) A state employment agency which chooses to verify employment eligibility pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section shall issue to an employer who hires an individual referred for employment by the agency, a certification as set forth in paragraph (d) of this section. The certification shall be transmitted by the state employment agency directly to the employer, personally by an agency official, or by mail, so that it will be received by the employer within 21 business days of the date that the referred individual is hired. In no case shall the certification be transmitted to the employer from the state employment agency by the individual referred. During this period:

(i) The job order or other appropriate referral form issued by the state employment agency to the employer, on behalf of the individual who is referred and hired, shall serve as evidence, with respect to that individual, of the employer's compliance with the provisions of section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Act and the regulations issued thereunder.

(ii) In the case of a telephonically authorized job referral by the state employment agency to the employer, an appropriate annotation by the employer shall be made and shall serve as evidence of the job order. The employer should retain the document containing the annotation where the employer retains Forms I-9.

(2) Job orders or other referrals, including telephonic authorizations, which are used as evidence of compliance pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section shall contain:

(i) The name of the referred individual;

(ii) The date of the referral;

(iii) The job order number or other applicable identifying number relating to the referral;

(iv) The name and title of the referring state employment agency official; and

(v) The telephone number and address of the state employment agency.

(3) A state employment agency shall not be required to verify employment eligibility or to issue a certification to an employer to whom the agency referred an individual if the individual is hired for a period of employment not to exceed 3 days in duration. Should a state agency choose to verify employment eligibility and to issue a certification to an employer relating to an individual who is hired for a period of employment not to exceed 3 days in duration, it must verify employment eligibility and issue certifications relating to all such individuals. Should a state employment agency choose not to verify employment eligibility or issue certifications to employers who hire, for a period not to exceed 3 days in duration, agency-referred individuals, the agency shall notify employers that, as a matter of policy, it does not perform verifications for individuals hired for that length of time, and that the employers must complete the identity and employment eligibility requirements pursuant to §274a.2(b) of this part. Such notification may be incorporated into the job order or other referral form utilized by the state employment agency as appropriate.

(4) An employer to whom a state employment agency issues a certification relating to an individual referred by the agency and hired by the employer, shall be deemed to have complied with the verification requirements of §274a.2(b) of this part provided that the employer:

(i) Reviews the identifying information contained in the certification to ensure that it pertains to the individual hired;

(ii) Observes the signing of the certification by the individual at the time of its receipt by the employer as provided for in paragraph (d)(13) of this section;

(iii) Complies with the provisions of §274a.2(b)(1)(vii) of this part by either:

(A) Updating the state employment agency certification in lieu of Form I-9, upon expiration of the employment authorization date, if any, which was noted on the certification issued by the state employment agency pursuant to paragraph (d)(11) of this section; or

(B) By no longer employing an individual upon expiration of his or her employment authorization date noted on the certification;

(iv) Retains the certification in the same manner prescribed for Form I-9 in §274a.2(b)(2) of this part, to wit, three years after the date of the hire or one year after the date the individual's employment is terminated, whichever is later; and

(v) Makes it available for inspection to officers of the Service or the Department of Labor, pursuant to the provisions of section 274A(b)(3) of the Act, and §274a.2(b)(2) of this part.

(5) Failure by an employer to comply with the provisions of paragraph (c)(4)(iii) of this section shall constitute a violation of section 274A(a)(2) of the Act and shall subject the employer to the penalties contained in section 274A(e)(4) of the Act, and §274a.10 of this part.

(d) Standards for state employment agency certifications. All certifications issued by a state employment agency pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section shall conform to the following standards. They must:

(1) Be issued on official agency letterhead;

(2) Be signed by an appropriately designated official of the agency;

(3) Bear a date of issuance;

(4) Contain the employer's name and address;

(5) State the name and date of birth of the individual referred;

(6) Identify the position or type of employment for which the individual is referred;

(7) Bear a job order number relating to the position or type of employment for which the individual is referred;

(8) Identify the document or documents presented by the individual to the state employment agency for the purposes of identity and employment eligibility verification;

(9) State the identifying number or numbers of the document or documents described in paragraph (d)(8) of this section;

(10) Certify that the agency has complied with the requirements of section 274A(b) of the Act concerning verification of the identity and employment eligibility of the individual referred, and has determined that, to the best of the agency's knowledge, the individual is authorized to work in the United States;

(11) Clearly state any restrictions, conditions, expiration dates or other limitations which relate to the individual's employment eligibility in the United States, or contain an affirmative statement that the employment authorization of the referred individual is not restricted;

(12) State that the employer is not required to verify the individual's identity or employment eligibility, but must retain the certification in lieu of Form I-9;

(13) Contain a space or a line for the signature of the referred individual, requiring the individual under penalty of perjury to sign his or her name before the employer at the time of receipt of the certification by the employer; and

(14) State that counterfeiting, falsification, unauthorized issuance or alteration of the certification constitutes a violation of federal law pursuant to title 18, U.S.C. 1546.

(e) Retention of Form I-9 by state employment agencies. A Form I-9 utilized by a state employment agency in verifying the identity and employment eligibility of an individual pursuant to §274a.2(b) of this part must be retained by a state employment agency for a period of three years from the date that the individual was last referred by the agency and hired by an employer. A state employment agency may retain a Form I-9 either in its original form, or on microfilm or microfiche.

(f) Retention of state employment agency certifications. A certification issued by a state employment agency pursuant to this section shall be retained:

(1) By a state employment agency, for a period of three years from the date that the individual was last referred by the agency and hired by an employer, and in a manner to be determined by the agency which will enable the prompt retrieval of the information contained on the original certification for comparison with the relating Form I-9;

(2) By the employer, in the original form, and in the same manner and location as the employer has designated for retention of Forms I-9, and for the period of time provided in paragraph (c)(4)(iv) of this section.

(g) State employment agency verification requirements in the case of an individual who was previously referred and certified. When a state employment agency refers an individual for whom the verification requirements have been previously complied with and a Form I-9 completed, the agency shall inspect the previously completed Form I-9:

(1) If, upon inspection of the Form, the agency determines that the Form I-9 pertains to the individual and that the individual remains authorized to be employed in the United States, no additional verification need be conducted and no new Form I-9 need be completed prior to issuance of a new certification provided that the individual is referred by the agency within 3 years of the execution of the initial Form I-9.

(2) If, upon inspection of the Form, the agency determines that the Form I-9 pertains to the individual but that the individual does not appear to be authorized to be employed in the United States based on restrictions, expiration dates or other conditions annotated on the Form I-9, the agency shall not issue a certification unless the agency follows the updating procedures pursuant to §274a.2(b)(1)(vii) of this part; otherwise the individual may no longer be referred for employment by the state employment agency.

(3) For the purposes of retention of the Form I-9 by a state employment agency pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, for an individual previously referred and certified, the state employment agency shall retain the Form for a period of 3 years from the date that the individual is last referred and hired.

(h) Employer verification requirements in the case of an individual who was previously referred and certified. When an employer rehires an individual for whom the verification and certification requirements have been previously complied with by a state employment agency, the employer shall inspect the previously issued certification.

(1) If, upon inspection of the certification, the employer determines that the certification pertains to the individual and that the individual remains authorized to be employed in the United States, no additional verification need be conducted and no new Form I-9 or certification need be completed provided that the individual is rehired by the employer within 3 years of the issuance of the initial certification, and that the employer follows the same procedures for the certification which pertain to Form I-9, as specified in §274a.2(c)(1)(i) of this part.

(2) If, upon inspection of the certification, the employer determines that the certification pertains to the individual but that the certification reflects restrictions, expiration dates or other conditions which indicate that the individual no longer appears authorized to be employed in the United States, the employer shall verify that the individual remains authorized to be employed and shall follow the updating procedures for the certification which pertain to Form I-9, as specified in §274a.2(c)(1)(ii) of this part; otherwise the individual may no longer be employed.

(3) For the purposes of retention of the certification by an employer pursuant to this paragraph for an individual previously referred and certified by a state employment agency and rehired by the employer, the employer shall retain the certification for a period of 3 years after the date that the individual is last hired, or one year after the date the individual's employment is terminated, whichever is later.

[52 FR 43053, Nov. 9, 1987]