The Form I-9 Hokey Pokey

Yesterday we reported on an urgent change with I-9 forms issued by the DHS. Today the same government website has withdrawn the statement that the existing form is no longer acceptable. In neither case was any information given beyond those single lines. No press release, no instructions, no details.

You put your right form in, you take your right form out....

So today we wait. Will it be the new form? Will it be the old form? Companies like GNeil who are scrambling to keep their clients in compliance are searching the Federal wires for a definitive answer. Should they keep their old inventory or scrap it? Should they tell clients to throw away the old forms, or encourage them to hold on to them, just in case the new detail (when and if it's finally released) includes a grace period.

You throw your old forms out, you keep you old forms in...

And companies like ours who act as a channel for training materials and information wait to see where the chips fall. Will this micro-announcement be followed by some major changes? Are there going to be training needs in here somewhere? I mean, getting in wrong when it comes to mindless forms can cost an employer thousands of very minded dollars.

You put your whole self in, you pull your whole self out,
You do the hokey pokey while the government turns us round
That's what it's all about.

Watch here or at the GNeil blog for more information as soon as DHS makes up its collective mind.