[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 8, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 8CFR274a.6]

[Page 674-677]
 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
CHAPTER I--IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 274a--CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart A--Employer Requirements
 
Sec. 274a.6  State employment agencies.

    (a) General. Pursuant to sections 274A(a)(5) and 274A(b) of the Act, 
a state employment agency as defined in Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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

[[Page 675]]

the agency and hired by the employer, shall be deemed to have complied 
with the verification requirements of Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 274a.2(b) of 
this part must be retained

[[Page 676]]

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 Sec. 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 
Sec. 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 Sec. 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

[[Page 677]]

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]