I-9 Section One Questions

I-9 Section One Questions. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The I-9 is the form that farmers can use as an insurance policy when it comes to hiring seasonal workers. That is as long as it is filled out correctly and according to Dan Fazio with the Washington Farm Labor Association they have come up with some interesting questions.

FAZIO: I’d have to say that going through and doing these audits, it’s when the employers either don’t help the worker fill out the section one, that’s the worker information section and then they get mistakes on that section or conversely it’s obvious to me as an auditor that the employer has helped the worker fill out section one but the employer didn’t sign the box that indicated that they helped.

He says that first section is really where a lot of the problems will crop up.

FAZIO: We see basic mistakes in that section one where workers who are obviously green card holders are checking boxes that are inconsistent with that designation and that’s probably because they don’t read English. Again, it’s perfectly fine and in fact it’s required for the employer to question the worker and explain if the worker is providing you with inconsistent information

Fazio says it is perfectly fine for the employer to assist.

FAZIO: The law even allows employers to translate or even complete the worker section as long as the employer acknowledges that fact. The best I-9’s I’ve seen this summer were where the employer took advantage of that preparer/translator provision.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.