Do you have to reverify an employee’s Form I-9 if his driver’s license expires? What about if an employee’s work authorization expires? The answer is no for one, but yes for the other. Find out which situations require reverification. From HR Matters E-Tips.
Question: When do we need to reverify the Form I-9? Do we have to reverify if an employee’s driver’s license or passport expires? What about when we rehire former employees? Are there other times that we have to reverify an employee’s Form I-9?
Answer: The Form I-9, otherwise known as the Employment Eligibility Verification Form, must be completed and kept on file for each new employee and also must be reverified in certain limited circumstances. You do not need to reverify the Form I-9 when an employee’s driver’s license expires. According to the “Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9,” publication M-274, provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), employers do no to reverify the Form I-9 when an employee’s identity document expires (List B documents), such as a driver’s license. In addition, the handbook states that you never have to reverify a U.S. citizen’s status, except when they terminate and are rehired (see below). So if a current employee’s passport expires, you do not have to reverify that employee’s Form I-9 either. (You can find a copy of the M-274 online at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf)
Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act regulations found in 8 C.F.R. §§274a.2(b)(1)(vii) and 274a.2(c) that explain the Form I-9 requirements, you must reverify work eligibility in two circumstances: (1) if an individual’s employment authority expires; or (2) if an individual who was previously employed by the organization is rehired. Reverification may be handled on the Form I-9 originally completed for the employee.
If an employee’s work authorization expires, you must reverify in Section 3 of the Form I-9 that the employee is still authorized to work in the United States. Reverification must be completed no later than the date on which the employment authorization expires.
The employee must present proof of employment eligibility in the form of any of the documents allowed by the Form I-9 to show continuing eligibility or a new grant of authorization to work. The employee does not have to present a new version of the same document presented initially. Further, you cannot accept receipts showing that the employee has applied for an extension of an expired employment authorization document. When received, you should note the new document’s identification number and expiration date on the Form I-9.
(Note that reverification is not required simply because an employee’s resident alien card (also known as the Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, or “Green Card”) expires. These cards are typically issued with a 10-year expiration date, no expiration date, or a 2-year expiration date. In these cases, the employee’s worker eligibility status has not expired, only the card has. However, a new employee may not use an expired resident alien card initially to show employment eligibility and authorization. See the “Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9,” publication M-274.)
When you rehire a former employee, you may update the ex-employee’s original Form I-9 if the ex-employee is rehired within three years of the original hire date and the form indicates that the individual is still eligible for employment. You then simply can note the date of rehire on the form. If the previously completed Form I-9 shows that the individual’s employment authorization has expired, you must reverify the individual’s employment eligibility according to the Form I-9 requirements and record the document’s identification number and expiration date on the Form I-9.
An individual is considered to be continuing in employment rather than a rehire (and therefore not subject to the reverification requirements) if he reasonably expected to resume employment and: (1) was on a paid or unpaid temporary leave of absence approved by the employer; (2) was promoted or demoted; (3) was temporarily laid off due to lack of work; (4) was on strike or in a labor dispute; (5) was reinstated by a court or settlement after a wrongful termination; (6) was transferred from one distinct unit of the employer to another; (7) continues employment with a related successor, or reorganized employer; or (8) is engaged in seasonal employment.
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From HR Matters E-Tips, a free service of Personnel Policy Service, Inc., 159 St. Matthews Ave., Suite 5, Louisville, KY 40204
Clearly defining the types of support services you offer – technical support, IT support, consulting, or training – is critical to the success of your business
As a QuickBooks 3rd party developer or Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, what types of support services do you offer your customers or clients – technical support, IT Support, consulting, or training? Do you have a clearly defined support policy which defines free vs. paid support and what is included?
The term “support” can mean many things to many people, as I’ve found out over the years, it’s a very broad term and can be very confusing because each person that you talk with can have their own definition of what they consider to be support. Be sure that you clearly define what you offer in terms of support and what is included as well as what you provide free of charge and what will require payment.
Let’s take a look at some standard Widipedia definitions:
- Technical Support - Application Support or Technical support (also known as tech support) is a range of services providing assistance with technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods. In general, technical support services attempt to help the user solve specific problems with a product – rather than provide training, customization, or other support services. Most companies offer technical support for the products they sell, either freely available of for a fee.
- IT Support or Consulting – Information technology consulting (also called IT consulting, computer consultancy, technology consulting business and technology services or IT advisory) is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives. In addition to providing advise, IT consultancies often estimate, manage, implement, deploy, and administer IT systems on businesses’ behalf, known as outsourcing. IT professionals perform a variety of functions that ranges from installing software applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases.
- Consulting - A consultant (from Latin: consultare “to discuss”) is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law (tax law in particular) etc. Consulting, therefore, is providing advice in a particular area of expertise and clients may purchase only as much service from the consultant as needed. Consulting is not the same as Customer Service.
- Training - The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relates to specific useful competencies. Training is TASK oriented and means T –> Training, A –>Attitude, S –>Skill, and K –>Knowledge. Training is teaching someone how to do something.
As a ProAdvisor, much of what we offer is consulting and training; offered at a billable hourly rate or perhaps offered in blocks of time for a set fee – it’s much easier for us to define what we do and do not provide or do. When we run into trouble, we can obtain free support and training simply by picking up the phone and calling Intuit ProAdvisor support or watch free webinars provided by Intuit.
Software Developers, on the other hand have a much tougher time defining the types of services that we provide. We are expected to provide technical support not only for the products that we develop but also for other products as well {QuickBooks and Microsoft}, IT support {such as networking and computer setup}, Consulting, and training {not only for our software but QuickBooks as well}. When we run into trouble we have no one that we can call for free assistance, but rather must rely on Support forums or purchase a support incident.
What are your thoughts on support? Do you have a clearly defined support policy? What’s free vs what’s paid? Are you conveying this clearly to your clients?
Top 10 Tuesday includes our favorite tips and news stories from around the web. This week there are some important articles for you to read and information to be aware of, split out into the following categories:
QuickBooks News
- QuickBooks and Your Business – What to do When QuickBooks is (Not Responding)
Tax News
- Accounting Today for the WebCPA – IRS Re-examines Unpaid Employment Taxes
Construction News
- Georgia Construction Law Blog by Cobb Law Group – Some bad news for Georgia Lien Claimants!
- Conklin Roofing Systems – Your Estimate Can Cost You Credibility
- Architectural Records – AIA Creating Database of Stalled Building Projects
Business, Social Networking, Customers & Websites
- Intuit Small Business Blog – Catch Me If You Can-Style Check Fraud Continues to Plague Small Business
- Darren Slaughter – Contractor Marketing Tips for Better Lead Generation
- The New York Times Small Business blog – What If You Suspect an Employee is Undocumented?
- Accounting Today for the WebCPA – Defining Documents – Picking Workflow and Document Management Solutions Starts with knowing What They Are – And What They Do
- Stepcase Lifehack – 13 Strategies to Jumpstart Your Productivity
Well there you have it, these were our top 10 most interesting articles that we found on the web last week – do you have an article that you’d like to share?
Have a great week!
This QuickBooks tip discusses adding project information – such as the project name and location – to Invoices and Estimates – by using the Ship To Address block in the job record and modify the template slightly.
There are many times that a contractor, or other business owner, needs to display project information – such as the project name and location – on invoices and estimates. Displaying project information is very useful, especially when a business is working on more than one job or project for the same customer and needs to make it clear which job or project they are talking about when it’s time to create an Estimate or an invoice.
Adding Project Information to Invoices & Estimates
While there are a couple of ways to add project information – such as the project name and it’s location – to an Estimate or Invoice that you generate; I’ve always used the “Ship To” block in the Job record to hold this information.
From the QuickBooks Customer Center, pick a current Job from the Customers & Job list. You can click on the job name to select it and then click the Edit Job button OR if you double-click on the job name you’ll be taken to the Edit window.
On the Address Info tab, look to see if there is any information in the “Ship To” block; if there isn’t, click the “Add New” button (located just below the Ship To block).
When you click on the “Add New” button, QuickBooks opens the Add Shipping Address Information window. Here you will enter details about the job that you want to display on your Estimates and Invoices – see sample screenshot below.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
Be sure to check the option for default shipping address, and click the OK button to save the information. Your Job record now has both a billing and shipping address.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
Next you’ll want to edit your Estimate and Invoice templates. From the Lists menu, choose Templates (if you aren’t sure which templates you use, click from the Home page click the Estimate or Invoice icons and the template name will be displayed in the upper right corner of the window), double-click on the Estimate template. This opens the Basic Customization window.
From the Basic Customization window, click on the Additional Customization button. On the Header tab – check the Screen and Print options for both the Name/Address and Ship To titles – you can even make changes to the information that displays on the final forms. For example, you can change Name/Address heading to read To Owner and Ship To to Project Information. See the before and after screenshot below.
Right click on the image below to enlarge it.
NOTE: You may need to change the positioning in the Layout Designer, depending on what other options you select on this window.
Click the OK button twice.
Switch to the Home Page, click the Estimate icon and choose the job that you originally edited. Your Estimate form now displays both billing and project information.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
When you print your Estimate, this same information will display on your printed form.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
We hope you’ve found this QuickBooks Tip for adding Project Information to your Estimates and Invoices to be valuable. If so please take a moment to leave a comment.
From the July 15, 2011 IRS Newswire – IRS Gives Truckers Three-Month Extension; Highway Use Tax Return Due Nov. 30, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today advised truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles that their next federal highway use tax return, usually due Aug. 31, will instead be due on Nov. 30, 2011.
Because the highway use tax is currently scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2011, this extension is designed to alleviate any confusion and possible multiple filings that could result if Congress reinstates or modifies the tax after that date. Under temporary and proposed regulations filed today in the Federal Register, the Nov. 30 filing deadline for Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return, for the tax period that begins on July 1, 2011, applies to vehicles used during July, as well as those first used during August or September. Returns should not be filed and payments should not be made prior to Nov. 1.
To aid truckers applying for state vehicle registration on or before Nov. 30, the new regulations require states to accept as proof of payment the stamped Schedule 1 of the Form 2290 issued by the IRS for the prior tax year, ending on June 30, 2011. Under federal law, state governments are required to receive proof of payment of the federal highway use tax as a condition of vehicle registration. Normally, after a taxpayer files the return and pays the tax, the Schedule 1 is stamped by the IRS and returned to filers for this purpose. A state normally may accept a prior year’s stamped Schedule 1 as a substitute proof of payment only through Sept. 30.
For those acquiring and registering a new or used vehicle during the July-to-November period, the new regulations require a state to register the vehicle, without proof that the highway use tax was paid, if the person registering the vehicle presents a copy of the bill of sale or similar document showing that the owner purchased the vehicle within the previous 150 days.
In general, the highway use tax applies to trucks, truck tractors and buses with a gross taxable weight of 55,000 pounds or more. Ordinarily, vans, pick-ups and panel trucks are not taxable because they fall below the 55,000-pound threshold.
For trucks and other taxable vehicles in use during July, the Form 2290 and payment are, under normal circumstances, due on Aug. 31. The tax of up to $550 per vehicle is based on weight, and a variety of special rules apply to vehicles with minimal road use, logging or agricultural vehicles, vehicles transferred during the year and those first used on the road after July.
Last year, the IRS received about 650,000 Forms 2290 and highway use tax payments totaling $886 million.
