Form I-9 employment eligibility verification requirement
All U.S. employers, including those in Missouri, must complete Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) for every individual hired for employment after November 6, 1986. This federal requirement applies to all employees, including U.S. citizens and noncitizens. The employee must complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than the first day of employment. The employer must examine the employee's documents and complete Section 2 within three business days of the employee's first day of work. Employers must retain each completed Form I-9 for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
Source: 8 U.S.C. § 1324a; USCIS Form I-9 Central
New hire reporting requirement — 20-day deadline
Missouri requires every employer doing business in the state to report each newly hired employee to the Missouri Department of Revenue within 20 days after the date of hire. This obligation arises under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 285.300, which implements the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act's new hire reporting mandate at the state level.
Trigger and timing. The employer must submit a copy of the employee's federal W-4 withholding form (or an equivalent form containing the data required by § 285.304) within 20 days. For purposes of this section, "the date the employer hires the employee" means the earlier of (1) the date the employee signs the W-4 or equivalent form, or (2) the first date the employee reports to work or performs labor or services. The 20-day clock starts from that earlier date.
Employers transmitting reports magnetically or electronically may use two monthly transmissions, if necessary, spaced not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart, in lieu of the 20-day single-submission rule.
Who must be reported. Every newly hired employee is covered. Missouri regulation 13 CSR 40-100.040 defines "newly hired employee" in accordance with the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 453A(a)(2). The statute requires the employee to complete a federal W-4 withholding form; the employer then forwards that form (or an equivalent) to the Department of Revenue. Rehired employees returning after a separation must also be reported if they are required to submit a new W-4 to the employer upon rehire.
Submission methods. Reports may be submitted in paper form or electronically (including magnetically). The Department of Revenue forwards the information to the Family Support Division on a weekly basis, and the data is entered into the State Directory of New Hires. Missouri's directory feeds into the National Directory of New Hires maintained under 42 U.S.C. § 653. The information is used for child support enforcement — to expedite income-withholding orders, locate noncustodial parents, and establish paternity and support orders — and to prevent fraud in unemployment compensation and other public assistance programs.
Penalty for noncompliance. Any employer who intentionally fails to submit the required information is guilty of an infraction and faces a fine of not more than $25 for each time the employer fails to submit the information (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 285.302). If the failure to report is the result of a conspiracy between the employer and the employee to not supply the required report or to supply a false or incomplete report, the fine increases to $350 for each failure to report or each false or incomplete report.
Missouri does not impose a separate state-level new hire reporting requirement distinct from the federal framework; rather, § 285.300 designates the Department of Revenue as the state agency receiving the W-4 forms that federal law already requires. Employers who operate in multiple states may designate a single state for centralized new hire reporting by notifying the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing, but absent such designation, an employer must report Missouri-based hires to Missouri.