Yes, employers who acquire another company or merge with another company may choose to treat employees who continue being employed with the related, successor, or reorganized employer as new hires. The employer must complete new Forms I-9 and create cases in E-Verify for all of these employees within three business days of the employee’s first day of employment. To avoid the appearance of discrimination, these employers must complete new Forms I-9 for all acquired employees, without regard to actual or perceived citizenship status or national origin. E-Verify employers must create a case for all acquired employees to meet the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding provision that prohibits selective use of E-Verify and requires use of E-Verify for all new employees.
Employers should enter the date of acquisition or merger as the date these employees began employment in Section 2 of their new Forms I-9. Employers may complete Form I-9 and create a case in E-Verify before the merger or acquisition takes place as long as the employer has offered the acquired employee a job and the employee has accepted the offer.