On September 5, 2017, the U.S. Attorney General announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program will be phased out if Congress does not enact protections in the next six months for those who participated in DACA. Although initial requests are no longer permitted and renewal requests for participation will only be considered through October 5, 2017, existing DACA work authorizations will be honored until they expire.  All DACA benefits are provided on a two-year basis, so the announcement will affect employees based on the expiration of their temporary work authorization. There are currently bills pending in both houses of Congress that address this issue, and the President has indicated he would revisit DACA if Congress is unsuccessful in addressing the matter.

Employers need to track employment authorization document (“EAD”) expirations to ensure compliance with federal work authorization requirements. The recently updated I-9 instructions state that employers are not permitted to employ anyone who cannot submit proof of right to work in the U.S. Therefore, employers should be prepared in the event an employee with a temporary work authorization is unable to revalidate their I-9 documents.