Mastering I-9 Audits in Workday

In today’s highly regulated HR landscape, ensuring that your Form I-9 documentation is accurate, complete and audit-ready is more important than ever.

While Workday offers robust tools for managing and auditing I-9s, true compliance success relies on a clear, proactive strategy. Whether you're preparing for an internal review or bracing for an external audit, the approach below blends industry best practices with actionable steps and Workday-specific insights to help you run a smooth, effective I-9 audit process. 

Workday I-9 Options: 

Internal I-9 is created and managed within Workday. To complete the Form I-9 Business Process, employees can create an electronic Form I-9 and integrate it with E-Verify. This typically occurs during the onboarding process  

The I-9 Form for Remote Hires allows remote employees to verify employment eligibility electronically with use of an external authorized representative. It is configured in the Complete Form I-9 business process and can also be integrated with E-Verify.  

External I-9 is created outside of Workday and loaded in. To record an external Form I-9, critical data and attachments from Form I-9 are imported into Workday.

Here's how to successfully manage your Workday I-9 Audit process.

#1 |  Define smart audit criteria

Start with the basics. Each I-9 record should meet the following minimum standards: 

• I-9 Process status is “Process Finalized” 

• Employment Verification status is “Employment Authorized” 

• E-Verify Case Number is present and properly formatted (e.g., 2019302194303LG) 

• No expired documents; all work authorization documents must be valid 
  

#2 |  Segment and prioritize your audit population

To optimize audit efficiency, categorize employees based on risk level: 

• High-Risk: Remote hires or international workers 

• Recent Hires: Catch issues early while corrections are still possible 

• Reverification Due: Flag employees with soon-to-expire work authorization 

• Terminated Employees: Ensure retention rules are followed, or documents are purged as required 

#3 |  Use Workday reporting tools to extract I-9 data

Workday offers standard reports to help HR teams track compliance. Leverage the following reports to monitor and manage I-9 processes:

• Form I-9 Process Status: See how many I-9s are in each stage (e.g., Assigned, Overdue, Finalized), grouped by Supervisory Org

• U.S. New Hires Missing an Electronic Form I-9: Spot new hires without an internal Form I-9 and view key details like hire date and manager

• U.S. Employees with Expiring I-9 Documents: Flag documents nearing expiration and see which ones need renewal

• U.S. All Workers’ SSNs with I-9 History: Cross-check finalized I-9s with employee identifiers for consistency

• U.S. Electronic Form I-9 Verifications: Review E-Verify case numbers, verification status and process progress

• Form I-9 Audit Trail: Trace every step of an I-9 process—from who started it, when and what happened next
• Additional custom reports can be built for a deeper look into audit readiness to identify the following:
      -  All Workers missing I-9s 
      -  I-9s completed after the 3-day hiring window 

#4 |  Automate ongoing monitoring

Sustain long-term compliance by automating key elements: 

• Set up alerts for upcoming reverifications  

• Set up alerts for individuals whose employment authorization needs attention; reminders go a long way, especially if they need to get something done in person! 

• Schedule periodic audits (quarterly or biannually) 

• Train HR partners on updated I-9 processes and Workday workflows 

• Consider using a dashboard for visibility and ease of auditing. Potential reports:
       -  Finalize Step Awaiting Action
       -  Awaiting Action by Person 
       -  Unsubmitted for New Hires

I-9 compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. By leveraging Workday’s robust reporting and workflow capabilities alongside a clearly structured audit strategy, HR teams can effectively manage I-9s for internal, external and remote hires. With a proactive, repeatable process in place, organizations can ensure ongoing compliance and gain peace of mind knowing they are audit-ready at any time.  

Need help building custom reports or dashboards in Workday? Reach out to Invisors to design and implement tailored solutions that align with your audit goals.