Beginning October 1, 2026, all employers must notify employees within five business days of receiving a Notice of Inspection (NOI) of Form I-9 from a federal agency. The notice must be both posted and distributed to workers and any exclusive collective bargaining representative.
What the Notice Must Include: The notice needs to be in English AND the five most used non-English languages in Washington. And it must include:
- The Federal Agency
- Date of the NOI
- Types of records sought
- Contact information for a statewide organization providing advocacy related to immigration and refugee rights
- A copy of the NOI
Attorney General Guidance: On September 1, the Washington State Attorney General’s office announced they have published materials for employers to reference including required workplace poster, a model notice, and guidance on employer rights and responsibilities when immigration officials come to a workplace or ask for worker records. All of it is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, and Chinese (Simplified Mandarin), so employers using the model notice do not have to arrange their own translations. An employer using this model notice is considered to have satisfied the notice requirements. All required materials can be found at https://www.atg.wa.gov/IWPA.
This notice must be put in a conspicuous place – where worker notices are customarily posted. The employer must also transmit the notice to workers directly using the primary method of communication that includes at least one of the following:
- Hand delivery
- Mail with proof of delivery
- Email with proof of transmission
- Text message sent telephonically which may include a link to the notice maintained on a webpage, with proof of transmission
Compliance Key: document public the posting and the individual notices, save the transmission proof, and if hand delivering ensure you have a signed record of receipt.
Once the inspection is complete, you will also have to provide notice within 5 business days of the results to affected workers and their representative – this means any workers where I-9 deficiencies have been found. The same rules apply on language, primary method of communications, etc. and must include a description of the deficiencies in the I-9 and scheduling options for correction.
If any one of these steps are missed – even if there is not material damage and there were no issues with the audit/inspection you may be subject to the Washington Attorney General enforcement of $500 for each instance where the employer failed to provide notice to a worker, courts can double the statutory damages if the violation is willful.
A private right of action also exists for violations with required damages of up to and including an amount equal to the actual damages or statutory damages equivalent to 40 times the hourly state minimum wage per plaintiff per violation, whichever is greater.
The guidance covers more than the notice requirements. It also walks employers through the workplace poster requirements, self-audits, warrants, worker records, and what to do if agents show up at your door. The full guidance is at atg.wa.gov/IWPA.
Federal Deadline Reminder: Two clocks start the moment you receive the Notice of Inspection. Federal law gives you three business days to produce the I-9s. State law gives you five business days to notify your workers.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Consult your legal counsel with direct questions about how these requirements apply to your business.
Review the bill as passed by the Legislature and signed into law or the bill summary.
