What Does a Next Action of "Purge" Mean?
Goal
This article explains the meaning of the Purge Next Action and its associated date for Form I-9 records in the Tracker I-9 Complete system. It also explains when terminated Form I-9 records become eligible to be purged (deleted) in accordance with USCIS Form I-9 retention requirements.
Purge
When an employee is terminated or no longer working for the employer, a termination status or termination date an be entered on the Summary tab of the Form I-9. Entering a termination date or selecting the "Employee is Terminated" checkbox updates the Next Action to Purge, unless an E-Verify case is still open. If there is a termination date entered, the system will calculate the next action due date to be 3 years from the start date or 1 year from the termination date, whichever is later as the "Purge Date".
A terminated Form I-9 becomes eligible for purging on or after the Purge Date shown in the Next Action field. The system does not automatically purge records when the Purge Date is reached. A user must manually purge the Form I-9, either individually or by using the Purge Report tool to purge multiple eligible records.
Retention
In accordance with USCIS Form I-9 retention requirements, terminated Form I-9 records must be retained until the applicable Purge Date. Once a Form I-9 is purged, it is permanently deleted from the Tracker I-9 Complete system and cannot be recovered. Also, for the rehired employees, we can retain the terminated I-9 before the purge date as once the I-9 is purged a new Form I-9 would be needed.