Q: When is the best time for a new employee to complete our required onboarding paperwork? I usually let them take it home, but they often forget to bring it back, and I have to keep hounding them. I even had one instance where a person quit unexpectedly before completing any of it.

A: This is an incredibly common frustration, but it is also a major compliance vulnerability for your practice. The short answer is: All required employment paperwork should be completed on the employee’s very first day of employment—and always before they perform any actual work.

Letting employees take paperwork home or allowing them to start working without it opens your practice up to significant legal and financial risks.

Here is why a strict, immediate timeline is essential:

• The Form I-9 Trap: Federal law is incredibly strict about the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). Section 1 must be completed no later than the first day of employment. You then have exactly three business days from their start date to review their original physical documents and sign Section 2. Fines for missing or improperly dated I-9s can be massive, even if the employee is legally allowed to work in the U.S.
• Wage and Hour Compliance: If an employee takes paperwork home and fills it out, that time spent is technically compensable hours worked. Furthermore, without a signed W-4, you are left guessing how to tax their first paycheck or how to legally pay them if they abruptly quit—exactly like the situation you experienced.
• Policy and Safety Acknowledgment: If an employee starts working before signing your employee handbook or safety acknowledgments, you lose critical liability protections if they violate a policy or get injured on day two.

By treating paperwork as a mandatory first step rather than an afterthought, you set a professional tone from day one, establish clear expectations, and—most importantly—keep your practice fully compliant.