In class we discussed the Immigration Reform and Control Act that was put into place in 1986. It prohibits the employment of individuals who are not legally authorized to work in the U.S. This act provides penalties for companies and individuals who knowingly hire illegal aliens. In order to avoid hiring illegal aliens, employers must collect sufficient information from job applications.
Employers cannot discriminate and ask for additional documents beyond the required because of their suspicion. Employers can’t refuse to accept valid documents. The fines for not complying with this act could be a civil fine up to $10,000 per violation, back pay/front pay, and attorney’s fees.
This topic stood out to me because at my place of employment we had accidentally hired an illegal immigrant. This individual had presented us the required documents to complete the I-9. He showed us a work card that authorized him to work in the US as well as a social security card. We ended up finding out that the social security number we had been reporting to was actually an invalid number to his name. In this case he then provided us with paperwork stating that his social security card is in processing and he will be getting it soon. We continued to let him work and then report under a different social security number.
In a case like this, is an employer aloud to request a different type of ID than a social security card since the one he presented in the past was fraud?
katiecharles 