As an employer, it’s your obligation to make sure that you hire only legal workers. The federal government’s E-Verify service can help.

When new employees in the U.S. are hired, they are required to complete and sign a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and provide documentation such as a driver’s license, passport, Social Security card or permanent resident card as proof of eligibility. It is then the employer’s obligation to make a reasonable determination that the documentation is genuine and belongs to the employee.

That’s where problems can arise. Most employers want to follow the law and hire only authorized workers, but it’s not always easy for the average person to spot a fake document or make a correct determination based on a photograph that might be outdated.

With E-Verify, you can electronically submit information from the I-9 and the new hire’s documentation, which will then be checked against Social Security and Homeland Security databases for authenticity.

E-Verify is only for use with new hires. You can access the program on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Source: Houston Chronicle