Employers are required by law to verify that all newly hired employees present valid documentation verifying the employees’ identity and legal authorization to accept employment in the U.S. An employer faces substantial liability if it hires unauthorized workers or fails to maintain completed and, where applicable, re-verified I-9s for the requisite number of years.
For all new hires, the employee and employer must complete a Form I-9, to verify the identity and authorization of the worker. A new hire must present the employer with documents of the employee’s choosing from the list of acceptable documents that evidences the employee’s identity and authorization, and the employer must examine such documents to determine whether they appear to be genuine.
