The Importance of the I-9 Employment Form

Employers who wish to hire new workers are required to follow the rules established by the Immigration Reform and Control act of 1986, which sets the guidelines for verifying the identity of applicants and their status to work in the United States. Before hiring any new employee, the company must verify that they are legally eligible to work in the country and have completely filled out important documents like the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form.

Employers are required to keep I-9 forms for each employee for a period of at least three years (if they are still employed with the company) or at least one year after they have left the company. Employers who fail to verify legal status or keep important forms on hand may face serious legal consequences as a result. If you would like to know more about employment law or if you have been the victim of workplace discrimination, contact the San Antonio employment lawyers of Melton & Kumler, LLP at 1-800-681-6932.

Completing the I-9 Requirements

In order to verify legal status, employees may provide the following documentation:

• U.S. Passport
• U.S. Social Security card
• U.S. Birth Certificate
• A driver’s license
• U.S. Citizen Identification card
• Native American tribal document
• A Permanent Resident card
• Temporary Resident card (unexpired)
• Employment authorization card (unexpired)
• Federal or State I.D. card with photo and other important information

Although the above documents are acceptable forms of identification, there are other types of documents that persons may provide to help demonstrate their ability to legally work in the United States.

Contact Us

If you have been the victim of discrimination or unfair practices in the workplace, contact the San Antonio employment lawyers of Melton & Kumler, LLP at 1-800-681-6932 to discuss your case.