Employers are Reminded Not To Specify Which Documents Should Be Presented For I-9 Purposes

On April 16, 2010, the Justice Department filed a complaint against John Jay College alleging that the college engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination by requiring all non-U.S. citizens to present certain work authorization documents to the exclusion of other acceptable documents.

Federal law requires all U.S. employers to document that each employee hired after November 6, 1986 (including U.S. citizen employees) has proper employment authorization and that each employee's identity is consistent with the person's employment authorization documents. In order to comply, employers are required to complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 and to require new hires to present either (i) a Form I-9 List A document to establish both employment eligibility and identity; or (ii) separate documents from Form I-9 Lists B and C to establish their employment eligibility and identity respectively.