Human Resource Blog

Why Keep I-9 Supporting Documents?

	HR Management
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Why do most companys keep a copy of the I-9 Supporting Documents (D.L., SS Card, Passport, etc)?

One reason is to keep managers honest. Another is that it provides an affirmative defense if the company is charged with knowingly hiring illegal aliens.

On the I-9, a manager or supervisor filling out the form must inspect the supporting documents to make sure that they look authentic. That is, that they are not obviously forged, and that the photo on the documents appears to be the same person as the new hire. The manager then signs the I-9, attesting that they have done so.

Unfortunately, that means an unscrupulous supervisor, manager or HR person could simply check off the squares and sign the form when no documents were present, or the documents that were present were obvious frauds, or the photo on the document was clearly not the person being hired. A manager might do this to hire friends who were illegal aliens, or even for a fee. Companies prevent this by making supervisors copy the documents. At larger companies, the copies usually have to be sent or faxed to an HR manager, who also checks that they are not obvious forgeries.

Another reason is because it protects the company. Unfortunately, unlawful immigrants do sometimes purchase forged documents and obtain work with them. Employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants face hefty fines. By producing copies of documents that appear genuine, the employer can demonstrate that he or she did not \\\”knowingly\\\” hire an illegal immigrant…they were simply taken in by clever forgeries. That\\\’s a vital difference.

The Department of Homeland Security specifically permits employers to legally copy the supporting documents to I-9s. However, those documents should be kept in a separate file with other I-9 forms, not in the employee\\\’s personnel file. That\\\’s because the documents include information about the employee\\\’s race, color, age and citizenship status that cannot legally be a factor in employment decisions.