Employers Beware: The I-9 Form: Verifying Identity and Identity Documents in the Employment Context

Verification of identity has taken on new importance in a post 9/11 environment. This article discusses employers\u27 obligation to verify the identification of their employees and the technical problems with identity verification employers face under current approaches. Attempts by the government to resolve these issues will meet resistance from both privacy advocates and liberty defenders. Understanding the issues with the current state of documentation of identity will enable employers to make more informed decisions about who they are hiring, particularly if the analysis is completed prior to the hiring decision. For the time being, the 1-9 form and associated process will serve little preventative value for an organization, other than enabling it to escape liability with a defense to the situation of actually employing an unauthorized worker