ID fraud slides past work eligibility check

HR Magazine, Nov, 2005 by Allen Smith

An epidemic of identity fraud is going undetected by work eligibility verification systems, including an electronic pilot program tested as an enhancement to the I-9 form system, reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Sept. 21.

One of the primary goals of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) test program--the Basic Pilot Program--is to reduce document fraud and false claims of U.S. citizenship among the estimated 7 million to 10 million illegal immigrants in the nation, the GAO noted. Approximately 2,300 employers in all 50 states participate voluntarily.

Participants still must complete I-9 forms for all new employees in compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Within three days of the hire date, the employer queries the pilot program's web site, using information provided on the I-9s such as the employee's name and Social Security number. The pilot program electronically matches the employee's information against Social Security Administration (SSA) information and, if necessary, DHS databases to determine whether the employee is eligible to work. Participating employers then are notified when employees' work authorization is confirmed.

When the pilot system cannot confirm authorization status through an automatic check or a manual check by an immigration status verifier, a tentative nonconfirmation of the employee's work authorization status is issued. Employers then must notify the affected employees of the finding.

Employees may contest their tentative nonconfirmations within eight working days by contacting the SSA or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Meanwhile, the employer may not take any adverse actions against the employee, such as limiting work assignments or pay, the report noted.

Like the I-9 form process, the program is vulnerable to identity fraud, the GAO concluded. It may not catch unauthorized workers who present valid documentation belonging to someone authorized to work.

In addition, delays in the entry of information on immigrants' and nonimmigrants' arrivals and employment authorization into DHS databases slow the process. Most of the pilot program queries were confirmed by SSA and DHS verification checks, but approximately 15 percent required manual verification. While many of the immigration status verifiers typically resolved cases within 24 hours, a small number of cases took as long as two weeks to sort out. Most of these delays were attributable to slow entry of recent employment authorization information into DHS databases, the report said.

Another program flaw is that some participating employers did not comply with the rules and took adverse job actions against employees who were contesting tentative nonconfirmations. Of 22 participating employers interviewed by the GAO for the report, seven used the Basic Pilot Program in a way that did not conform with the program's procedures.

The DHS promised to assess the feasibility and costs of addressing the program weaknesses identified in the report.

ALLEN SMITH, J.D., IS SENIOR LEGAL EDITOR WITH HR NEWS.