DOJ Tells Employers Not to Use Forensics to Complete I-9’s

The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices is warning employers not to use forensic tools or techniques to assess the validity of any document presented for identification and employment authorization, or apply a different level of scrutiny based on the type of document presented by the employee or the citizenship status or national origin of the employee when completing the Form I-9 or in the course of an internal compliance audit of I-9s.   

The warning appeared in a general guidance letter, dated December 30, 2013, from Alberto Ruisanchez, Acting Deputy Special Counsel, OSC, Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, answering an inquiry whether an employer conducting an internal I-9 audit may ask an employee to produce employment eligibility documentation at the time the Form I-9 was completed where the documents are "unclear and prevent forensic evaluation of their genuineness."