U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related 

UnfairEmploymentPractices 

Look At The Facts. 

Not At The Faces. 

Your Guide 

To Fair Employment 
What Do You Need to Know 

About INA? 

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which the 

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) 

amended, requires that you, as an employer, verify the 

identity an d work eligibility of every employee hired 

after November 6, 1986 . I t is now illegal to knowingly 

hire anyone who is not authorized to work in the United 

States. A s part of this process, you must complete the 

Department of Homeland Security's Form I-9 for 

all your employees—citizens and noncitizens alike . 

Failure to comply with the I-9 requirements may result 

in sanctions against you. 

Congress recognizes that these employer sanctions 

might unintentionally discourage yo u from hiring 

workers who are not U.S. citizens or who appear to be 

foreign. In order to protect work-authorized individuals, 

INA also contains provisions prohibiting discrimination 

in hiring and firing on the basis of citizenship status or 

national origin. Unde r these provisions, you must treat 

all qualified, eligibl e job applicants equally. Employer s 

found to discriminate may be required to pay fines and 

penalties, and to hire or rehire employees, with back 

pay. 
How Do You Avoid ImmigrationRelated Employment 

Discrimination? 

• Treat all people the same when you are announcing 

the job, taking applications, interviewing, offering the 

job, filling out the Form I-9, hiring, and firing. 

• Avoid "citizens only" hirin g policies or 

requirements that applicants have a particular 

immigration status, unless required by law. 

• Give out the same job information over the 

telephone and use the same application forms for all 

applicants. 

• Base your decisions abou t firing on job 

performance and/or behavior, no t on appearance, 

language, name, or citizenship status of your 

employees. 

How Do You Comply with the 

Form I-9 Requirements? 

• In order to avoid any appearance of discrimination, 

verify work eligibility after you have decided to hire an 

individual and allow your employee three days to 

provide the documents. 

• Let your employee choose which documents to 

present, as long as they appear to be reasonably 

genuine. 

• Understand that there are many differen t 

documents, wit h different appearances, that your 

employee may present. You can find a list of these 

documents on the back of the Form I-9. 
How Do You Comply with INA's 

Hiring Regulations ? 

• Hire only those persons that are authorized to work 

in the U.S. 

• Ask all your new employees—U.S. citizens and 

noncitizens alike—to show documents that establish both 

identity and work authorization. 

• Complete the DHS Employment Eligibility 

Verification Form I-9 for every new employee . 
If You Hav e Any Furthe r Questions

about Complianc e wit h INA's 

Antidiscrimination Provisions, Cal l 

the Office of Special Counsel's

Automated Employer Hotline : 

1-800-255-8155 

TDD for hearing-impaired: 1-800-237-2515

In the Washington, D.C. area call: 202-616-5594

The Employer Hotline will guide you through the 

employment verification process, and include s a 

fax-back feature through which you ca n receive a 

Form I-9, a list of acceptable documents and tips 

on fair hiring. There is also an option to speak 

with an operator. 

or write to OSC at: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

Office of Special Counsel 

950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 

Washington, DC 20530 

OSC's e-mail address is: 

osccrt@usdoj.gov 

to find us on the web, go to:

www.justice.gov/crt/osc
U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

Office o f Special Counse l 

for Immigration-Related

Unfair Employment Practice s 

950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 

Washington, DC 20530