SSN Policy Manual

Employment Issues

The law prohibits an employer from knowingly hiring an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States. The law does not prohibit an employer from doing any of the following: unknowingZy hiring an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States hiring an alien who is authorized to work in the United States hiring a citizen Additionally the law provides for a positive defense if you have obtained copies of certain documents and an attestation from the alien. Sec. 1324a. Unlawful employment of aliens (a)(3) Defense A person or entity that establishes that it has complied in good faith with the requirements of subsection (b) of this section with respect to the hiring, recruiting, or referral for employment of an alien in the United States has established an affirmative defense that the person or entity has not violated paragraph (l)(A) with respect to such hiring, recruiting, or referral. (b)(6) Good faith compliance (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), a person or entity is considered to have complied with a requirement of this subsection notwithstanding a technical or procedural failure to meet such requirement if there was a good faith attempt to comply with the requirement. In writing the positive defense clause into the law, Congress has tricked most employers into believing that this is their only "positive defense" choice. Of course, such is simply not true; a positive defense always exists and we do not need Congress' permission to use it. A positive defense exists if you can show any of the following: that you did not know that the employee was an alien that you did not know that the employee was not authorized to work in the United States that the employee is a citizen While many people just simply do what they are asked and never assert their rights as Americans, you will occasionally find those who do. Natural citizens have many protected rights that are often forgotten or not taken seriously. You will find that most of these people understand the extra burden that our government seems to place on employers and often are willing to compromise with you in certain areas. You should consider offering the following