illegal aliens

Carolyn Kerr

What is an employers' legal responsibility when an existing employee comes to the employer and says, "here is my true identification, Soc. Sec. card, drivers license, etc." I know that the employee can be terminated as obviously they lied on their application. But, what if they are a good employee and you want to keep them.

How can an employer protect himself in this situation?

Gillian

The first decision point is whether or not the employee is now legal. If not, according to INS regulations they must provide documentation within three days or you must dismiss them. If the person is now legal then you have to make a decision about the impact it will have on your general policies if you make an exception. Rightly or wrongly, I think that many employers would elect to keep the employee, with the rationalization that the employee had to provide the false documentation to get the job in the first place, thus accepting that this type of economic reason is better than someone who falsifies when they didn't have to. If you keep the employee you are now employing someone who has the legal right to work in the US. I suppose there is a risk of the INS finding out that you employed someone illegally but the risk is remote.

Gar

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I recommend that you dismiss the employee for falsifying the information on his/her employment application. It is indeed unfortunate that the employee may have had to lie to get the job. But, by accepting his/her new credentials, you are admitting awareness that the employee was not legally eligible to work in the United States. Even if the penalty for your firm is small and the chance of discovery remote, ethically, employers should not be in the business of knowingly breaking the law. Moreover, should no action be taken against the employee, your firm could be vulnerable to Title VII claims (national origin) should you fire an American for falsifying his/her application. I am not an immigration attorney so I don't know if those responsible in the matter could be sanctioned (fines, jail-time, etc.) A vice president for a large company once told me: "Corporations don't go to jail, people do." Those involved in the matter could certainly be placing their own employment in jeopardy.