TDD# 1-800-846-5277

STATE OF LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

June 1, 2006

General Circular No. 001658

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Verification of Employment Eligibility

Issue Date: June 1, 2006

I-9 FORM

As you know, when a new employee is hired, the employer must complete an Immigration and Naturalization form called the I-9. The form has been in use for several years.

Using this form, the employer must verify the new employee’s identity as well as the employee’s employment eligibility status. A list of the appropriate documents that are acceptable as verification for each is included with the I-9 instructions. If you have not looked at those lists recently, we urge you to do so since the list of acceptable documents changes from time to time.

A downloadable version of the I-9 form as well as the instructions for use and other information can be obtained at the following website:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-9.htm

VERIFICATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

We have become aware that the Social Security Administration is allowing employers to register to use their system to verify the social security number (SSN) given to you by a new employee. This is a useful tool since social security cards, driver’s licenses and other documents can be easily forged. The site is:

http://www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm

The general site for the Social Security Administration is:

http://www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm

There are a couple of important points to note about the SSN verification process:

• The SSN verification process is intended to assist in verification; it does not replace the I-9 verification process.

• The SSN verification process must not be used PRIOR to hiring someone, and

• Adverse action based solely on the results of the online verification service may violate state or federal law. Other resources would need to be used to ascertain if the employee in question was really using a false SSN or simply made an error. If you get a result indicating a mismatch, try to determine if the mismatch was caused by an error. If you cannot make this determination, contact your legal staff before proceeding with any other action.

We hope this information is of assistance to you. Please contact your Assistance Coordinator if there are any questions.

Sincerely,

s/Anne Smith Soileau

Director