The Evolution of Employment Verification: From I-9 Forms to E-Verify+

For decades, employers in the United States were required to complete a paper form known as the I-9 when hiring new employees. This form was designed to verify the employee's eligibility to work in the country by requesting documentation such as a Social Security card or permanent residency card. However, undocumented workers frequently provided forged or fraudulent documents to meet this requirement.

In many cases, employers were aware that these documents were not legitimate, but they shielded themselves from liability by claiming, “I’m not an immigration officer—I can't tell the difference between real and fake documents.” This plausible deniability was often enough to protect them from legal consequences, even though they benefited from the labor of undocumented workers.

To address this widespread issue, the U.S. government introduced E-Verify, an electronic system allowing employers to verify the authenticity of employment documents. Despite the availability of this tool, it remained voluntary for most employers. The reason was clear: industries heavily reliant on undocumented labor, such as agriculture, construction, and hospitality, would face economic disruption if forced to comply with stricter verification processes. Government data indicated that making E-Verify mandatory could have devastating effects on these sectors.

Consequently, many businesses continued to avoid E-Verify and faced no penalties for accepting falsified documents. However, certain industries, particularly federal contractors, adopted E-Verify and began enforcing stricter eligibility checks, resulting in the termination of undocumented workers who could not verify their legal status.

The introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) brought further complications. Under the ACA, employers were required to submit employee data, including names and Social Security numbers, to a federal database to confirm health insurance coverage. For employees using false identities, this led to the issuance of "No-Match" letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). These letters flagged discrepancies between employee names and Social Security numbers, signaling that the information provided did not match federal records. Although the SSA treated these mismatches as clerical errors, they often revealed the use of fraudulent documentation, leaving employers unable to continue claiming ignorance. The result was a significant increase in the firing of undocumented workers.

In the next months, the government is preparing to launch a new system called E-Verify+. This system promises to further modernize and digitize the employment verification process. Under E-Verify+, employees would create their own accounts, upload their employment eligibility documents, and, in some cases, include additional verification elements such as photographs. Once verified, this information would be sent electronically to employers, effectively removing the employer’s ability to handle or accept false documents. The responsibility for verification would shift directly to the employee, creating a more transparent and accountable process.

The digitization of employment verification systems marks a major step forward in reducing corruption and increasing compliance. Historically, much of the abuse within the system came from willful ignorance—employers pretending not to know information they had a responsibility to investigate. As digital systems like E-Verify+ take hold, the ability to feign ignorance will diminish, and the integrity of the employment process will improve. While this shift could pose challenges for industries reliant on undocumented labor, it also creates an opportunity for a more equitable and lawful workforce.