First Contact HR verifies employment eligibility of new employees using the Basic Pilot Program conducted by the Office of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. The employment eligibility verification system allows us to verify employees’ legal right to work in the United States. Using information on the recently hired employees’ I-9 Forms, we verify the accuracy of Social Security Numbers, Immigration “A: numbers, and I-94 arrival/departure numbers.

First Contact HR is a designated agent for this program. As such, if your employees work in and around sensitive areas such as power plants, utilities, ports, chemicals, airports or transportation, you should consider adding this program to your employment screening process. It is the only way that an employer can be absolutely sure that the applicant is eligible for employment in the United States.

The advantages for employers are as follows:

• Allows the employer to confirm employment eligibility of all recently hired employees.
• Removes the guesswork from document review during the I-9 Form process.
• Provides comfort in knowing that new employees Social Security and Immigration documents are valid.
• Discourages false claims to United States citizenship.
• Reduces discrimination on basis of citizenship.
• Improves the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, while virtually eliminating Social Security Administration (SSA) inquiries concerning unmatched Social Security Numbers with SSA’s records.
• Cost-effectively reduce your exposure to government audits and the associated financial penalties.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) legally mandates that U.S. employers must verify the employment eligibility status of recently-hired employees and makes it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or intentional continue to employ unauthorized workers. Non-compliance, whether intentional or caused simply by oversight, has severe legal and financial consequences imposed by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the potential of tarnishing the brand and image due to negative publicity.