What 1986 law requires employer verification of work authorization?

The 1986 law that requires employers to verify work authorization is the Immigration Reform and Control Act, commonly abbreviated IRCA. Signed by President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986, it reshaped U.S. immigration law by combining employer sanctions with legalization programs.

IRCA made it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue employing unauthorized workers and created the employment-verification process associated with Form I-9. Employers must review specified documents establishing an employee’s identity and authorization to work, while employees attest to their status.

The act also included anti-discrimination safeguards. Employers generally may not demand particular documents when acceptable alternatives are provided or use the verification process to discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin. The law therefore created both a compliance duty and limits on how that duty may be carried out.

A frequent mix-up is attributing employment verification to the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Civil Rights Act. Those laws address wages, hours, and discrimination; IRCA is the statute directly tied to employer verification and unauthorized-employment penalties.