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Background Checks

E-Verify–Hits and Misses on Background Checks

A recent study by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that E-Verify only identifies about 54 percent of the undocumented workers applying for jobs.  E-Verify, o r I-9 as it is also called, was developed with the intention of identifying illegal immigrants applying for employment in the United States.

The oversight or more to the point, the fallibility of the system is rooted in the fact that it only checks DHS and Social Security Databases.  It is unable to identify workers who use stolen or borrowed identities.  On the other hand, E-Verify can identify legal workers about 94 percent of the time.   So, in short, you can figure out who is legitimately okay to hire, but you might miss and hire an undocumented worker with a false id.

For this reason we suggest our clients conduct the Social Security Trace as one of its pre-employment background checks.  For one thing you can run it for pre-employment purposes, where with the E-Verify, by law, you have to first offer the candidate the job before running his I-9.   The other advantage to including the Social Security Trace as part of the background check is that it will provide you with the address history of your candidate and other names associated with the social security number.   That way it is much easier to trace back and determine who is the actual owner of the social security number and who is using it under false pretenses.

The other advantage of the Social Security Trace is that it returns quickly.   In seconds, it will help you determine whether your candidate is eligible to work in the United States or not.

Check them out before you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.