My Employer is Asking Me to Show My Green Card

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Virginia


I work a regular minimum wage job at a major retailer

I'm not a U.S citizen, but I am allowed to work...

I have a social security number and more importantly, I have a employment authorization card...

I have to get it renewed every year and my current one is set to expire in May '12

but yesterday, something weird happened...

one of the ladies (not the manager) who is in charge of hiring, orientation, paychecks etc...

told me that she got a "red flag" that came up in the system next to my name...

and she told me to bring in proof of permanent residence...

this is the first time it ever happened at any job...

in the past, the only notifications I used to get was when my work permit was set to expire,

and then the people in the office would give me a heads up, reminding me to get it renewed....

what do you all think is going on?

Is there a possibility I can sue them?

Sue them for what? It's not unreasonable for your employer to want to see proof of your eligiblity to work. In fact, they are required by law to do so. If a red flag came up (and that's not the employer's fault if it did), they are OBLIGATED to sort it out.

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what do you all think is going on?

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I think when they were asked by the government to verify your eligibility to work, they could not. So now it's incumbent upon you to verify this, or risk getting fired.

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Is there a possibility I can sue them?

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For what, exactly? Employers who hire undocumented workers are subject to HUGE fines if they are caught. They are required by law to verify that you are legally authorized to work. You, if you want to keep your job, are required to verify that you are legally authorized to work. You don't have a cause of action.

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Quoting cbg

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Sue them for what? It's not unreasonable for your employer to want to see proof of your eligiblity to work. In fact, they are required by law to do so. If a red flag came up (and that's not the employer's fault if it did), they are OBLIGATED to sort it out.

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I did...that's how I got the job in the first place....

like I said, I have a work permit that I showed when I got hired, but now, out of the blue, they're asking me for a Green Card....

I even spoke to one of the managers and he was shocked just as I was....he's been working there for more then 10 years

did you fill out an I-9 when you were first hired?

Okay, you showed it to them when you were first hired.

Now they are asking to see it again because the agencies to which they are responsible has raised the question.

They are NOT doing anything illegal. If the SSA or any other Federal agency has asked them to verify your eligibility to work, for whatever reason, then they are REQUIRED BY LAW to do so.

You do not have any grounds to sue. Nor will you have any grounds to sue if you refuse to show them your green card and they fire you.

You can't sue an entity for trying to meet its legal obligations.

Guess what? I'm a US Citizen, born and raised to US Citizen parents. And when an employer wants to verify my legal right to work in the USA, I still have to provide proof, via my social security card, a state drivers license, and US Passport. It's really simple....

Is there a possibility I can sue them?

So you were asked to provide documentation to substantiate your continuing eligibility to work in the U.S. and your first thought is to sue you employer???!!! Yowsa.

I've worked for the same company for over 25 years and a couple of years ago they realized they didn't have the official record that I showed I was eligible to work. (I'd shown my docs before but the part time HR person didn't record it right).