You Have The Right To Work. Don't Let Anyone Take It Away. Real Life Stories That Can Help You. --- Real Life Stories That Can Help You. This brochure will tell the stories of four people. These individuals applied for jobs but were turned away. Each had the right to work in the United States but unfortunately, employers, confused about the law, demanded to see papers they had no right to ask for. These people knew they had a right to work in the United States and they talked to the people who could help them. You can too. --- "I was trained as an airline pilot in Korea. I was working as a flight attendant for a U.S. airline and applied for a job opening for pilots. But my employer said that all pilots have to be U.S. citizens. I thought I would never be able to move up the employment ladder. Then a friend of mine told me that what had happened to me is illegal. She told me to call the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. She told me they have attorneys who will assist you free of charge. I called and they investigated, and now I'm flying!" --- "The dress factory where I cut patterns required proof of work authorization only from Asian employees. The manager said he wanted to make sure we were legal. Then he fired my friend from Vietnam because she could not show an extension of her temporary resident card, even though she is a legal permanent resident. She has a family to support, and she was so upset she told our neighbor what happened. His son is an immigration lawyer, and he told her what happened to her is against the law. He told her about an office in Washington at the Department of Justice. He told her they had free services, and she called. They investigated her case, and she got her job back. She also got paid for the days she had missed work. Now she tells everyone the number to call...." --- "I was granted asylum when I left China and wanted to apply my training in computer programming in the United States. I interviewed for a job with a defense contractor in California. The job didn't require a security clearance. But the personnel director said he couldn't take a chance on me since I wasn't a U.S. citizen. I knew this was illegal because I went to a workshop at my church on fair employment practices. In the workshop, they talked about unfair hiring practices, and I knew this policy was wrong. I looked up the OSC telephone. I called and they contacted the employer, and I am now working." --- "I applied for a job in a watch factory and showed my driver's license as proof of identity and my social security card as proof of work authorization. The owner insisted on seeing a green card' and turned me away. I knew I was allowed to choose which documents to present. So I called the Hotline for help. I spoke with an attorney who intervened on my behalf, and I was offered a job." --- List of Legal Work Papers This list provides the most common legal work papers as required by the I-9 form. If an employer refuses to accept the documents you choose to show to prove your work authorization, you should show him/her this list. You have two choices about which documents you can show to fill out the I-9: * You can choose to show just one document from List A. * You can choose to show two documents, one from List B and one from List C. Group A documents prove both your identity and your work authorization * U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired) * Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (N-560 or N-561) * Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570) * Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization * Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (I-151 or I-551) * Unexpired Temporary Resident Card (I-688) * Unexpired Employment Authorization Card (I-688A) * Unexpired Reentry Permit (I-327) * Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (I-571) * Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS which contains a photograph (I-688B) Group B documents only prove your identity * Driver's license or ID card issued by a state * Identification card issued by federal, state or local government agency * School ID card with a photograph * Voter's registration card * U.S. military card or draft record * Military dependent's ID card * U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card * Native American tribal document * Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority For persons under age 18 who are unable to present a document listed from Group B * School record or report card * Clinic, doctor, or hospital record * Day-care or nursery school record Group C documents only prove your work authorization * U.S. social security card issued by the Social Security Administration * Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (FS-545 or Form DS-1350) * Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, or municipal authority or U.S. territory * Native American tribal document * U.S. Citizen ID Card (I-197) * ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States (I-179) * Unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS (other than those listed under List A) --- If You Have Also Been Discriminated Against Because Of Your National Origin Or Your Immigration Status, Call This Hotline Number For Help 1-800-255-7688 TDD for hearing impaired: 1-800-237-2515 In the Washington, DC area, call (202) 616-5594 (Washington, DC, TDD number: (202) 616-5525) Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) * If you have been denied work or fired because of your national origin or citizenship status, you may have a valid charge of discrimination you may file with OSC. OSC can help you in getting the job you lost because of the discrimination. You can also receive pay for the days you missed work. * If an employer has denied you work or fired you because she or he will not accept your work authorization as proof of your legal right to work in the U.S., or they only hire U.S. citizens or permanent residents, she or he is breaking the law. You need to show the employer the List of Legal Work Papers on the left. If the employer still insists on seeing a particular document, or refuses to hire you, call OSC right away.