Collins Foods International, Inc. v. INS
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
948 F.2d 549 (1991)
A Sizzler restaurant manager hired Rodriguez after reviewing a driver's license and Social Security card that Rodriguez provided as proof of work authorization, copying the information without attempting to verify the documents' authenticity in any way; the Social Security card turned out to be forged, and Rodriguez was not actually authorized to work in the U.S. The INS (defendant) charged Collins Foods (plaintiff), which operates Sizzler, with knowingly hiring an unauthorized alien, and an administrative law judge found Collins Foods had constructive knowledge of Rodriguez's status.
Whether an employer who fails to properly verify an employee's documentation is considered to have knowledge of the alien's lack of work authorization.