Federal officials retrieve I-9 forms found in used office furniture

<p>Hundreds of employment documents with sensitive information were found inside used office furniture that was recently purchased by a Branchburg company.</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 10, 2017, 2:16 AM

Updated 2,823 days ago

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Federal officials retrieve I-9 forms found in used office furniture
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security visited a Branchburg company Thursday to retrieve hundreds of employment documents with sensitive information that were found inside some used office furniture.
The owners of Sublimation 101 printing company in Branchburg told News 12 New Jersey Wednesday that they purchased some used office furniture for their business. They said that when they opened one of the cabinets, they found hundreds of Employment Eligibility Verification forms, or I-9s, with personal information.
“The cabinets were delivered and next thing you know, when they were opened…we found all this paperwork,” said Sublimation 101 owner Michael Kaminsky.
The forms included names, addresses and phone numbers, as well as copies of Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, passports and naturalization documents.
Every employee in the country must fill out one of these federal forms to prove they are eligible for employment and to prove their identity.
Most of the forms belonged to employees of the Central Jersey chapter of the Visiting Nurse Association of New Jersey. A former VNA employee who did not wish to be identified says that she was angry with the company when she found out some of her paperwork was found in the cabinet.
“I would think a company of this size would make sure to have something in place to make sure all the documents are properly disposed of,” she said.
An attorney for the VNA tells News 12 that the company had not heard about this situation until it was contacted by the station. The attorney said that the company was looking into the matter.
The federal government says that these types of forms should be closely guarded to make sure that personal information does not get into the wrong hands.