Guide to Global Payroll Management Example 2: During the I-9 verification process, an employer accepts any legally acceptable document from persons who appear to be U.S. citizens but requires specific documents from persons who appear or sound foreign. The law permits citizens-only hiring restrictions that are mandated by federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or executive orders. The law also permits an employer to hire a U.S. citizen over an equally qualified alien for a particular job. IRCA's national origin and citizenship discrimination provisions apply to employers with four or more employees (unlike the verification provisions of the law, which apply to all employers regardless of size). This part of the law is regulated and enforced by the U.S. Justice Department's Section on Immigrant and Employee Rights. Employers with 15 or more employees are also covered by a much broader federal antidiscrimination law-Title VII of the Civil Rights Act-which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person's national origin. 9-28