Worker ID card proposed for everybody

There's an old idea floating around Capitol Hill these days for a national ID card for all U.S. workers, a biometric identity card to prevent illegal workers from being hired.

It's part of a comprehensive immigration bill that is being written by members of Congress. And it's likely to create an enormous amount of controversy and probably not get very far. Still, it's an idea that is coming of age as the technology to create a biometric card gets better, more secure and less intrusive on an individual's privacy rights.

The card would include embedded information such as fingerprints, or it could scan the veins on top of the hand, reports The Wall Street Journal.

It would be required of all workers, including teenagers, but would be phased in, with current workers needing to obtain the card only when they next changed jobs.

For more on a biometric ID card:
- see this Wall Street Journal article