LABOR LAW NEWS
Everything You Need to Know About E-Verify
By Kelsey Basten
Published on December 21, 2017
As you may know, there has been a significant rise in activity surrounding E-Verify in 2017. However, do you understand how it works? Or which employers are required to use it? Never fear – we went ahead and came up with all the details you need to know.
What is E-Verify?
E-Verify is a system administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Verification Division and the Social Security Administration.
The system itself is Internet-based and uses information from an employee’s I-9 form and Employment Eligibility Verification, the DHS and Department of State (DOS) records to confirm the employee is authorized to work the in the U.S.
How does E-Verify work?
Employers create a case in the E-Verify system, which checks the employee’s information against available DHS records. E-Verify then provides the employer a result in 3 to 5 seconds which include:
- Employment Authorized
- The information entered by the employer matches the DHS or SSA records
- DHS or SSA Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC)
- Employers must inform the employee of the TNC and give him/her the opportunity to contest the result by correcting the DHS or SSA records (on their own).
- The information entered by the employer does not match the DHS, SSA or DOS records.
Why is E-Verify in place?
E-Verify helps employers maintain a legal workforce and reduce the use of fraudulent work documents. Also, E-Verify helps to improve the accuracy of wage and tax reporting by reducing identity mismatches.
Which employers are required to use E-Verify?
E-Verify is a voluntary program for most employers, but mandatory for some, including:
- Federal contractors
- Employers in the following states:
- Arizona and Mississippi: Required for all employers
- South Carolina: Encouraged for all employers
- Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Utah: Required for public contractors and state agencies
- Idaho, Minnesota and North Carolina: Required for state agencies
What are the E-Verify posting requirements?
Employers who participate in E-Verify must post the E-Verify and Right to Work posters, in English and Spanish, at the company’s hiring location.
The posting is required for:
- Federal contractors
- Employers in states required to use E-Verify (see Which employers are required to use E-Verify?)
- Employers who voluntarily participate in the E-Verify program
Please note: Due to federal restrictions, GovDocs can’t sell the E-Verify posting as a standalone product. It’s free with the purchase of our Right to Work poster.
E-Verify in the news
The Legal Workforce Act of 2017 Introduced to Congress
This law, introduced Sept. 8, 2017, would require every employer in the U.S. to use E-Verify. President Donald Trump has backed the bill, which was introduced into Congress by representatives Lamar Smith and Ken Calvert.
Details of the bill include:
- Preemption of local E-Verify laws
- Locking Social Security numbers to protect against identify theft
- Raising penalties for knowingly hiring undocumented workers
Mandatory E-Verify Posting Update
The federal E-Verify posting, issued by the USCIS agency, updated Aug. 17.
It was revised to reduce language and make information more clear and understandable. The poster layout was also redesigned and includes both the English and Spanish posting versions.
Learn more here.
Mandatory E-Verify Included in Trump’s 2018 Budget
Trump’s 2018 budget – announced May 2017 – proposes $15 million of the DHS budget to begin the implementation of a mandatory nationwide E-Verify program. The goal of the program would be to have E-Verify implemented in all businesses within three years.
Learn more here.
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