Update: E-verify deadline moved to September 2009
Starting January 15, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E-Verify system to ensure their employees are eligible to work in the United States.
New E-Verify regulations (PDF)
On June 6, President George W. Bush signed an executive order requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all persons hired during a contract term and to confirm the employment eligibility of federal contractors’ current employees who perform contract services for the federal government within the United States. Enforcement of the executive order was delayed, however, until regulations could be issued to address concerns about how E-Verify would work.
Audio Conference: E-Verify: Potential Dangers, Safeguards, and Solutions for HR
The final rule outlining what will be needed to comply with the executive order will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 15. According to the USCIS, all federal contracts awarded and solicitations issued after January 15 will include a clause requiring federal contractors to use the E-verify system. The same clause will also be required in subcontracts of more than $3,000 for services or construction. Contracts exempt from this rule include those that are for less than $100,000 and those that are for commercially available off-the-shelf items.
Companies awarded a contract with the federal government will be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date. They also will need to begin using the system to confirm that all new hires and their employees directly working on federal contracts are authorized to work in the United States.
More than 92,000 employers currently use E-Verify, a free Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration. During fiscal year 2008, more than 6.6 million employment verification queries were run through the system, representing one out of every eight hires made in the United States.
E-Verify has problems, and civil rights groups have raised concerns that its use will lead to many U.S. citizens not being able to work because of clerical errors and the like. They also are concerned that widespread use of the system will lead to employers engaging in national origin discrimination.
Look for more information on this in future issues of the State Employment Law Letter newsletters from HR Hero.