E-Verify Requirement

What is E-Verify?

The E-Verify program was created as a voluntary Internet-based pilot program to help employers verify the work authorization of new hires. It applies to U.S. citizens and noncitizens. Originally known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program, the program was renamed E-Verify in 2007. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration.

What is required of federal contractors?

As of Sept. 8, 2009, federal contractors or subcontractors are required to use E-verify to determine employment eligibility of employees performing direct work on the contract and new hires. It applies to federal contracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation E-Verify Clause. It exempts contracts of less than 120 days and valued at less than $100,000 and subcontracts valued at less than $3,000.

What states currently address the use of E-Verify?

Seventeen states currently require the use of E-Verify for public and/or private employers: fifteen through legislation and two, Florida and Idaho, through executive orders (EO). Minnesota and Rhode Island previously enacted executive orders requiring state agencies and contractors to use E-Verify, but the orders were rescinded in 2011. At least two states, including Pennsylvania and Tennessee, encourage E-Verify use by providing a safe harbor from state penalties for employers enrolled in the program. Two states, California and Illinois, currently limit the use of E-Verify by prohibiting states and localities from requiring employers to use the program. (Illinois enacted legislation in 2008 that barred all companies in the state from using E-Verify. A federal district court ruled in 2009 that the law violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and the law was rescinded.) One state, North Dakota, has directed the Legislative Management to study the feasibility and desirability of requiring private or public employers or both to use the federal E-Verify program for new hires (HCR 3045, effective April 6, 2011).

Table: States Requiring E-Verify

 taken from http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=13127