E-Verify News

Federal Contractors: As of September 8, 2009, employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause are required to use E-Verify to determine the employment eligibility of: a. Employees performing direct, substantial work under those federal contracts; and b. New hires organization wide-regardless of whether they are working on a federal contract. A federal contractor or subcontractor who has a contract with the FAR E-Verify clause also has the option to verify the company's entire workforce. Federal contractors are now recognizing the sheer time limitations they are facing to correctly implement a process transitioning their company over to E-Verify. Based on the complexity of the process for Federal contractors we recommend that the implementation be something that is jointly reviewed by the legal and HR departments within larger companies. Smaller businesses should ensure adequate coordination as well. While the government has provided limited guidance in terms of implementation there are still many choices and decisions that need to be made by the company in coordination with experienced compliance counsel.

Since the regulation and E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding signed by Federal Contractors requires a review and in some cases an update or even a new I-9 to be completed for existing workers assigned to a contract, GT encourages these companies to use this opportunity to clean up and internally audit I-9s. As a best practice, employers should make sure all I-9s have been accurately and fully completed and should try to identify potential issues such as unauthorized employment or incomplete or missing I-9s. Such violations can be very costly if your company is selected for a government review. Taking a proactive approach before a government inspection letter arrives will ensure the minimization of liability.

More on E-Verify: In an effort to further expand the usefulness of E-Verify, USCIS will soon allow individuals to correct E-Verify data. On December 10, 2009, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced that his agency plans to allow citizens and legal permanent residents to check the E-Verify system to confirm that their citizenship and Social Security numbers are correct in the system.

Currently, only employers have access to the E-Verify system, which allows them to electronically verify that a prospective employee can be legally employed. If the system uncovers a mismatch between the information provided by the prospective employee and the government’s records, the individual can not be hired until they resolve the discrepancy. Under the current policy, the individual must resolve any discrepancies within eight federal business days.

Some prospective employees have found it difficult to resolve the “tentative non-confirmations” that are issued within the allowed time frame. The new policy would allow individuals to correct any mismatches before applying for a job, thus eliminating the risk of losing out on a job opportunity due to an inability to resolve mismatch issues in a timely manner. Critics of the E-Verify program have specific concerns surrounding this issue. While the Director’s comments were general it appears this program is the Job Lock initiative announced by the last administration. We also understand that USCIS is currently also developing a protocol for Job Lock which will allow E-Verify to detect identity theft fraud an in essence lock down a person’s identify. Details on that have not been forthcoming as of yet.

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