California Employers are embracing the E-Verify or I-9  as a background check in order to determine which job applicants are eligible to work in the United States.  With all the rancor about undocumented workers, or illegal immigrants, call it what you want, many savvy employers are looking to avoid government crackdowns  by employing E-Verifying.  In some states those employers who wittingly hire undocumented workers can have their businesses fined, or in extreme cases can lose their business licenses.

According to an article in the  MercuryNews.com…”As a growing number of states require public and private employers to use E-Verify, California has gone out of its way to make it voluntary, passing a law this month that bans local governments from forcing firms to use electronic verification.

Still, the number of California job sites using E-Verify to scrutinize their workers — usually on the first few days on the job — increased by 37 percent to more than 90,000 from a year ago, according to government records. The state has more job sites using the electronic verification system than any other.”

Employers should be aware that employers must first offer the candidate the job before conducting the E-Verify or I-9.  However, employers can conduct the Social Security Trace as a preemployment screening background check in order to determine if the job applicant would be eligible to work in this country.

Just to remind anyone ordering background checks from Georgia for employment screening purposes that Georgia has new statutes going into effect, beginning the first of 2021.   Similar in some ways to Arizona’s Legal Arizona Workers Act, of 2007.  That statute mandates that businesses conduct E-Verify or I-9 on all new employees in order to determine eligibility to work in the United States.   Arizona businesses that fail to comply face fines and closures, including possible loss of business license.

Georgia enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011. Signed into law on 05/13/2011 the Act requires private employers, before issuance or renewal of a business license or an occupational tax certificate, to register and use the federal government s E-Verify program to verify the employment eligibility of employees.

The bill takes effect in three stages:

-              Effective 01/01/12 for employers with 500 or more employees

-              Effective 07/01/12 for employers with 100 or more employees but fewer than 500

-              Effective 07/01/13 for employers with more than 10 employees but fewer than 100

New Jersey may soon be implemented a bill similar to the Arizona legislation, the Legal Arizona’s Workers Act,  first signed by former Governor, Jane Napolitano, in 2008.

Two New Jersey State Senators have introduced a similar bill barring employment of unauthorized workers and requiring all employers in the state to use the Federal government’s E-Verify employment eligibility verification system.  Republican Senators Robert Singer and Steven Oroho have introduced legislation that would mandate the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to develop and implement a  compliance audit system so that employers would be checked at random to determine if they were complying with  E-Verify program.

For  the rest of the article please go to the following link on RecruitingBlogs.com

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S2000/1842_I1.HTM

Electronic I-9 and E-Verify solutions are available through Corra Group.

The State of Alabama has passed what some have considered one of the toughest immigration laws in the country.   The law was passed initially by a large voting margin and comes in the wake of the recent United States Supreme Court ruling on the Arizona’s Legal Worker’s Act of 2007 that sanctions businesses for hiring undocumented workers.  Businesses in Arizona face fines and even loss of business license for repeated offenses.

As with the Arizona law, the new Alabama statute mandates that businesses use the E-Verify or I-9 system to confirm where job applicants are eligible for legal employment in the United States.  It would also be a crime to knowingly transport or harbor someone who is in the country illegally.   As with Arizona SB 1070 law enforcement personnel will have the right to ask for documentation if they suspect someone is not in the country legally.

One problem with the E-Verify system is that the employer first has to formally offer the applicant the job before conducting the I-9.   This can place the employer in an awkward position.  If the candidate proves ineligible, the employer may now sit and read to the ineligible employee his rights.   If the ineligible employee cannot understand English,  then the employer should read the applicant’s rights in, presumably, Spanish or  the applicant’s native language.

While we are designated agents for the E-Verify system, we  suggest to our  clients that they first conduct the Social Security Trace on the applicant.  The Social Security Trace can be utilized as a pre-employment background check.  for the most part the Social Security Check will determine if that is a valid social security number and if it belongs to the employment candidate.   If the trace proves valid, then the employer can move forward by offering the job and conducting the E-Verify or I-9.   Overall, the Social Security Trace, which returns in seconds, may prove far less time consuming than running up front the E-Verify, discovering the applicant is ineligible to work in the United States, and then sitting down and reading him his rights to contest the I-9 results.

As with the Arizona statute, those employers  in Alabama who fail to comply with the new immigration laws risk fines and possible business closure.

The E-Verify or I-9 is a vital part of background checks, especially for any contractors with the federal and state governments as well as certain related agencies.  The E-Verify is part of the Department of Homeland Security and upon submission, the I-9 will return confirmation that an employee is eligible to work in the United States.   Of course, the law states that the employer must first offer employment to the job applicant, before being able to conduct the E-Verify-I-9 background check.

To be clear, no employer may conduct the I-9 unless his employment candidate is actually offered employment.   To conduct a pre-employment background check to determine if your job applicant will be eligible to work legally in the United States, I suggest the employer first run a Social Security Trace.

Anyway, as a reminder to the changes in the E-Verify or I-9 program, here is a helpful list of modifications for your review.  This list is provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

SUBJECT: Notification of Significant E-Verify Program Enhancements

The Verification Division, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of

Homeland Security, is responsible for the operation of the E-Verify program. Accordingly, the

Verification Division periodically implements enhancements to improve E-Verify. On June 14,

2010, E-Verify implemented the following enhancements:

• A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Web Services E-Verify Employer

Agents (formerly known as Designated Agents) – The MOU provides new guidance on the

specific responsibilities of Web Service E-Verify Employer Agents. As a result, all E-Verify

Employer Agents are required to complete the new MOU. You should return the signed copy

of the MOU signature page by August 06, 2010. Failure to return the requested information

by that time could result in loss of access to E-Verify.

To submit the signature page, you can:

1) Fax it to (202) 443-0215. You should include your Company ID number on the upper

left hand corner of the signature page. Additionally, you should include a cover sheet

with your company’s name, address and contact information, or

2) Scan and email it to DAsupport@dhs.gov. You should include your Company ID

number, company name, address and contact information in the email. The subject

heading for the email should be MOU recertifieddon for E-Verify Weh Services.

• Improvements to the 3-day Rule – If you are unable to create a case within 3-days of hire,

E-Verify will prompt the user to enter the reason for the delay. As a result, employers will

no longer be required to note the reason for delay on the employee’s Form 1-9.

• New Audit Trail for Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) Notices and Referral Letters -

E-Verify will record when the user prints the TNC Notice or Referral Letters.

www.uscis.gov

Notification of Significant E-Verify Program Enhancements Page 2

• Updates to terminology in the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS TNC and

Referral Letters

• New Case Closure Process – When closing a case, users will be prompted by a wizard to

answer a question that will determine which closure codes can be selected by the user.

• New Closure Codes — The closure code language has been simplified to improve user

understanding and case closure accuracy.

• Improvements to the reasons for a Social Security Administration (SSA) TNC – The

language describing the reasons for the SSA TNC has been updated so that they are easily

understood.

All new enhancements are documented in the attached Web Services Interface Control Document

(ICD) V21. Please ensure that you have updated your system interface to these new

specifications no later than December 17, 2010. Failure to update by this date could result in loss of access to E-Verify,

As most employers know, if you are a federal contractor it is now the law to conduct E-Verify or I9 background checks to be sure your employees are legitimately eligible to work in the United States.  Any employer who does not comply with the new law can lose its business contracts with the federal government.

Additionally, Arizona is the first state in the union to mandate all of  its employers conduct E-Verify or I9.   If in Arizona you fail to comply, you can face fines and business suspension or closure for repeated offenses.

We are pleased to announce that two important changes to E-Verify are coming in December 2009.  You are receiving this email so you can plan accordingly.

What are the changes?

The first change is an additional verification page, which will both streamline the verification process and help you avoid data entry mistakes.  The second change is called the Photo Matching tool, also known as the Photo Screening Tool.  It is already an automatic part of the verification process for over 160,000 E-Verify participating companies.

What is the Photo Matching Tool?

The Photo Matching tool enables companies to better secure an authorized workforce by ensuring that select documents provided by new hires are valid.  It automatically displays official DHS-issued photo identification when a Form I-551 or I-766 is used by the employee for their Form I-9 identification.  The E-Verify User must match the photo on the employee’s document (or a copy) with the official photo provided by E-Verify.  This process requires you to have to document or a copy of the document on hand to make the photo comparison.

What else is new?

Along with the Photo Matching Tool are new DHS letters – for DHS Referral and for DHS Tentative Nonconfirmation.  There will also be an updated User Manual.

What happens now?

As with past system enhancements, you will be sent the new Interface Control Document (ICD) on or about the release date of the enhancement.  You will have 6 months from receipt of the ICD to complete the changes to your system.

We are receiving so much contradictory information about the economy and its recovery it is tough to know who and what to believe.  The other day,  Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, announced the recession may be over.   Other pundits claim we have almost turned the economy around, but not quite.  Still others predict a double dip recession, that is where it recovers and then lapses once again.

According to an article in Yahoo, which quotes a study conducted by Manpower, 70% of the employers are planning no changes in their hiring practices for the fourth quarter.   That is until the end of the year in layman’s talk.   The end of the year is a long time away, and with the holiday season coming up, that isn’t good news for a many laid off workers.   Jobs are scarce, as the article attests.  One woman applied for 80 different positions and received one call back from an employer who wanted to talk to her when the economy turned around.

Recruiters expect to pick up the pace in 2010.   They believe it will be slow going at first and then increasing over the year.   Others we talk to claim they are already busy.   As a background checking service we see definite movement in healthcare and trucking and transportation.   Perhaps it is the depletion of inventory that is causing certain manufacturers to ramp up again and need the truckers to ship their goods around the country.   Other manufacturers are taking advantage of the weak dollar and shipping overseas.  This too requires their contracting with trucking firms to transport their goods to the ports.

We are seeing hiring in certain industrial sectors that have received little attention  in the media.  Some technology firms are hiring, and defense related firms have also been hiring.   But with 7 million lost jobs, our observations may be lest significant than the overall picture.  Factor int hat a lot of employers a rehiring people as consultants or independent contractors, and the figures may be skewed.

As I noted, many predictions with one contradicting the next.   We shall see what the new year will bring.

American Apparel is being forced to lay off some 1,500 workers.   Ture, the apparel industry is experience an economic downturn, but that is, ostensibly, not the reason for the massive layoffs that amounts to more than ten percent of its workers.  According to the Los Angeles Times, federal inspectors two months earlier had discovered 1,600 workers with discrepancies with their identification.

Layoffs are always unfortunate.    Perhaps this round of involuntary layoffs came at a better time, what with the economy creating a drop off in production at American Apparel and other clothing manufacturers.  Still, this must be a painful situation for the company that has a family-like environment.   And it could be more costly if the layoffs were forced in the middle of a business season.

As an employer, it is increasingly necessary to protect yourself by conducting due diligence on job applicants.   As federal and local govenrments clamp down on undocumented workers, it is incumbent upon the employer to run the Social Security Trace as part of its background checks.   For those companies doing business as federal contractors or even with city governments, it is mandated that you conduct the I-9 documentation through E-Verify.   There are designated agents that can facilitate the I-9 or E-Verify search, electronically.   Conducting I-9′s through an E-Verify designated agent can eliminate nuisance paperwork and free up your HR staff for other projects.

Check them out before you hire.

For the few who don’t know it yet, within a few days all federal contractors will be required to conduct the E-Verify or I-9 Search on all of its future employees.   Of course the employer must first offer the job to the candidate before running the I-9 through E-Verify.   This background check will determine the employs legal status and his right to work in the United States.

The E-Verify is also mandated in Arizona and may soon be mandated in other states and local municipalities.   With the economy as poor as it is there is a renewed determination to delegate employment to documented workers.   E-Verify through the I-9 is not only compulsory for federal contractors, but this is an accurate means of determining a worker’s legal status.

Some companies have may have already signed up for the E-Verify program.   Employers who have signedup but want to see the E-Verify I-9 report integrated with their other background checks may acquire the I-9′s through a designated agent.     Having the I-9′s integrated is convenient and ultimately often more cost effective than doing them by hand.   The entire E-Verify is conducted electronically, no muss, no fuss.

If you are considering moving over your E-Verify account to a designated agent, here is the instructions from the department of Homeland Security–

To register a client that currently has an active E-Verify registration, please have them terminate their existing account before uploading their client MOU. If the client MOU is uploaded prior to the termination of the existing account, the client MOU will go in to a pending status because it is a duplicate registration. Once the current account is terminated all use of the account will be restricted so please advise your client to print all needed materials prior to terminating their existing account. The client may call the number listed below for assistance with termination request.

A reminder: As of September 8th, all federal contractors with contracts in excess of $100,000 will be required to use E-Verify.   This is the government system where employment candidates can be vetted, regarding their legitimacy and ability to work in the United States.   Those companies who do not use E-Verify  or, as it is also known, the I-9 Form, will lose their contracts with the federal government, until they do.

E-Verify is free, if you should choose to do it yourself.  But E-Verify can also be accessed electronically through a designated agent of the E-Verify system.   There is usually a nominal cost to retain this service through a background checking service, but there are certain advantages.   Both the E-Verify report and the background searches ordered as part of your pre-employment screening can be integrated into one overall report.

There is some lead time required, as designated agents must create and deliver to the client a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  It’s simple enough, but it must be signed so the E-Verify designated agent can be submitted to the USCIS.   The rest from there is pretty easy.   Clients are not required to submit any hard copy paperwork as the E-Verify orders are submitted online and electronically.

Either way, come September 8th, if you are a government contractor and you are not using E-Verify, you can lose that contract.   So…check them out before you hire.