E-Verify: What You Need to Know Before September 8, 2009

By Karen Agama, CIS Compliance Consultant
karenagama@cis-partners.com

Certain federal contracts awarded a solicitation issued after September 8, 2009 will include a clause requiring the use of E-Verify, which relates to immigration and work authorization. So, does that mean that current or prospective federal contractors are required by the final rule to enroll in E-Verify now?

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),[1] “the final rule applies to solicitations issued and contracts awarded after the applicability date of the final rule in accordance with FAR 1.108(d). The final rule will become applicable to contractors on September 8, 2009. Under the final rule, employers are required to enroll in E-Verify if and when they are awarded a federal contract or subcontract that requires participation in E-Verify as a term of the contract. Verification of employees through E-Verify is limited to new hires only, unless you are a federal contractor who has been awarded a contract on or after September 8, 2009.”

USCIS goes on to clarify that federal contractor participants in E-Verify are required to use E-Verify for:

• All new employees, following completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Form I-9); and
• All existing employees who are classified as “employees assigned to the contract.”

Employees who you have already verified through E-Verify should not be re-verified. However, an employee’s previous employment authorization through E-Verify from another employer does not satisfy your obligation to use E-Verify once you have hired them.

As the individual “in the know” about your federal contracts, you will want to alert your HR department to this requirement, as those responsible for new hire processing would be required to complete an online tutorial to meet the new requirement.

Immigration and employment eligibility concerns have received increasing public and political emphasis in recent years, and the government has been computerizing and intercommunicating with greater efficiency, so this requirement seems a natural outgrowth of these converging factors.

It makes sense, really. The federal government, which regulates its own contracts and employment eligibility, would not appear fully competent if found contracting with vendors that employ staff not authorized to work in the U.S.

Feel free to contact us if you have questions about this or other compliance matters, at:
http://www.cis-partners.com/contactus.php

Sources:
[1] U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Frequently Asked Questions: Federal Contractors and E-Verify.” June 3, 2009. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=cb2a535e0869d110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=534bbd181e09d110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD (accessed June 20, 2009).