E-Verify Requirement Causing Angst
As published in the New York Post:
WASHINGTON — New York business leaders worry that a new federal requirement forcing employers to verify the work status of their employees could raise costs and waste time, while some small businesses say they know almost nothing about how the system works.
“However you cut it, this will add costs to government contracts at times when the federal budget is already over the top,” said Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City.
The program, called E-Verify, took effect last week, and requires any employer on a federal government contract to collect documents from their employees proving their eligibility to work, and run it through a database to match it with Social Security and other government records.
The plan is to weed illegal immigrants and those without proper work papers out of the system — but it could also be a headache for business.
One business concern is that the rule can turn employers into an arm of immigration agents.
A wide range of New York employers do business with the federal government — from construction firms to management consulting and high tech companies and defense contractors.
The comment that the E-Verify rule can turn employers into an arm of immigration agents is to me the most interesting part of this short article. Since 1986 the law has placed the burden of verifying the workforce clearly on the shoulders of employers. With the requirement of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, instituted in November 1986, employers have had the responsibility of verifying both the identity and work eligibility of every person they hire for more than 20 years! E-Verify is just one more tool to help employers meet the obligation of hiring only authorized workers.
Tags: E-Verify, Employment Verification, FAR, Federal Contractors, Form I-9, I-9 Form, work authorization
Employee Verification | admin | 
September 14, 2009 6:27 am
Subscribe