USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) released a new 18 page FAQ report for Federal contractors who are required to use E-Verify under Executive Order 12989.
Most Federal contracts awarded or renewed after September 8, 2009 contain what is known as the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) E-Verify clause. Some Federal contracts are exempt from the requirement. A contract is considered exempt if one or more of the following apply:
- The contract is for fewer than 120 days
- It is valued at less than $100,000
- All work on the contract is performed outside the U.S.
- The contract includes only commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items and services (most food and agricultural products fall into the COTS category)
The E-Verify Federal contractor rule requires most Federal contractors to use E-Verify for all new employees, even if the employees are not assigned to the Federal contract. There are a few exceptions to the rule. The Supplemental Guide for Federal Contractors has specific information concerning these rules.
Employers with Federal contracts or those who are interested in bidding on Federal contracts must be fully informed concerning E-Verify. Failure to follow the rules may lead to debarment from being awarded government contracts or being allowed to bid on Federal contracts. Misuse of the E-Verify system may also subject an employer to discrimination charges.
The E-Verify specialists at I-9 Okay are experts in helping employers navigate the complex rules concerning E-Verify and Federal contracts. Contact us today.
The days are longer, the nights are warmer, and the tulips and daffodils are poking up their little heads. Spring has sprung and for many of us that means it’s time for some good old fashioned spring cleaning. Many of us will spend time sweeping away dust and cleaning out the junk drawer. If you are a business owner or human resource professional, I’d like to encourage you to take a good hard look at your employee hiring process. It may be time for a little sprucing up when it comes to I-9 compliance.
Which Version of the Form I-9 is Acceptable?
All employers are required by law to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their employees using the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Most of you already know this. However, many times when we go into a business to conduct a Form I-9 review, we find the employer using expired I-9 forms for their new hires. An employer must always use the most current version of the Form I-9. The most current version of the Form I-9 was revised 8/7/09 and has an expiration date of 8/31/12. No other I-9 form is considered valid for new hires to complete. During your spring cleaning, go through your blank forms and discard any expired I-9 forms.
What’s Your Company Form I-9 Retention Policy?
It may be time to go through your terminated employees’ I-9 forms and destroy those that have exceeded the retention requirements. Remember, you are required to keep an I-9 form for the entire term of employment, plus 1 year after the date of termination or 3 years after the date of hire, whichever is a longer period of time. If you do not have a company policy or procedure in place for dealing with archived I-9 forms, spring is the perfect time to develop one.
Many States have passed their own Form I-9 and/or E-Verify regulations. Check with your state’s Department of Labor to be sure you are complying with all state imposed laws.
Conducting an independent 3rd party review is an excellent way to make a clean sweep of issues, errors, and omissions that will be costly if your company is selected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a worksite inspection. Often times, an independent auditor will identify an issue that is a simple fix and will ultimately save an employer thousands of dollars and many headaches.
Summer will be here before you know it and won’t it be nice to relax on the beach somewhere without worrying about your company’s I-9 forms!
The Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices (OSC) is actively monitoring potential employer misuse of the E-Verify system. “Employers can expect more investigations into E-Verify misuse from the OSC,” says Ryan Adair, MSEC, Manager of Immigration Services. “These investigations are time consuming and expensive to defend.”
E-Verify is the online system that allows employers to verify work eligibility of new employees using information gathered on the Form I-9. The focus of the OSC is to hold employers responsible if they misuse E-Verify. Employers who misuse E-Verify will face fines, may lose their federal contracts, and may be debarred from the bid process on future federal contracts.
To avoid trouble with OSC employers should use E-Verify only according to the guidelines provided by the program and avoid using E-verify to:
- prescreen job applicants.
- verify work eligibility of current employees (unless a federal contract expressly requires E-Verify usage on existing employees).
- selectively check employee work eligibility based on citizenship status or suspicion that an employee may not be authorized to work in the U.S.
E-Verify states employers may not:
- terminate or take other adverse action based on an E-Verify tentative non-confirmation.
- ask an employee to obtain a printout or other written verification from the Social Security Administration confirming that the employee visited the office.
- ask an employee to provide additional documentation after receiving a tentative non-confirmation for the employee.
Employers should ensure they know the E-Verify rules and follow them. What you don’t know may cost you!
Nearly every day we run across well-meaning hiring managers who are unwittingly breaking the rules of I-9 compliance and E-Verify. Sadly for these dedicated professionals, “I didn’t know that” will not be an effective defense when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents audit their hiring process.
The most common mistake hiring managers make is using the Form I-9 as a pre-hire screening tool. This may be considered a discriminatory hiring practice.
The Office of the Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices offers this advice:
In order to avoid any appearance of discrimination, verify work eligibility after you have decided to hire an individual and allow your employee three days to provide the documents.
• Let your employee choose which documents to present, as long as they appear to be reasonably genuine.
• Understand that there are many different documents, with different appearances, that your employee may present. You can find a list of these documents on the back of the Form I-9.
E-Verify also has very specific rules of use and an employer is bound by the Memorandum of Understanding they were required to sign when they registered as an E-Verify user. Using E-Verify as a pre-screening tool is strictly forbidden.
How Do You Avoid Discriminatory Hiring Practices?
Treat all people the same when you are announcing the job, taking applications, interviewing, offering the job, filling out the Form I-9, hiring, and firing.
- Avoid “citizens only” hiring policies or requirements that applicants have a particular immigration status, unless required by law.
- Give out the same job information over the telephone and use the same application forms for all applicants.
- Base your decisions about firing on job performance and/or behavior, not on appearance, language, name, or citizenship status of your employees.
Don’t depend on “I didn’t know that” as your defense. Many hiring managers don’t know what they don’t know about I-9 compliance, E-Verify, and avoiding discriminatory practices during the hiring process. Always consult an expert for advice and develop standard hiring practices. Adhere to the same work eligibility policy for every person hired.
Tags: E-Verify, employment eligibility verification, Employment Verification, Form I-9, I-9 Compliance, ICE Inspections, work eligibility
E-Verify, Employee Verification, Form I-9, I-9 Compliance | admin | 
April 1, 2010 1:20 pm | 
Comments (0)
Subscribe