What is E-Verify?

what is everify?

E-Verify helps you, as a business owner, stay compliant with the eligibility of your employees to work in the United States. E-Verify is a program offered by the government that, after enrolling, allows you to verify the identity and employment eligibility of your newly hired employees by matching their information found on their I-9 with the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security.

California does not require employers to use E-Verify; E-Verify is a voluntary program, however there are some clauses that may require you to enroll, such as holding federal contracts, legal rulings, and as a condition of your business license. The cost is free and we have shared some benefits and drawbacks below:

Here is a great benefit to using E-Verify:

  • E-Verify helps you from hiring and training someone that could potentially be ineligible to work. Although using E-Verify does not provide a “safe harbor” from prosecution, it creates a “rebuttable presumption” that the employer has not violated section 274A(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“Unlawful Employment of Aliens”).

There are some drawbacks to using E-Verify:

  • E-Verify can lead to liability for privacy and discrimination violations.  Federal and state laws require the safeguarding of I-9 information.  Employers must make sure that their staff does not intentionally or accidentally misuse E-Verify data.
  • Because the government can use E-Verify to mine data, it may find employers’ hiring mistakes that otherwise would not have been discovered.  For example, employers enrolled in E-Verify must complete and submit I-9 forms by the third business day after a new hire’s first day of work.  Consistently missing this deadline could trigger an I-9 inspection and fine.  Employers who are not submitting I-9s to E-Verify might never be caught in a slight delay in completing them.

HR Ledger can help.

Please call Malcolm or Scott today at 800-451-1136 with any e-Verify questions.

Written by:

Scott Evers

Scott Evers

Vice President Sales and Marketing