E-Verify for Federal Contractors/Sub-Contractors
Effective January 15, 2009, Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify system to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. A final regulatory rule to be published tomorrow will implement Executive Order 12989, as amended by President George W. Bush on June 6, 2008, directing federal agencies to require that federal contractors agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. Subcontracts over $3,000 for services or construction will also be covered. Exempted contracts include those under $100,000 and those that are for commercially available off-the-shelf items. Companies awarded a contract with the federal government will be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date. They will also need to begin using the E-Verify system to confirm that all of their new hires and their employees directly working on federal contracts are authorized to legally work in the United States.
Currently, 92,000+ employers use E-Verify, to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. The USCIS reports that during FY 2008, 6.6 million employment verification queries were made under the system; this is 1 out of every 8 hires made in the United States. Approximately 96.1 percent of all cases queried through E-Verify are instantly foundThe new rule is ava. ilable forviewing on the Federal Register Web site at: http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-26904_PI.pdf
