HOW DOES E-VERIFY AFFECT ME AS AN EMPLOYEE?

Federal law requires that all employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of all new employees (including U.S. citizens) within three days of hire.

Employees are required to complete the Form I-9, and employees must provide employers with documentation establishing both identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) have established an electronic system called E-Verify to assist employers further in verifying the employment eligibility of all newly-hired employees. In short, through E-Verify, employers send information about you from your Form I-9 to SSA and DHS to ensure that you are authorized to work in the United States and that your name, Social Security Number, date of birth, citizenship status, and any other non-citizen information you choose to provide your employer on the Form I-9 match government records. If your employer uses E-Verify, you as an employee have certain rights and responsibilities.

Know Your Rights - Quick List

• Employers must post a notice informing employees of their use of E-Verify
• E-Verify must be used for new hires only. It cannot be used to verify the employment eligibility of current employees.*
• E-Verify must be used for all new hires regardless of national origin or citizenship status. It may not be used selectively.
• E-Verify must be used only after hire and after completion of the Form I-9. Employers may not pre-screen applicants through E-Verify.
• If an employee receives an information mismatch from their Form I-9 and SSA and DHS databases, the employer must promptly provide the employee with information about how to challenge the information mismatch, including a written notice generated by E-Verify.
• If an employee decides to challenge the information mismatch, the employer must provide the person with a referral letter issued by E-Verify that contains specific instructions and contact information.
• Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because he/she contests the information mismatch. This includes firing, suspending, withholding pay or training, or otherwise infringing upon his/her employment.
• The employee must be given eight federal government work days to contact the appropriate federal agency to contest the information mismatch.
• If an employee receives a SSA tentative non-confirmation (TNC), they have the option of visiting an SSA field office to update their record or if the employee is a naturalized citizen, the employee may choose to call USCIS directly to resolve the TNC. The phone number can be found on the SSA referral letter.

*The new rule implements 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.   The amended Executive Order reinforces the policy, first announced in 1996, that the federal government does business with companies that have a legal workforce. This new rule requires federal contractors to agree, through language inserted into their federal contracts, to use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all persons hired during a contract term, and to confirm the employment eligibility of federal contractors' current employees who perform contract services for the federal government within the United States.