Do you know if your employees are eligible to legally work in the U.S.?
If not, you can find out through using E-Verify.
E-Verify is a free web-based service run by the Dept. of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It compares information from an employee’s I-9 Form, Employment Eligibility Verification, with Social Security records to confirm an employee’s employment eligibility.
The system provides a secure, easy-to-use system to verify a new employee’s citizenship or immigration status.
To use E-Verify, an employer must enroll. Employers must complete a basic registration application, take a tutorial and pass a test before being allowed to use the system. The DHS offers a free, live 90-minute webinar that demonstrates the system and allows for interactive questions.
Using E-Verify can provide peace of mind and protect employers. As you may know, fines for failing to properly complete, retain or make Forms I-9 available may include civil penalties ranging from $110 to $1,100 for each violation and criminal penalties if an employer knowingly hires unauthorized aliens.
Beware! For most employers, using E-Verify is voluntary and limited to hiring new employees, although the government requires many federal contractors to use it. E-Verify users cannot arbitrarily use the system indiscriminately to check some but not all employees, to prescreen job applicants or to fire employees in the process of resolving a mismatch of information.
To learn more about E-Verify or to register, visit DHS’s E-Verify web site at www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
Need an I-9 form? Perhaps the Spanish version? Available for free. No personal information required.
