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E-VERIFY I-9

What is E-Verify I-9?

E-Verify (formerly known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees and the validity of their social security numbers.

E-Verify reduces unauthorized employment, minimizes verification-related discrimination, is quick and non-burdensome to employers, and protects civil liberties and employee privacy.

 

IT IS THE LAW:

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) seeks to control illegal immigration by eliminating employment opportunity as an incentive for unauthorized persons to come to the United States, by prohibiting the hiring or continued employment of aliens whom employers know are unauthorized to work in the United States.

To comply with the law, all U.S. employers must verify the employment eligibility and identity of all employees hired to work in the United States after November 6, 1986 by completing Employment Eligibility Verification forms (Forms I-9) for all employees, including U.S. citizens. Employers who hire or continue to employ individuals knowing that they are not authorized to be employed in the United States may face civil and criminal penalties. (Excerpt from the USCIS website)

How does it work?

E-Verify works by allowing participating employers to electronically compare employee information taken from the Form I-9 (the paper-based employment eligibility verification form used for all new hires) against more than 425 million records in SSA's database and more than 60 million records in DHS' immigration databases.

E-Verify virtually eliminates Social Security mismatch letters, improves the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, protects jobs for authorized U.S. workers, and helps U.S. employers maintain a legal workforce.

 

Trust in an E-Verify Designated Agent

 

As a designated agent authorized by the DHS to perform I-9 employment authorization searches on behalf of clients, Credasys strives to facilitate you pre-employment screening process.

By utilizing a third party agent, such as Credasys, you can minimize the risk of government penalties while ensuring compliance with state and federal legislation. You also avoid going through a lengthy training and taking a test which has a mere 50% pass rate.

When may an employer initiate a query under E-Verify?

The earliest the employer may initiate a query is after an individual accepts an offer of employment and after the employee and employer complete the Form I-9. The employer must initiate the query no later than the end of three business days after the new hire's actual start date.

Although an employer may initiate the query before a new hire's actual start date, it may not pre-screen applicants and may not delay training or an actual start date based upon a tentative non-confirmation or a delay in the receipt of a confirmation of employment authorization. In short, an employee should not face any adverse employment consequences based upon an employer's use of E-Verify unless a query results in a final nonconfirmation.

For this reason, if the query returns an employment authorization response, an employer cannot speed up the employee's agreed upon start-date, as that would be disparate treatment based upon E-Verify results of this employee compared to another who may have received a tentative non-confirmation.

For example, Company X always assigns a start-date to new employee's that are two weeks after the employee has submitted an approved drug test. After the employee has accepted a job with Company X, and after the employee and Company X complete the Form I-9, the company can initiate the E-Verify query.

However, the company cannot speed up or delay the employee's start-date based upon the results of the query (unless the program issues a final non-confirmation, in which case the employee should not be further employed).

Employers must verify employees in a non-discriminatory manner, and may not schedule the timing of queries based upon the new hire's national origin, citizenship status, race, or other prohibited characteristic.

 

Can an employee be terminated if they fail to provide required documents within 3 days?

Yes, you may terminate an employee who fails to provide the required I-9 documents within three days from the start of employment. However, this practice must be applied uniformly to all employees, not just those who appear to be non U.S citizens.

Can I accept a copy of an original document as proof of Identity?
No, original documents must be presented. The only acceptable item is a certified copy of a birth certificate.

Additional Employer Responsibilities:

There are stringent anti-discrimination rules in the United States. Employers could be fine and/or penalized for denying employment to an authorized worker for discriminatory reasons, for demanding specific documents, for demanding to see more than the minimum documents, etc.

The amount of the fine depends on whether the employer made a genuine error, if there have been repeated warnings/violations and other factors.

If you have any questions e-mail us at info@credasys.com or call 888-500-0019 or 714.828.5769