On May 10, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718, which takes effect July 1, 2023, creating new employment mandates affecting Florida’s private businesses. Most important for businesses are the host of penalties for those who violate new E-Verify mandates.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a divided opinion on the constitutionality of Arizona’s law requiring every employer to register for E-Verify as a condition of conducting business in Arizona.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Upholds Mandatory E-Verify Law in Arizona
Under federal affirmative action laws, many banks are considered federal contractors because they are issuing and paying agents for U.S. savings bonds or they are insured by FDIC. However, as explained below, issuance and payment of U.S. savings bonds and FDIC insurance do not trigger e-Verify obligations.
Continue Reading Are Financial Institutions Required to Comply with e-Verify?
You may have noticed a spate of recent articles and announcements indicating that “all federal contractors” will be required to begin using the federal government’s E-Verify system beginning September 8, 2009. Originally set to take effect on January 15, 2009, there have been three prior delays in implementing mandatory use of E-Verify for federal contractors. On August 26, however, a federal district judge rejected a request for further delay, so it appears the E-Verify regulations will actually go into effect on September 8. (See our recent blog post.) In light of this, current contractors should start thinking about how E-Verify will affect them – if at all.
Even though many of the articles on this topic indicate that “all federal contractors” are required to start using the system on September 8, the reality is that not all contractors will be covered and that even covered contractors have time after September 8 to enroll and start using E-Verify.
Continue Reading E-Verify: What Does This Mean For My Company?
On August 26, 2009, a U.S. District Court in Maryland cleared the path for the E-Verify requirement applicable to certain federal contractors to go into effect on September 8, 2009. This decision follows several delays of the E-Verify requirement dating to earlier this year. Several plaintiffs, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Society for Human Resource Management, the American Council on International Personnel and the HR Policy Association, filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security to block implementation of the E-Verify requirement under various constitutional and regulatory grounds. The court rejected the claims and essentially stated that employers that do not want to use the E-Verify system simply can choose not to do business with the federal government.
On August 19, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was rescinding its August 2007 and October 2008 regulatory amendments concerning actions employers can take to benefit from "safe harbor" protection after receiving notification from DHS or the Social Security Administration that an employee’s reported work authorization or Social Security information does not match government records. In October 2007 a U.S. District Court in California preliminarily enjoined implementation of the regulations. Under the revised regulations, if employers took certain actions within prescribed timeframes, they could shield themselves from liability for allegedly employing individuals who lacked authorization to work in the United States. For additional information on the revised regulation, please review prior blog postings on this topic.
The Courts and the Obama Administration continue to struggle over the proper role of E-Verify, particularly the proposed rule mandating E-Verify for Federal contractors.
Continue Reading Role of E-Verify Still Subject of Much Debate
Representative Courtney Combs, a Republican from District 54 in Butler County, has introduced H.B. 184 to the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill would require all employers in Ohio, both public and private, to register and participate in E-Verify, a voluntary, federal program designed to supplement the I-9 employment verification process for all new employees.
Continue Reading E-Verify Bill Introduced in Ohio House