There is some confusion among federal contractors as to whether they are now mandated to use a government-run electronic database(E-Verify) to check the employment eligibility of their employees who work on government contracts.
(To learn more about E-Verify visit: http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm)
A sentence on the Department of Homeland Security’s website reads: “E-Verify is a voluntary program for all employers, with the exception of federal contractors.”
On June 9, 2008, President Bush amended an Executive Order (EO) directing all federal agencies to require government contractors to use an electronic system to verify each worker’s employment eligibility – however, that order is not final.
At this point in time, the EO remains in the rulemaking process – that is, a notice of proposed rulemaking has been issued. The public (by law) is given 60 days to comment on the proposed rule. Coincidentally, the comment period closed on August 11, 2008, and SBE Council provided feedback with respect to the proposed rule. We commented that the E-Verify mandate (as proposed) will be burdensome, confusing and costly for small government contractors.
You may read SBE Council’s comments at:
http://www.sbecouncil.org/legaction/display.cfm?ID=2823
So, E-Verify for government contractors is not yet a requirement as the rule governing how the program will work has not been finalized! DHS is way ahead of how the system (the regulatory process) is supposed to work.
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
1 comment:
The US Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to DHS pointing the misleading nature of the entry and asked them to remove it, particularly because some people go to DHS's web site in search of accurate guidance.
Angelo I. Amador
Director Immigration Policy
US Chamber of Commerce
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