Your Quick Guide to E-Verify

The federal E-Verify program has been around in some form since 1996, and it’s only getting bigger. With Florida joining the program earlier this year, around half of all states now require E-Verify participation in some way. Enrolling in the program isn’t difficult, but can seem confusing to someone on the outside. Let’s examine what E-Verify is and how it can impact your company.

What is E-Verify?

E-Verify is an employment eligibility system that compares employee I-9 forms with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) records. This process takes only seconds to ensure an employee is eligible to work in the United States.

State Requirements

E-Verify is not a program that’s mandatory in each state. Some states only require specific businesses to use E-Verify depending on several categorizations, like business size and involvement with government contract work. Certain counties can even require companies to utilize the service, regardless of their state’s involvement. Every state has its own laws for E-Verify, so it’s essential to familiarize yourself with requirements in your area.

How Can E-Verify Benefit My Team?

Although not every state requires participation in the E-Verify program, it’s still available for those who wish to utilize the service. There are a few reasons why a company might want to take part in this program voluntarily, many of which will simplify and future-proof processes.

Risk Management

The most significant benefit of participating in E-Verify is minimizing risk when hiring any new employees. Hiring and retaining unauthorized workers can bring a substantial amount of risk in the form of legal issues. Companies can attempt to confirm eligibility personally, but there’s often too much room for error with businesses that may lack resources. E-Verify takes the guesswork out of verifying eligibility, allowing you to focus on the hiring process rather than trying to verify employment eligibility manually.

Getting Ahead of Laws and Regulations

Even if a state doesn’t currently require E-Verify, local legislation may develop in a way that affects many or all businesses. Utilizing this service before it’s officially required could help with compliance and reduce the need for any last-minute scrambling in the future to change your hiring process.

How Do I Get Started?

Enrolling your company in E-Verify is simpler than it may seem. The E-Verify website has plenty of resources for employers, such as guides, sample documents and checklists. These tools, along with the step-by-step requirement list, make it easy for anyone to get started.

Employer Participation

When enrolling your company in E-Verify, it’s vital to consider developing a process for your team that allows participation in the smoothest way possible. Spirit HR can administer E-Verify for its clients with a seamless integration.

Tentative Nonconfirmation

A tentative nonconfirmation is a mismatch between an employee’s I-9 form and DHS or SSA records. Receiving a notice of nonconfirmation does not necessarily mean that the employee will not be able to work in the United States, but it does mean that the employer must allow the employee 10 work days to take action to resolve the issue. Employees may create an E-Verify account to check their status and find more information about non-confirmations.

There are ways to prevent a mismatch before submitting an I-9 form, like checking and updating government records using myE-Verify and filling out the I-9 form with the correct formatting.

Important Considerations

Enrolling your company in E-Verify could be a significant change for your team that will impact your onboarding process. The process is simple but can bring its own challenges.

Participating in E-Verify allows DHS and SSA to audit your data for irregularities, notifying other government agencies when they spot an error. E-Verify also requires a point-of-contact within your company who has to spend valuable time staying current on changes in training and regulations.

Get Ahead of the Curve

Whether it’s E-Verify or general reporting, compliance is crucial to any business’s day-to-day activities. Spirit can help you stay compliant with dedicated support from a team of experienced HR professionals.

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