Workforce Management
November 14, 2008
Federal contractors will be required to use a government-run electronic employment eligibility verification system starting early next year under a regulation announced Friday, November 14.
The Department of Homeland Security said the 274-page rule will go into effect January 15, 2009. Companies that win a federal contract of more than $100,000—and subcontractors with contracts of greater than $3,000—will have to enroll in E-Verify, the electronic verification mechanism, within 30 days of being awarded the work.
The firms will have to check the eligibility of existing and new employees who directly work on federal contracts. The regulation was first issued as an executive order by President Bush in June. The original regulatory proposal received 1,600 public comments.
Currently, about 92,000 companies use E-Verify. The contractor rule could add an additional 150,000 to 180,000 employers.
Under the system, new-hire information from I-9 forms is electronically compared with Social Security and DHS databases.
Many employer groups have criticized E-Verify for being inaccurate, inefficient and unable to detect identity theft. They argue that the 4.1 percent error rate in the Social Security database could lead to millions of people being incorrectly ruled ineligible for work.
Supporters of E-Verify say the system confirms 96 percent of queries instantly and has an error rate of less than 1 percent. The program, which is voluntary, has become a foundation of the Bush administration’s stepped-up work-site enforcement efforts.
The crackdown intensified after the demise of comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate in 2007. Observers say the federal contractor requirement is a way for the DHS to significantly boost E-Verify participation.
“The administration is trying to accomplish through regulation what it cannot accomplish through legislation,” said Eric Bord, a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Washington.
[Full Story] http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/95/84.php
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