Nalini S. Mahadevan, JD, MBA All Copyrights reserved, 2010

 U.S. federal law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States  Employees can be either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary work authorization.  Designed to prevent unauthorized employment.  E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.  E-verify is free  Provides electronic confirmation of information on your employees' Forms I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification 1  What is E-verify?

 195,000 employers  Participation in E-Verify is voluntary for most businesses  But for some employers it is mandatory:  For example, most employers in Arizona and Mississippi are required to use E-Verify.  E-Verify is also mandatory for employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation E-Verify clause.  Self employed individuals are exempt from verification, but sole proprietors are not. 2  Who Uses E-Verify?

 The 94 th General Assembly enacted laws to prevent employment of illegal aliens by Missouri employers.  Effective date January 1, 2009  An employer is any individual, organization, partnership, political subdivision, corporation, or other legal entity which has or had in the entity's employ five or more individuals performing public works as defined in section , RSMo; 3  What about Missouri employers?

 Any employer who has a state contract for more than $5, has to enroll in E- verify and use the program to verify work status of their employees  Once the employer is enrolled in E-verify, all new employment must be must be verified, using E-verify  Employer must retain a copy of the verification received in its records ◦ Provides safe harbor for Missouri employers 4  Missouri employers

 Penalties apply to employers who employ workers unauthorized to work in the US  Penalties for violations include: ◦ Suspension of business license for a stated period or permanently ◦ Termination of state contracts ◦ Debarment from doing business with the state for 3 to 5 years ◦ With-holding of 25% of state monies to employer ◦ Termination or suspension of state-administered tax credit, tax abatement, or loans from the state 5  Penalties for non compliance with Missouri Immigration Law

 Any business, nonprofit organization or government agency, whether it's a small family-owned pizza shop or a multinational corporation or sole proprietor.  Before you can start using E-Verify, you need to enroll your company or organization in the program.  Enter basic information about the company and agree to follow the rules of the program.  You'll enroll your company just once and after you do, you can register yourself and others to use the system.  You can contact E-Verify Customer Support for assistance or questions in determining your company's enrollment status. 6  Which employers should enroll?

 Employer uses employee details on I-9 form to complete verification online  Usually, verification is instantaneous  If the system cannot match the information, then the employer is asked to check the information for mistakes  Other results could be: ◦ DHS verification in process – verification in 24 hours or ◦ Tentative nonconfirmation – no verification 7  Verification

 When final verification result is received, the verification number is recorded on the employee’s I-9 form  When nonconfirmation is received from E- verify, employees not authorized to work, usually stop reporting to work. 8  Follow up steps

 Employer must post a notice of E-verification usage in a prominent place  Must use it for new hires only and not current employees  Use it for all US citizens and non citizens alike  Use e-verify only after employee has been hired and accepted employment  Cannot use E-verify as a screening tool 9  Employees rights and responsibilities

 Provide employee information of tentative non confirmation and a hard copy  Cannot take adverse actions include firing, suspending, withholding pay or training, or otherwise infringing upon terms of employment, for contesting tentative non conformation  Employee has 8 days to contact the federal agency to resolve the issue  Update name change, and status, with Social Security Administration 10  Employees rights and responsibilities

 Employees may be entitled to receive pay for work lost due to employer violations, and reinstatement in the job.  The employer may also be subject to civil penalties for violations of E-Verify rules,  Such as discrimination based upon employee citizenship, immigration status, or national origin, or other misuse of E-Verify 11  Employees rights and responsibilities

 Enroll within 30 days if the contract contains a Federal Acquisition Regulation E-verify clause  Verify new employees with in 90 days of enrollment  Verify existing employees assigned to the federal contract within 90 days or within 30 days of assignment to the contract  All employees can be verified within 180 days, if the employer chooses 12  Federal contractors

 Sub contractors are required to verify their employees if:  The prime contract includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause  The subcontract is for commercial or noncommercial services or construction  The subcontract has a value of more than $3,000  The subcontract includes work performed in the United States  Exempt: Suppliers and work performed outside the US 13  Sub contractors

For more information, please contact Nalini S Mahadevan Thank you