labor lawAdivision of labor law center

During July, both the U.S. House and Senate took measures that would require more employers to use E-Verify, including federal contractors and companies that benefit from federal stimulus spending.

The U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the 2010 Department of Homeland Security budget sponsored by Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, which will require federal contractors to use E-Verify, and extend that program for three more years.

According to Senator Sessions, this amendment will prevent illegal immigrants from being hired for construction projects funded by the federal stimulus packages. A similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives.

The Society for Human Resource Management or SHRM has long opposed the mandatory use of E-Verify. SHRM argues that a biometric component such as fingerprints or retinal scan needs to be added to E-Verify. The problem is identity theft. Suppose a new employee presents documents for E-Verify as “John Turner”. E-Verify can check that John Turner can legally work in the U.S. However, there is no way for E-Verify to determine if the person presenting those documents is actually John Turner or not. SHRM and New York Senator Charles Schumer argue that E-Verify should not be used until the system can authenticate identity. Opponents claim that such a biometric system would be a violation of privacy.

While a number of states require employers to use E-Verify, federal contractors are still in limbo. In 2008, President George W. Bush signed an executive order that would have required federal contractors to implement E-Verify. However, it has been delayed and is currently being challenged in court by SHRM and other employer groups.

Nevertheless, many employers continue to voluntarily adopt the E-Verify system. E-Verify compares information provided by the (more…)