MANDATORY E-VERIFY BILL INTRODUCED

Agricultural employers would have 36 months before they would be required to use the E-Verify system under a House bill introduced in mid-June.

E-Verify is an Internet-based, free program run by the United States government that compares information from an employee's Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 to data from US government records. If the information matches, that employee is eligible to work in the United States. If there's a mismatch, E-Verify alerts the employer and the employee is allowed to work while he or she resolves the problem; they must contact the appropriate agency to resolve the mismatch within eight federal government work days from the referral date. The program is operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with Social Security Administration.