Can You E-Verify That?

by Don E. Vance, CCM (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
March 2008
 

While the outlook for bringing improved efficiency or focus to U.S. immigration policies and procedures remains cloudy, a new tool is available to help streamline some of the administrative burdens tied to locating, screening and hiring seasonal help.

E-verify is a new, free Web-based system formed through a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administra-tion, with oversight by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It allows employers to check if people are authorized to work in the U.S., and whether their Social Security number is valid.

While its use is still voluntary at the federal level, it is already being mandated at some state and local levels—and use of the system is quickly catching on in hospitality-related industries.

In Arizona, a new employer-sanctions law that took effect on January 1 of this year now requires all employers in the state to use the program or risk losing their business licenses, if they are caught knowingly or intentionally hiring illegal workers.
Since the state law was passed in July 2007, the number of employers in Arizona that had signed up for E-Verify jumped from fewer than 500 to more than 18,500 in early February, according to a report in The Arizona Republic. A breakdown of the types of companies within that total showed restaurants and bars as the third largest segment now registered to use the system. A recent University of Arizona study of foreign-born workers in Arizona found that 19% of workers employed in leisure and hospitality in that state are immigrants.

For more information about the E-verify process, go to www.dhs.gov/E-verify