The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made changes to the federal contractor designation in E-Verify, allowing organizations to select either “Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause” or “Federal Contractor without E-Verify clause” when enrolling or updating their profile. In a memo published this week, DHS explained that many companies had incorrectly identified their organization as a “Federal Contractor” in the E-Verify system prior to the September 8th effective date even though they did not yet have a contract with the E-Verify clause.

As a result of these changes, if you selected the former designation of “Federal Contractor” when you enrolled or updated your organization’s profile before September 8th, your designation has been automatically set to Federal Contractor without E-Verify Clause (if you have not taken the federal refresher tutorial) or Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause (if you have taken the tutorial).  DHS advises that you check your federal contractor status and make any appropriate adjustments.

Regardless of these administrative changes, it is important to remember that your organization should not begin E-verifying existing employees until you are awarded a federal contract that includes the E-Verify clause and have updated your profile. Using E-Verify for existing employees before these steps is prohibited under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The memo explaining this change is available in your E-Verify account.