Two bills with a potentially significant impact on employers’ obligations are pending in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and each regards the possible mandated use of the federal E-verify program within the state by all state contractors and subcontractors, and/or all employers with five or more employees.

North Carolina currently only requires employers with twenty-five or more employees to use E-verify; and individuals employed for less than nine months are not considered employees that require use of E-verify. (See NC Department of Labor – E-Verify Frequently Asked Questions. )

Accpording to JDSupra,

The first bill, HB35, would require that all employers with five or more employees use the federal E-verify program, a much lower threshold than the current twenty-five-worker trigger. This means that many businesses that have been blissfully unaware of E-verify will now have to familiarize themselves with the program. The bill also eliminates an exception for temporary employees, but explicitly creates an exception for independent contractors and farm workers.

The second bill, HB306, would require that all State government contractors and subcontractors E-verify their workers’ authorization to work.

 
To further complicate the matter, HB35 eliminates an exception for temporary employees, but explicitly creates an exception for independent contractors and farm workers.

Of course, many NC employers want to avoid the complications of training someone to use E-verify, deal with the issues of properly informing employees of their application status and updates, and being liable for fines when inspectors with the USCIS find mistakes, and being liable for illegal hires.

One solution is to use an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete, one of the best ways to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. Our powerful compliance logic makes it virtually impossible to process an I-9 that contains errors. So if you’re an employer in North Carolina, get a demo today.

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Tracker is the most trusted partner for I-9 and E-Verify compliance, with thousands of customers including the top U.S. employers. We are the only I-9 software company with a perfect 13-year record with federal agencies and systems.