According to Allen Smith, J.D., writing for The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR professional society, employers should become familiar with E-Verify for filing Form I-9’s because use of the UCIS’s E-Verify system is likely to become mandatory for all employers in the coming months.

While E-verify is mandatory for federal contractors, as well as contractors and employers in certain state, he quotes Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the Council for Global Immigration (CFGI), who said that “well under 10 percent of employers are currently enrolled in the system.”

That leaves as much as 90% of US employers not enrolled. So the E-Verify learning curve could become very steep – and quickly – for that 90%.

Why?

Because President Trump has proposed that $15 million of the Department of Homeland Security 2018 budget be used to begin implementation of mandatory E-Verify. That’s a bold step, and only Congress can make it so, as they must approve the funding, something Trump can’t do by executive order. Read the text of the bill: S.179 – 115th Congress (2017-2018): Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.

And there are bugs and issues with E-verify, Smith writes, that need to be addressed before millions more employers start using it, namely security against identity theft, liability for hiring mistakes, use of biometrics for identity verification, and more. And no one knows how those issues will be solved, if they are, before any roll out of the mandated use of E-verify.

The big question is if this happens at all. And, if so: how fast could it be rolled out? Would Congress allow one year for roll out? Or two or three?

Read the full article at Mandatory E-Verify Likely, but There Are Bugs to Work Out – SHRM.org

Of course, adopting an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete is the best way right now to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. You can get a demo here.

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