As of the time of this post, the US Federal Government has yet to reach a budget agreement and a partial government shutdown is in effect. Among the many Federal Agencies that are affected by the shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security will suspend E-Verify until funding is restored. Continue reading for more details.
Note that a federal government shutdown does NOT impact an employer’s I-9 responsibilities. Employers should continue to process I-9s as they normally would. Employer should also expect to create cases in E-Verify when E-Verify becomes available.
According to the E-Verify home page (here), as a result of the shutdown employer will be unable to:
- Enroll any company in E-Verify
- Verify employment eligibility
- View or take action on any case
- Add, delete or edit any User ID
- Reset passwords
- Edit your company information
- Terminate an account
- Run reports
- View ‘Essential Resources.’ Please note that all essential resources may be found by visiting www.dhs.gov/e-verify.
In addition, E-Verify Customer Support and related services are closed. As a result:
- Employees will be unable to resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs).
- Telephone and e-mail support will be unavailable. You may send e-mails, however, we cannot respond until we reopen.
- E-Verify webinars and training sessions are cancelled
- E-Verify Self Check will not be available
To minimize the burden on both employers and employees, E-Verify has implemented the following policies:
- The ‘three-day rule’ for E-Verify cases is suspended for cases affected by the shutdown. E-Verify will provide additional guidance once normal operations are restored. This does NOT affect the Form I-9 requirement—employers must still complete the Form I-9 no later than the third business day after an employee starts work for pay.
- The time period during which employees may resolve TNCs will be extended. Days the federal government is closed will not count towards the eight federal government workdays the employee has to go to SSA or contact DHS. E-Verify will provide additional time once E-Verify reopens.
- For federal contractors complying with the federal contractor rule, please contact your contracting officer to inquire about extending deadlines.
- Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because of an E-Verify interim case status, including while the employee’s case is in an extended interim case status due to a federal government shutdown (consult the E-Verify User Manual for more information on interim case statuses).
When E-Verify service resumes, employers will need to process the backlog of hires that would have otherwise been run through E-Verify but for the shutdown. If you still complete the Form I-9 on paper, here are some ideas for how to plan ahead and get through backlog:
- Keep a consolidated list of new employees who will need to be processed. Have their Form I-9s handy so you can churn through them quickly once E-Verify services resume.
- If the government shutdown lasts awhile, consider adding additional staff to help get through the backlog.
- Be prepared to answer questions, especially for those employees who are still in the process of contenting TNC, which they have been granted extra time to resolve.
- Carefully monitor the situation, and be prepared to resume E-Verify transactions as soon as you can after E-Verify service is restored.
If you process I-9’s electronically with a system like Tracker I-9 Complete with E-Verify, managing the E-Verify process during the shutdown is easy. Backlogged cases are seamlessly managed through automated processing and reminders.
Again, please note that a federal government shutdown does NOT impact an employer’s I-9 responsibilities. Employers should continue to process I-9s as they normally would.
Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.
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