E-Verify & I-9 News

The Michigan House Judiciary Committee will consider two E-Verify bills tomorrow (August 19, 2009) which would mandate certain employers in Michigan to use E-Verify. House Bill 4355 would require certain employers who contract or subcontract with public agencies to verify the employment eligibility of new employees though the E-Verify system. House Bill 4969 would prohibit personnel agencies from referring an individual to a public agency for hire without first verifying the individual’s employment eligibility through E-Verify.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has issued a press release opposing the bills which can be viewed here. For more information on both bills, you can visit this summary link from the Michigan Legislature web site.

As previously reported, two Michigan counties have approved E-Verify mandates for local contractors.

Two counties in Michigan recently passed resolutions requiring certain local contractors to use E-Verify for all new hires. According to a local news article, Macomb county will require all contractors doing at least $20,000 worth of business with the county to use E-Verify. The resolution will only apply to service contracts and is scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2009.

In a similar move, Oakland County, Michigan passed a resolution last week which will mandate every future services contract (including both new and renewing contracts) to include an E-Verify (or other DHS employment eligibity system) requirement for new hires starting October 1, 2009. The resolution also specifies that the county will not enter into future contracts with organizations that do not comply. The official press release from the county Board of Commissioners is available here.

According to the sources mentioned above, there’s support for similar measures being adopted by other Michigan counties as well as the state government. The patchwork of E-Verify mandates continues…