Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The White House has released ‘An American Budget – President’s Budget Fiscal Year (FY) 2019’ that calls for “$23 million to expand the E-Verify Program for mandatory nationwide use” so businesses employ workers authorized to work in the United States. The complete budget is at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.
E-Verify – a web-based electronic employment eligibility verification system – compares information from an employee’s ‘Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification’ to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) to confirm employment eligibility.
In a section titled ‘Protecting Americans While Enhancing Legal Immigration,’ the White House budget for FY 2019 reads: The Budget invests $23 million to expand the E-Verify Program for mandatory nationwide use, ensuring that businesses employ only those authorized to work in the United States.
The budget for FY 2019 again calls for “mandatory nationwide use of the E-Verify system,” an online tool that “can be used at no cost to employers, and has an over 99-percent accuracy rate. The Administration continues to enforce E-Verify use by Federal contractors, which has been required for many years.”
The budget references the Performance of the E-Verify Program where 98.91 percent of employees are automatically confirmed as authorized to work either instantly or within 24 hours. Of the 1.09 percent of employees who receive initial system mismatches, 0.95 percent are not found to be work authorized.
The budget also requests $46 billion in discretionary appropriations for the DHS, a $3.4 billion or 8 percent increase from 2017. Critical investments include $1.6 billion for construction of the Mexico border wall and $782 million to hire and support 2,750 additional law enforcement officers and agents.
All U.S. employers must confirm work eligibility for their employees in the United States. Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), employers are required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals they hire, and to document that information using the Form I-9.
Employers and employees not in compliance with the law can get in trouble. The U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 212 individuals at several businesses in the Los Angeles area for violating federal immigration laws during a five-day operation that ended on February 15, 2018.
The move toward the mandatory nationwide use of E-Verify is one of the “ESR Top Ten Background Check Trends” for 2018 selected by Employment Screening Resources (ESR). To view a webinar about the top background check trends for 2018 hosted by ESR founder and CEO Attorney Lester Rosen, click here.
ESR is a Designated E-Verify Employer Agent
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – a leading global background check firm – is also a Designated E-Verify Employer Agent that helps with E-Verify and Form I-9 compliance to ensure U.S. employers hire legally eligible workers. To learn more, visit www.esrcheck.com/Background-Checks/Form-I-9-E-Verify/.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
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