On June 6th, President Bush signed an amendment to Executive Order 12989 requiring all federal government contractors to use E-Verify to confirm the employment authorization of new hires.

 

E-Verify is the Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration to electronically verify employment eligibility of newly hired employees.  This is done by comparing information electronically from Form I-9, the employee eligibility document used for new hires, against more than 425 million records in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) database and, for noncitizens, against more than 60 million records in the DHS immigration database.  Some officials believe the system should be mandatory nationwide.

 

The amended Executive Order requires all federal agencies and departments that enter into contracts to require, as a condition of each contract, that the contractor agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system (E-Verify).  This applies to: (1) all persons hired during the contract term by the contractor to perform employment duties within the United States; and (2) all persons assigned by the contractor to perform work within the United States on the federal contract.

The amended Executive Order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue rules and regulations to implement the requirements.  According to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, the implementing rule is being sent to the Federal Register for publication.  This will be followed by a 60-day public comment period.  Secretary Chertoff indicates the new system could be up and running later this year.

The original Executive Order 12989 provided for debarment of federal contractors whenever the Attorney General made a determination that a contractor had violated the Immigration and Nationality Act's employment verification provisions.  The regulations implementing the amended Executive Order will be updated and will presumably make the debarment penalty applicable to federal contractors that fail to use E-Verify.  Secretary Chertoff declined to comment on whether subcontractors will also be required to use E-Verify, but it is likely that such a requirement will be specified in the forthcoming regulations.