The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States – recently published a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment on proposed revisions to the ‘Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification’ that employers must complete for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States. The notice is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-03-27/pdf/2012-7340.pdf and the proposed revisions are available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=USCIS-2006-0068-0013. (more…)

All businesses in Alabama must enroll in the federal E-Verify employment eligibility verification system by April 1, 2012, and this is no April Fools’ Joke. According to ‘The Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act’ (H.B. 56), considered by many to be the toughest immigration enforcement measure in the country to date, every Alabama business – regardless of size – must enroll in E-Verify by the April 1 deadline to be in compliance with the law or else they could lose their licenses for failing to abide by the law. The full text of Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act is at: http://www.openbama.org/index.php/bill/fulltext/3154. (more…)

The Fremont, Nebraska city council recently voted to implement the E-Verify portions of an immigration petition – ‘Ordinance No. 5165’ – that requires businesses getting a business license in the city or performing work in the city to use the federal E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system. The ordinance took effect March 5, 2012, and businesses have a grace period of until May 4, 2012 to comply. A copy of the Fremont, Nebraska Ordinance 5165 is available at: http://www.fremontne.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=770. (more…)

While federal law mandates that federal contractors and subcontractors in all states must use the otherwise voluntary electronic employment eligibility verification system known as E-Verify, several U.S. states – including Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, and North Carolina – recently enacted laws mandating the use (or non-use) of E-verify, a free web-based system that allows employers to verify the legal work authorization status of newly hired employees, creating a complex and confusing web of laws and regulations. This is Trend Number 8 of the fifth annual  ‘Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Top 10 Trends in Background Checks’ for 2012. To view the list of trends, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/ESR-Top-10-Trends-in-Background-Checks-for-2012.php. (more…)

A new law in Alabama signed by Republican Governor Robert Bentley would require employers to use the now-voluntary federal employment eligibility verification system known as E-Verify to ensure that newly hired employees are legally eligible to work in the United States and would also authorize the revocation of business licenses for companies that employ illegal workers. All Alabama employers, both public and private, must begin using E-Verify when hiring new employees no later than April 2012. (more…)