USCIS Announces Employee Rights Toolkit Online Resource to Educate Workers about E-Verify and Self Check

The September 2012 issue of E-Verify Connection, an e-newsletter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), contains an announcement about a new Employee Rights Toolkit online resource to educate workers about E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification, Self Check, and unauthorized practice of immigration law through videos, radio, educational brochures, posters, and fliers in English and Spanish. A PDF version of the September 2012 E-Verify Connection issue is available online at: http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Verification/E-Verify/E-Verify_Native_Documents/Newsletters/E-Verify-Connection10.pdf. According to the Employee Rights Toolkit web page, 1.2 million worksites currently use E-Verify, a free Internet-based Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program administered by the USCIC – the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States – in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify compares information from 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 U.S. with DHS and SSA records. For more information about E-Verify, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/e-verify. Self Check – a service of E-Verify – is a free, Internet-based application that is available nationwide and can be used by anyone in the United States over the age of 16 to confirm employment eligibility. After users enter a small amount of information, the Self Check service will check that information against various government databases to determine their work eligibility in the United States. Self Check is now available in both English and Spanish all 50 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. For more information about Self Check, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov/selfcheck. While E-Verify is voluntary for many employers, federal law mandates that federal contractors and subcontractors in all states use E-Verify and several U.S. states have also enacted laws mandating E-Verify use, creating a confusing patchwork of regulations for employers to follow. For example, as reported earlier in the ESR News blog, a North Carolina law enacted in 2011 that will continue to be phased in over the next year – House Bill 36 (H.B. 36) – requires businesses in the state with 500 or more employees to use E-Verify beginning today, October 1, 2012. The full text of H.B. 36 is available at: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H36v7.pdf. A Designated E-Verify Employer Agent such as Employment Screening Resources (ESR) can help employers with Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance. To learn more, visit https://www.esrcheck.com/formi9.php. For information about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority’ and a nationwide background screening firm accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) – at https://www.esrcheck.com, call Toll Free 888.999.4474, or email [email protected]. To learn about the new updated second edition of ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR’s Founder and CEO Attorney Lester Rosen, visit: https://www.esrcheck.com/SafeHiringManual.php. Sources: http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Verification/E-Verify/E-Verify_Native_Documents/Newsletters/E-Verify-Connection10.pdf http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ef35f8049c00a310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ef35f8049c00a310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD http://www.dhs.gov/e-verify http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf https://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/2012/09/14/north-carolina-e-verify-law-requires-use-by-employers-with-500-or-more-employees-starting-october-1/ About Employment Screening Resources (ESR): Founded by safe hiring expert Attorney Les Rosen in 1997, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority^SM’– provides accurate and actionable information that empowers employers to make informed hiring decisions for the benefit of their organizations, employees, and the public. CEO Rosen literally wrote the book on background checks with “The Safe Hiring Manual” and ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by a small percent of screening firms. Employers choosing ESR know they have selected an agency meeting the highest industry standards. To learn more, visit https://www.esrcheck.com, call 888.999.4474, or email [email protected]. About ESR News: The Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected]. To subscribe to the complimentary ESRcheck Report monthly newsletter, please visit https://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/.]]>