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Are You
Breaking The Law? |
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Many
small business owners may be breaking the law and don’t know
it.
Illegal immigration has been a part of the national discussion for
some time and will continue to be so for some time to come. Due to
the lack of action on the part of the federal government, states
have begun to deal with the issue of illegal immigration and hiring
by requiring businesses to enroll in the federal government’s
E-Verify system.
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The
E-Verify system is an Internet-based system that allows
businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees
to work in the United States. It is run by the Department
of Homeland Security. It compares information from an
employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to
data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social
Security Administration records to confirm employment
eligibility.
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Participation in E-Verify is voluntary for most businesses.
Some companies may be required by state law, municipality
ordnances or federal regulation to use E-Verify. |
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On September
8, 2009 the Department of Homeland Security began requiring
certain federal contractors, through language inserted into
their contract, to begin using E-Verify to verify their new
and existing employees. |
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Currently there are 9 states with state wide laws requiring
businesses to enrollment in the E-Verify system. These
states are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah
and Virginia.
There
are 22 states with state wide or municipal that requires
employers to enroll in E-Verify if they wish to do business
with the state or local government agencies. |
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Businesses
could be fine anywhere from $100 - $25,000 for failure to
comply with E-Verify requirements. Fines are applied per
individual violations. Other penalties include suspension
of removal of business license. |
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While many
states have laws that have gone into effect some states laws
go into effect beginning this year. They include: Alabama,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. |
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For more
details on the E-Verify program visit the The Small Business
Zone website at
www.s-b-z.com and click on the “Human Resource” link. |
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Sources:
Department of Homeland Security
Wiki
LawLogix
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| By
Bill Williams |