Under the newly revised Executive

Order, all departments and agencies

that enter into contracts shall require,

as a condition of each contract, that the

contractor agree to use an electronic

employment eligibility verification system

designated by the Secretary of Homeland

Security to verify the employment eligibility

of:

 

(i)  all persons hired during the contract

     term by the contractor to perform

     employment duties within the United

     States; and

 

(ii)  all persons assigned by the contractor

      to perform work within the United

      States on the Federal contract.

 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary

Michael Chertoff has designated the

government's E-Verify program as the

system of choice to ensure that the federal

government only does business with

companies who verify the employment

authorization of employees.

The E-Verify program (formerly known as

the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility

Verification Program) is an Internet-based

system operated by the DHS in partnership

with the Social Security Administration.

The E-verify program enables participating

employers to instantaneously verify the

accuracy of the Form I-9 information

provided by the newly hired employee,

using both the DHS and SSA databases.

Until now, the E-Verify program has been

entirely voluntary.  To participate in the

program, employers must register on-line

with the DHS at:

 

 

The Executive Order is to be administered

and enforced by the Secretary of Homeland

Security and the Attorney General.

Proposed rules concerning implementation

of the Executive Order were posted in the

Federal Register last week for 60 days of

public comment. Highlights of these

proposed rules:

·   The new rule applies to all contracts and

    sub-contracts over $3,000.

·   Contractors must enroll in the E-Verify

    program within 30 days of the contract

    award, begin verifying the employment

    eligibility of all new employees hired

    after enrollment in E-Verify, and continue

    to use the E-Verify program for the life of

    the contract.

·   Contractors and subcontractors must use

    E-Verify to confirm the employment

    eligibility of all existing employees who

    are directly engaged in the performance

    of work under the covered contract.

·   The rule only applies to solicitations

    issued and contracts awarded after the

    effective date of the final rule.

·   Departments and agencies are ordered to

    amend existing indefinite delivery/

    indefinite quantity contracts to include

    the clause for future orders if the

    remaining period of performance extends

    at least six months after the effective

    date of the final rule and the amount of

    work or number of orders expected under

    the remaining performance is substantial.

 

Notably, the Executive Order will not go into

effect until the final rule is issued.

·   Most employers with federal contracts

    who are not already participating in the

    E-Verify program will now be required to

    do so to keep the federal contract.

·   Employers with federal contracts should

    take this opportunity, before the

    Executive Order goes into effect, to

    evaluate which of its current employees

    may adversely be affected.

·   This would be a good time to do a

    comprehensive I-9 audit.  If the audit

    reveals compliance issues, contact your

    employment attorney to develop a

    practical compliance strategy.