On June 6, 2008, President Bush signed an amendment to Executive Order 12989 requiring certain federal contractors to participate in the Department of Homeland Security’s electronic system for verifying the employment eligibility of workers.

The E-Verify System

Since 1986, federal law has required all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of each newly hired employee by reviewing identity documents provided by the new hire and by completing a Form I-9 on the individual within three days of the start of employment. To assist employers in verifying the employment eligibility of newly hired employees, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) jointly established a voluntary and free electronic system now known as E-Verify in 1997. E-Verify allows employers to send information from a newly hired employee’s Form I-9 to SSA and DHS to ensure that the employee’s name, Social Security number, citizenship status, and certain other information match government records. The recent amendments to Executive Order 12989 will make the use of E-Verify mandatory for covered federal contractors.

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