On April 23, 2009, House Representatives Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) reintroduced the New Employee Verification Act (NEVA) to create a mandatory national employee verification process for immigrants and U.S. citizens.  NEVA was originally introduced on February 28, 2008 and subsequently failed to make it out of committee.  NEVA would replace the government’s current E-Verify program with the Electronic Employment Verification System (EEVS).  E-Verify is an internet-based system that permits employers, on a voluntary basis, to verify employees’ work eligibility. The E-Verify system has been criticized for providing erroneous information, including incorrect eligibility results.  E-Verify relies on Social Security and Department of Homeland Security databases to verify employee eligibility.

EEVS would verify employment eligibility by utilizing the National Directory of New Hires, a new-hire database originally developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources to facilitate state child support enforcement.  In addition, the EEVS would still utilize the Social Security and Department of Homeland Security databases.  EEVS would also replace the paper-based I-9 employment verification system.  Employers seeking to verify their employees’ eligibility could access the EEVS system via the Internet or a toll-free telephone line.

Proponents argue that NEVA would enhance government efficiency by eliminating verification of U.S. citizen work authorization through the Department of Homeland Security.  U.S. citizens’ work authorization would be confirmed exclusively through the Social Security Administration.  Proponents also point out that NEVA would help combat ID theft.  NEVA would include a voluntary system called the Secure Electronic Employee Verification System (SEEVS), which in addition to EEVS verification, would include document screening tools and biometric identifiers.  The primary purpose of NEVA is to diminish the number of undocumented immigrants presently employed in the United States and provide for more effective enforcement of immigration and employment laws.  In addition to bipartisan support offered to the reintroduction of NEVA, several groups representing human resources professional have applauded the reintroduction of the bill.  This Act has been added to our Watch List.