Two new states have just passed laws requiring employers to participate
in the federal government’s E-Verify program. Both Utah and Virginia
recently passed laws that would mandate employers to verify the
identity and employment eligibility status of all new hires starting in
2010.
The Utah law, the Private Employer Verification Act, will require all
private employers who employ 15 or more employees as of July 1, 2010 to
register with and use E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility
status of their new hires, in accordance with the requirements of the
federal verification system. The law does not, however, apply to
private employers of foreign nationals, in cases where the foreign
national holds an H-2A or H-2B visa.
The Virginia law, the E-Verify Program (HB 737), requires only state
agencies to enroll in and use the E-Verify program to verify the
employment eligibility status of their new hires by December 1, 2012.
This bill, in its original form, would have required all public
contractors, local municipalities and private companies with 15 or more
employees to additionally register with and use the E-Verify program;
those measures were removed from the bill via amendments introduced in
the State Senate. The State Senate additionally shifted the
implementation date from December 1, 2010 to December 1, 2012.
