E-VERIFY AS AN EMPLOYMENT TOOL

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Sue Boise, Employment Administrator

As a large employer in the construction industry, we felt it was important to ensure the employees we hire are eligible for employment in the United States. In 2009, we voluntarily enrolled in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program. This program allows us to verify the identity and employment eligibility of each newly hired employee. E-Verify works by electronically comparing the information we input from the employee’s I-9 form to the records of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Adding E-Verify to our hiring process provides several advantages for PC Construction. Moving forward, we are prepared for all Federal contract work as well as work in states such as Georgia and South Carolina, all which require employers to use E-Verify. It also allows PC Construction to efficiently verify a new hire’s employment eligibility and decrease the time and expense associated with orienting, training, and employing an ineligible worker.

In the short time since we launched the program at PC Construction, we have identified a few new hires with information that did not match the records of DHS and/or SSA databases, allowing us to take corrective action and terminate employment when appropriate.

Do you work for an E-Verify company or administer the program for your company? What challenges have you faced since initiating the program?