Immigration Alert: Executive Order Mandates Federal Contractors To Confirm Employment Eligibility Of Their Workforce

This past week the White House released Executive Order

12989, which will require businesses entering into a contract

with an agency or department of the federal executive branch to

electronically verify the employment authorization of their

employees using an electronic program designated by the

Department of Homeland Security, currently known as E-Verify.

The order requires government contractors to confirm the

employment authorization of all individuals hired during the

contract term for work conducted within the United States, and

all employees assigned to work within the United States on the

federal contract. The executive order does not specify when the

electronic verification requirement will take effect.

E-Verify is an electronic system administered by the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the Social Security

Administration for the verification of employment

authorization. E-Verify provides access to federal databases to

help employers determine employment eligibility of new hires

and the validity of their Social Security numbers. While the

executive order does not specify that federal contractors will

be required to use the E-Verify system, since E-Verify is

currently used and promoted by DHS, it is likely that this is

the system that will be mandated. For more information on

E-Verify, watch a video podcast of Mintz Levin's May 21,

2008 webinar on E-Verify, available

here.

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