E-Verify Rule Hits More In July

Georgia employers are feeling the pinch of the 2011 immigration law. They are required to sign sworn affidavits when applying for or renewing a business license or other public benefit. They are struggling to determine when and whether they should be using E-Verify (the federal employment eligibility verification system). They are learning how the law is influencing the availability of workers and what it means to be an E-Verify user. As the private employer provisions of the law start phasing in, more and more companies are trying to figure out how to comply with the requirements.

The E-Verify requirement went into effect on Jan. 1 for private employers with 500 or more employees. The requirement goes into effect July 1 for private employers with 100 or more employees and on July 1, 2013, for private employers with 11 or more employees.

Any time a Georgia company applies for or renews a business license, occupational tax certificate or any other document required to operate a business, a company representative must certify under oath the number of employees on payroll on Jan. 1 of that year and, if the number of employees trigger the E-Verify requirement, list the company's E-Verify ID number and date of authorization.

Under Georgia law, any contract with a local governing authority is a "public benefit" (as are business, taxicab, fortune teller, alcohol, billiard hall and other licenses), and requires the completion of the SAVE affidavit. The person completing the SAVE affidavit must check the applicable status (U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident or qualified alien or nonimmigrant) and provide a secure and verifiable (S&V) document corresponding to the status checked.

This article appeared in the April 1, 2012 edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.