COMPLIANCE CORNER
Illinois Modifies E-Verify Attestation Form, Extends Deadline for Employers Enrolled in E-Verify who use Designated Agent
On Jan. 29, the Illinois Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it had modified the E-Verify attestation form, a requirement under Illinois’ Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act, to accommodate employers who submit E-Verify queries through a designated agent. The DOL also extended the deadline to sign the attestation form for employers submitting queries through a designated agent to Feb. 28, 2010.
E-Verify is a federal program that allows employers to check the work status of new hires electronically by comparing information from an employee's Form 1-9 against the E-Verify Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases. Under federal law certain federal contractors are required to participate in the E-Verify program. Additionally, several states have enacted their own E-Verify legislation requiring certain employers participate in the program. For detailed information about E-Verify enrollment requirement(s) based on state and federal legislation, see our E-Verify Legislation Guide.
The Illinois attestation form requires employers, under penalty of perjury, to state that they submit E-Verify queries through a DHS-approved designated agent and/or have received E-Verify training materials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that all personnel administering the E-Verify system have completed the Computer Based Tutorial (CBT). Furthermore, employers must acknowledge that they have posted the DHS notice indicating the employer has enrolled in E-Verify as well as the anti-discrimination notice issued by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice, in a prominent place clearly visible to prospective employees.
Employees, applicants or the Department of Labor acting on behalf of an employee or applicant may commence an action in civil court compelling an employer to comply. Penalties for violating an order of the court may include fines up to $500 per employee as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and actual damages. Failure to comply with the order may result in the employer and/or the employer’s representative being found in contempt as well as guilty of a petty offense, which carries a maximum penalty of $1,000.
Verifications, Inc.’s E-Verify Solutions
Verifications, Inc.'s E-Verify solution helps you maintain compliance across your organization and reduce the time it takes you to process an E-Verify query - by up to 67%. Verifications’ E-Verify product queries E-Verify databases to instantly verify new employees' U.S. work eligibility and can easily be incorporated into your onboarding process company wide, improving efficiency, consistency, and compliance in your processes. Step-by-step user guidance simplifies exception management while management alerts save time and eliminate worry by doing away with manual "tickler" events for follow up action items.Federal contractors are faced with the daunting task of running hundreds, possibly thousands of E-Verify checks in a short amount of time because an employer’s existing employee population also must be submitted through E-Verify. Verifications offers a solution to relieve your administrative headaches and ensure both your existing employees and new hires are "E-Verified" as mandated by Executive Order 12989.
Click here to learn more about how Verifications’ E-Verify solutions can help you maintain compliance with E-Verify regulations.
