Effective September 8th, 2009, the Federal Acquisition Regulation will require that Federal contractors and sub-contractors use the E-Verify system to electronically verify the employment eligibility and immigration status of their employees. E-Verify is an internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services that allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of their employees, regardless of citizenship.
Requirements for compliance with E-Verify is that: 1) E-Verify must be specified in new or modified Federal contracts, 2) projects must be for more than $100,000 for contractors and more than $3,000 for sub-contractors, and 3) the period of performance must be longer than 120 days. If awarded such a contract, employers can enroll on-line and they will then have 90 days to confirm that all of their new hires and existing employees, who work directly on federal contracts, are legally authorized to work in the United States. If your company is a contractor or sub-contractor of Federal contracts, you will want to investigate your compliance with this new law.