On April 24, the APA’s Government Relations Task Force Subcommittee on Immigration sent comments to the U.S. Senate regarding S. 301, the E-Verify Act of 2019. This bill would implement mandatory employment-verification requirements. “If the Senate and House of Representatives intend to invest in a mandatory employment verification system for all employers, APA recommends a review of the existing system and upgrades accordingly,” said the subcommittee.
APA Recommends Changes to E-Verify
S. 301 mimics existing requirements for employment eligibility verification through the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and E-Verify system; however, the bill’s language differs from the current form and system. This may only serve to confuse the regulated community and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Assuming that Congress would upgrade E-Verify rather than replace it, APA recommended changes, including preempting state laws on mandatory E-Verify, excepting existing employees, requiring USCIS to establish criteria and training for users and employer agents, offering employers a compliance grace period, providing employers with notice and time to fix problems before being penalized, and increasing system availability.
APA Educates on Payroll Impacts
When congressional proposals on immigration reform include measures to mandate employer use of electronic verification systems, APA’s Government Relations Division acts to educate leaders on payroll impacts. This includes the requirements to verify employment eligibility and employers’ administrative burden. Read the full article in the May issue of Inside Washington, a supplement to Payroll Currently.
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