Legal Responsibilities of Employers

What are the legal responsibilities of employers enrolled in E-Verify?

Employers who use E-Verify have multiple responsibilities that come with enrollment. These responsibilities include:

• Hanging up “Notice of E-Verify Participation” and “Right to Works” posters in English, Spanish, and any other relevant language.
• Letting job applicants know that their business uses E-Verify.
• Filling out Form I-9 before creating a case for new employees in E-Verify
• Creating a new case in E-verify for new employees within 3 business days after the employee started working
• ensuring each employee records their Social Security number (SSN) on Form I-9. (The SSN on Form I-9 is usually optional, but is required in E-Verify.)
• Filling out the employee’s email address in E-Verify if they wrote one on Form I-9
• Ensuring the employee’s Form I-9 List B identity documents include a picture
• Giving each employee the opportunity to challenge a tentative non-confirmation (TNC)
• Keeping all employee’s personal information safe and private

What are the rules about what employers enrolled in E-Verify cannot do?

Employers cannot:
  • use E-Verify as a tool to perform a background test on job applicants
  • enroll in E-Verify, and then create cases and check the employment eligibility for employees who were already hired before the company signed the E-Verify MOU. (There are some exceptions to this rule, including federal contracts that include the FAR E-Verify clause)
  • act against an employee because of a case result, unless the employee’s case receives a final non-confirmation.
  • fire an employee during the verification process because they were given a TNC
  • tell newly hired employees that they need or should use specific Form I-9 documentation over the other acceptable document options. However, the employer is allowed and supposed to specify that the List B identification document needs to include a photo.
  • use E-Verify to discriminate against any job applicant because of their native country or because of their citizenship or immigration status
  • use E-Verify to selectively verify the employment eligibility of a newly hired employee
  • share user IDs or passwords
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