Government shutdown causes problems for E-Verify employers

alert on the E-Verify web page of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website tells employers they will not be able to access their E-Verify accounts due to the government shutdown. As a result, employers will be unable to do any of the following tasks while the E-Verify system is unavailable:

• Enroll any company in E-Verify
• Verify employment eligibility
• View or take action on any case
• Add, delete or edit any User ID
• Reset passwords
• Edit their company information
• Terminate an account
• Run reports
• View ‘Essential Resources’

While the government has said that employers can go back to the old system of identification – known as I-9 – confusion reigns. “There are some people who thought they couldn’t hire, which I have said is not true,” said Julie Pace, an employment lawyer at Cavanagh Law Firm in Phoenix, Arizona. “Some companies are calling now to say they need to train people for this piece of equipment or machine but they are worried about what happens after e-verify gets turned back on again,” she said. The longer the shutdown goes on, the more confusing the situation becomes. Employers can only hope that Congress gets it’s act together soon and comprehends the impact they are causing the country by failing to put party politics aside.]]>