On New Year's Day, an E-Verify mandate took hold in Georgia for firms with 500 or more employees. The mandate will progressively expand so that, by July 2012, firms with 100-499 employees will be required to employ E-Verify, and by next January all companies with 11 or more employees will be covered. Companies with 10 or fewer employees will remain exempt.
E-Verify is an online database system managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used to check the legal right of people to work in the United States and is used in conjunction with the form I-9 employment verification process.
The Georgia E-Verify mandate is part of its controversial (and still-being-legally-challenged) Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act.
The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts will conduct random audits to ensure compliance.
Employers, if you want to keep your workforces informed of their rights and obligations regarding the E-Verify process, get a copy of Personnel Concepts' E-Verify Right-to-Work Notice Poster and display it conspicuously.