VA: Gov Tells Agencies to E-Verify New State Hires
Va gov tells agencies to e-Verify new state hires
Associated Press - March 21, 2011 5:44 PM ET
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia state agencies will start vetting the immigration status of job applicants using a free federal database in June, 18 months ahead of schedule, Gov. Bob McDonnell said on Monday.
McDonnell's order moving the effective date for using the e-Verify system from December 2012 to this summer puts the state on the vanguard of continuing efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
It also gives the state and contractors more time to see how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's free database performs ahead of pending legislation that would require businesses holding state contracts to begin using e-Verify in 2013.
McDonnell said his order puts the state in compliance with federal law that prohibits hiring people who are in the United States illegally.
"The General Assembly passed legislation last year instructing our state agencies to use this federal resource to check employment eligibility based upon immigration status, and I felt strongly that we should implement this policy as quickly as possible," McDonnell said in a statement.
McDonnell's order coincides with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's announcement Monday that Virginians and residents of 4 other states can now use e-Verify to check on their own immigration status and ask the government to correct any erroneous data about them. Other states are Mississippi, Colorado, Arizona and Idaho.
Accelerating the effective date for Virginia agencies to begin checking job seekers through e-Verify gives a measure of comfort to businesses who are apprehensive about how pending legislation to force contractors to use the system would affect them, said Nicole Riley of the National Federation of Independent Business.
The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the e-Verify mandate for state contractors last month and sent it McDonnell to either sign, amend or veto. It would take effect in December 2013.
"This gives us more time to see how things work out," she said.
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