SHRM reported yesterday that their President and CEO, Susan R. Meisinger, was in Washington last week urging Congress to replace E-Verify with NEVA. Their words:
"The employee authorization plan supported by SHRM would be implemented under the proposed New Employee Verification Act (NEVA) (H.R. 5515)—introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas—Meisinger said at a May 6, 2008, House Subcommittee on Social Security hearing on the impact employment verification will have on the Social Security Administration. NEVA is designed to transform the current paper-based verification process into a state-of-the-art electronic system that is accurate, reliable, cost-efficient, easy-to-use and that shares responsibility among government, employers and employees, she said."
As I understand it, if NEVA happens it will be mandatory for ALL employers, and SHRM’s logic is that the system parallels what states are already doing to track down child support violators. According to their release, "[t]he [proposed] new hire reporting program is an electronic portal already used by 90 percent of U.S. employers, which is an improvement over the 60,000 employers currently using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) E-Verify program on a voluntary basis".
On the same day, Congress heard about H.R. 19, which sets a 7 year implementation of E-Verify for all U.S. employers (seven YEARS to implement an existing system…now THAT’S forward thinking legislation (-:) and, of course, SAVE, which would put a 4 year deadline on compliance. I remain concerned about NEVA, and the truth is that employers DO have a way of working within the existing E-Verify system which is both painless AND affordable for companies large and small.
We at i9 Advantage are acutely aware of the various possible legislative solutions and the many more which are being devised on big paper Post It stickers on the Hill…and our clients will be ready for whatever the USG throws their way. Our existing I-9 Compliance and Audit Solution works both independently of and in harmony with the existing E-Verify program, which is likely to remain the underlying methodology used, given the investment in time and money already made by the USG and participating employers.
In the interim, the audits and scare tactics continue, and our phone continues to ring. Please do not allow your company to be caught off guard. Give Terry Madden a call at 866-532-4056, tell him Jose sent you, and he’ll set up a Netmeeting where we can demo our solution, explain our unbeatable Existing Workforce Audit (EWA) process, and I can answer any legal questions you might have regarding I-9 compliance.
Find out why America’s leading employers have turned to i9 Advantage for a comprehensive I-9 management solution!
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