New California Law Penalizes Misuse of E-Verify

November 10, 2015

In October 2015, California enacted a new law imposing state fines of up to $10,000 on employers who misuse E-Verify.  These state fines are in addition to federal fines. E-Verify remains a voluntary federal program for most employers and the new California law neither requires nor prohibits the use of E-Verify.  Instead, it imposes fines on those who use enroll in E-Verify and then use it improperly or fail to use it. The new California law does not change the underlying rules of the federal E-Verify system.

E-Verify is used to check the work authorization of new hires. It must be used to verify individuals who have not yet accepted a job offer, nor to re-verify the work authorization of an existing employee (unless that existing employee is working on a federal contract requiring E-Verification and the employer is a federal government contractor).