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Commissioners vote to revise E-Verify program
October 21, 2009
Commissioners vote to revise E-Verify program
Lisa Brody
October 21, 2009 -
E-Verify, a free software program that allows employers to check whether an employee is legally authorized to work in the United States, will have to be used when the county hires new employees, following recent action by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Commissioners voted in July to require the use of the E-Verify program by those who enter into contracts with the county, in order to make sure their employees are legal.
The change to extend the requirement to new county employees takes effect Feb. 1, 2010.
The revision was proposed by Commissioner Jim Runestad (R-Waterford, White Lake), who has been concerned about the displacement of legal workers by undocumented workers. It was approved unanimously on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
"So many of our fellow workers are out of work, especially in the building trades, which are in direct competition with illegal workers," Runestad said.
"Given the economy, we have to do everything possible for Americans and people with legal papers to find work," said Commissioner Marcia Gershenson (D-West Bloomfield). "We wanted to model the same program as the national government."
E-Verify is a federal program, used for federal employees, but is available to any employer. It's a free Internet-based system that is used to verify that employees are legally documented workers.
The county's Human Resources Department will formulate all of the rules and procedures of the revised program, and implement all E-Verify procedures. Originally, the commissioners authorized the County Executive to implement all rules and procedures.
E-Verify can only be used after hiring is done.
"Employers are not allowed to require it before hiring takes place," said Commissioner Jeff Potter (R-Walled Lake, Wixom).
With Runestad's approval, Potter added a condition to the requirement that the system be re-examined by the county's Human Resources Committee on the one year anniversary of the program's implementation, to evaluate how it's working out for the county.
"Some tweaks had to be made so the process isn't onerous to the county, and it doesn't outlive its purpose," Potter said.
Commissioner Tom Middleton (R-Waterford) said he voted for the revised system implementation plan because "it's to an employer's advantage to call and verify that an employee is a resident with proper papers. It can be very useful to an employer."
Lisa Brody is a staff writer for the Spinal Column Newsweekly
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