Georgia and North Carolina Poised to Expand E-Verify Requirements

Author: David B. Weisenfeld, XpertHR Legal Editor

June 26, 2013

Effective July 1, 2013, Georgia and North Carolina will expand their mandatory E-Verify requirements to cover significantly more employers. E-Verify is a voluntary, web-based system that employers can use to determine the work eligibility of new hires. However, several states have gone beyond federal law to mandate the use of E-Verify by most employers.

Georgia

In Georgia, private employers with more than 10 full-time employees will now be required to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the work eligibility of all new hires. Previously, only private employers with 100 or more employees were required to comply. Employers with a completely part-time workforce are exempt from the law.

Before issuing or renewing any business license required for doing business in Georgia, counties and municipalities may require employers to submit evidence that they are either registered with and using E-Verify or are exempt from its requirements.

North Carolina

In North Carolina, private employers with 25 or more employees also will face mandatory E-Verify compliance. Like Georgia, only private businesses with 100 or more employees have been required to comply since January 1, 2013. Both states have phased in E-Verify requirements over the past 18 months that have covered progressively more employers.

According to the North Carolina Department of Labor, employers that hire temporary seasonal workers for fewer than 90 days within a consecutive 12-month period are not subject to the state's mandatory E-Verify law.