Number of Businesses Using E-Verify Continues to Rise

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1,000 new employers are signing up for E-Verify every week. Some of the increase is driven by state laws requiring usage of the employee verification tool and an executive order that went into effect last year mandating federal contractors to use it.

In Tennessee alone, the number of businesses using E-Verify has risen from 380 to 2,717 in four years. The Volunteer State doesn’t have a law in place requiring the mandatory use of E-Verify, but a bill was proposed earlier this year before being withdrawn by the sponsor. Still, several of Tennessee’s neighboring states have laws in place and word is getting around to business owners.

“Employers are talking about it,” USCIS spokeswoman Sharon Scheidhauer said. “We think people are getting the message. It’s easy. It’s free. It’s fast.”

“It really gives you the peace of mind to know that the documents you are getting (from new hires) are legitimate and were obtained legally,” said Rachel Bragg from FreshPoint Tomato in Tennessee. FreshPoint is owned by Sysco, who requires all of its companies to use the system.

Even though Tennessee doesn’t require E-Verify, there are stiff penalties for companies hiring illegal aliens. The system offers companies that use it a safeguard.

For more information on the usage of E-Verify in Tennessee, see The Tennessean. Also, for an updated list of states mandating the usage of E-Verify, see our map of states.