Additional Bills Introduced to Require New Jersey Employers to Use Federal E-Verify System

In May 2010, identical bills were introduced in the Senate and Assembly requiring employers to use the federal government’s controversial E-Verify system to check the legal status of employees. Bill S1842 and A2600 would prohibit the employment of unauthorized aliens and require employers in the state to use the E-Verify program, which currently remains voluntary at the federal level. A similar bill (S1449) was introduced in February, and discussed in the March 2010 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority. These proposed bills differ from the prior bill in that the new bill provides for a staggered compliance date – employers that employ 100 or more employees would have to comply with the E-Verify requirement by December 31, 2010, but employers that employ less than 100 employees would have until December 31, 2011 to comply. These new bills also direct the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to develop a statewide random auditing program to inspect private employers for compliance with the E-Verify requirement.