After 16 days, the federal government today reopened for business, including employer services such as E-Verify®. Below is a rundown of what this means for employers and employees utilizing E-Verify services.
As noted in our initial posting, “Employer Services on Hold with Government Shutdown,” the Form I-9 requirements were not affected by the government shutdown. Employers were required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for every new hire in order to work legally in the U.S.
Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) Received
For employers who received a Tentative Nonconfirmation for employees between Sept. 17 and Sept. 30, and were unable to resolve it due to the shutdown, the employees will have 12 federal business days added to the date printed on the “Referral Letter” or “Referral Date Confirmation” to resolve such cases. Employees have until that date to contact the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security to resolve their cases.
If an employee decided to contest his or her TNC while E-Verify was unavailable, it now is mandatory to initiate the referral process. No actions may be taken by the employer until each case is resolved.
Final Nonconfirmation (FNC) Must Be Done
For employees who received a Final Noncomfirmation, employers must close the case and select “The employee continues to work for the employer after receiving a Final Noncomfirmation result.”
Following this step, the employer then must enter a new case into E-Verify. These steps must be concluded to ensure the employee is afforded the opportunity to resolve the TNC that led to the FNC result.
Three-Day Rule
If you hired an employee during the shutdown period, disregard the three-day rule. Instead, by Nov. 5, employers must create cases for each employee hired during the shutdown. For those asked to provide a reason for delay, select “Other” from the drop-down menu and enter “federal government shutdown” in the open field.
