July 13, 2009 - Posted by Dayo Adiatu
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced its support for a regulation that could make it even harder for Americans, already struggling in a tough job market, to get jobs.
Under the regulation, employers seeking federal contracts will be required to use the Employment Eligibility Verification System (E-Verify) to verify its employees are allowed to work in the U.S. Newly-hired workers would have their identification checked against government databases. An employee whose information does not match the database goes on a "No Work List." Employers seeking federal contracts will be barred from hiring from the "No Work List."
E-Verify is designed to stop employers from hiring undocumented immigrants, but is likely to affect work eligibility of millions of law-abiding American workers as well because the government databases are filled with errors. The Social Security Administration itself reports that nearly 13 million of its files on U.S. citizens contain incorrect data.
"In the middle of the toughest job market in decades, the Obama administration and the Senate have chosen to erect another roadblock to gainful employment for U.S. workers. The administration's decision to expand E-Verify without correcting the defects in the database system will lead to unnecessary harm to U.S. workers," said Joanne Lin, legislative counsel for the ACLU.
Soon after the DHS announcement, the Senate approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security appropriations bill that would make E-Verify permanent for all federal contractors.
Categories: Workers' Rights
