Benefits of E-Verify
The best thing American business owners can do to ensure they stay in line with the law and protect American workers is to use E-Verify. Here are a few of the other benefits to using it.
1) It is easy to use and free for employers.
2) An employer who uses the pilot in good faith cannot be held liable for hiring an illegal alien -- use of the system is an affirmative defense -- or for discrimination because he never has to ask the hire for more or different documents since the computer does all of the checking.
Under current law, if an employer suspects that one or more of the documents a new hire presents is fraudulent, he cannot ask for a different document or an additional document without risking a discrimination lawsuit by the new hire (on the grounds that the employer discriminated against the hire by treating him/her differently and asking for more than the new law requires). If the new hire sues, the employer would have to prove that the document appeared on its face to be a fake (whether it is or not).
On the other hand, if DHS (Department of Homeland Security) were to inspect the employer's records and notice the document in question looked like a fake, the employer would be liable for sanctions. An employer who uses the pilot program can invest in training of the new hire virtually immediately , without the risk that the employee will be found to be here illegally and removed, thus wasting all the resources invested in training.
3) Mandatory use of E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot Program) ensures that all U.S. businesses operate on a level playing field. Right now, since participation is voluntary, an employer who wants to obey the law will sign up to use the program, but an employer who wants to hire illegal aliens, or does not care if he hires illegal aliens, will not sign up.
The employer who hires illegal aliens and pays them under the table or does not give them benefits will have a competitive advantage over the employer who faithfully obeys the law.
Conclusion: There are only two ways to level the playing field: allow all employers to hire anyone they want at any wages/working conditions they want to offer (i.e., guarantee a race to the bottom in wages and quality of life for the average worker); or, ensure that no employer can hire illegal aliens and enforce labor laws (American workers win since they don't have to compete with the entire Third World for work; American taxpayers benefit because they don't have to subsidize employers' cheap labor by providing welfare, health care, education, etc.).