Florida Employers Required to Use Federal E-Verify System

Effective 7.1.2023 - Florida employers with 25+ employees are required to use the federal E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of each new employee within three business days of the worker’s first day of employment. The new law, signed by Governor DeSantis, applies to employees hired after June 30, 2023. Eligible employers are no longer permitted to simply utilize the paper I-9 form as they may have done in the past.

E-Verify is an internet-based employment verification process that compares information on I-9 forms to records on file in the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

Florida Bill 1718 provides for penalties of up to $1,000 per day for employers failing to comply with the new requirement.

To register your company with E-Verify, click here.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Actions Further Complicate I-9 Matters

Effective 7.31.23 - DHS Ends COVID-19 Form Flexibility that allowed employers to remotely inspect documents used to verify a worker’s eligibility to work in the United States.

Starting August 1st, employers will no longer be permitted to remotely verify documents even for fully remote workers. All documents must be physically inspected by the representative signing the paper I-9 form (permissible if you have < 25 employees) or serving as an E-Verify administrator (required for FL employers with 25+ employees).

By 8.31.23 - DHS Requires Physical Inspection of Documents and Updating of I-9 Forms

Employers who relied on the ability to remotely verify I-9 documentation will have until the end of August to comply with the physical inspection requirements for the employee-supplied I-9 documents. Upon conducting the physical inspection, employers must then update the I-9 form noting that the physical inspection occurred, the date of the inspection; and the name and signature of the person conducting the inspection. This information should be recorded in Section 2 of the I-9.