Minnesota Now Requires Employers with State Contracts of More Than $50,000 to Participate in E-Verify

On January 7, 2008, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty issued an executive order that will require vendors and subcontractors that have entered into a contract with the state of Minnesota that is worth more than $50,000 to participate (or show that they plan to participate) in the E-Verify program. The effective date of the order will be 15 days from yesterday’s publication in the state register.

What Is E-Verify?

E-Verify is a web-based program operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration. E-Verify aids employers in determining the employment eligibility of new hires by comparing information provided by the new employee on his or her Form I-9 with database records.

How This Affects You

The executive order applies to all newly hired employees who will perform work on behalf of the State of Minnesota pursuant to a contract in excess of $50,000, regardless of the employee’s physical location. Recipients of business subsidies from the state of Minnesota are not required to participate in E-Verify, but may receive a scoring incentive relating to I-9 compliance in a competitive bidding situation.

Failure to comply with E-Verify obligations could result in termination of the contract and the company being barred from future contracts.

We recommend that you review any contracts your company may have with the State of Minnesota to determine whether you are subject to this new requirement.

For more information on other states’ E-Verify requirements, please see our previous alert at http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/ImmigrationAlert_ArizonaImmigLaw_17dec07.pdf.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius will continue to monitor developments and will update you with any new information. If you have any questions about any of the issues raised in this Morgan Lewis Immigration Alert, please contact:

San Francisco
A. James Vázquez-Azpiri
415.442.1343
ajvazquez@morganlewis.com

Lance Nagel
415.442.1345
lnagel@morganlewis.com
 
Washington, D.C.
Eleanor Pelta
202.739.5050
epelta@morganlewis.com
 
Eric S. Bord
202.739.6040
ebord@morganlewis.com

About Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morgan Lewis is a global law firm with more than 1,400 lawyers in 22 offices located in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Harrisburg, Houston, Irvine, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Palo Alto, Paris, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Princeton, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information about Morgan Lewis or its practices, please visit us online at www.morganlewis.com.