Florida Companies with 25+ Employees Required to Use E-Verify For onboarding starting July

A new law in Florida will require employers with at 25 + employees to use E-Verify, the digital immigration verification tool, during their onboarding process, starting July 1.

Senate Bill 1718 was signed into law and will increase penalties for non-compliance and for employers that hire undocumented workers.

Currently, use of the E-Verify system is mandatory for Florida public employers and private employers contracting with governments or receiving government money.

John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation, told the Advocacy Desk “Workplace shortages are one of the greatest limiting factors for growth, Congress needs to create a measure that modernizes our guest worker program”.

Businesses with fewer than 25 employees can continue to use Form I-9 within three days of a new hire’s start date to verify identity and ensure employment authorization in the United States or choose E-Verify, which comes with heightened immunity protections.

Penalties for noncompliance go into effect on July 1, 2024. Businesses have 30 days to cure noncompliance after receiving notice from the Department of Economic Opportunity.