E-Verify for Employers in South Carolina and Mississippi

An E-Alert from Ogletree Deakins, one of America’s three largest labor and employment law firms:

Starting July 1, 2009, South Carolina employers with 100 or more employees must perform a special verification for newly-hired employees. These employers will be required either to use E-Verify or review a qualifying driver’s license. State contractors with 500 or more employees became subject to the same requirements on January 1, 2009 (see Ogletree Deakins’ June 4, 2008 E-Alert for more information on the law).

The Mississippi Employment Protection Act (S.B. 2988) phases in a requirement on employers to participate in E-Verify. On July 1, 2008, all Mississippi agencies and political subdivisions, all public contractors, and private employers with 250 or more employees became subject to the E-Verify requirement. On July 1, 2009, private employers with 100 or more employees will also become subject to the requirement (see Ogletree Deakins’ April 4, 2008 E-Alert for a complete review of the Mississippi law).