Contract workers with the state will soon have to submit their employees to an immigration check.
A bill sponsored by Virginia State Senator George Barker (D-39) and Del. Richard Anderson (R-51) was signed into law this week, requiring all contractors working for the state to submit to an E-Verify check through the Department of Homeland Security beginning Dec. 1, 2013.
The bill was the lone immigration bill to survive in this year’s General Assembly session.
E–Verify is the same system used by the Social Security Administration to verify workers’ legal presence in the U.S.
“I have submitted E-Verify legislation every year since I entered the Senate of Virginia, and this is the first time that my bill has made it through the entire process. It was a long journey, but standing with Gov. McDonnell was a satisfying moment for me and made the effort worthwhile,” said Barker in a press release.
The requirement would apply to all new companies who apply to work with the state, as well as companies with more than 50 employees working as part of a state contract valued at more than $50,000 during the past 12 months.
“This law moves us in the right direction by ensuring that companies doing work under a state contract are using employees who are lawfully present in the United States,” said Anderson in a press release.
