Securitech, a federally approved designated agent for the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) and Social Security Administration(SSA), provides you with the required DHS/SSA documentation as well as required time-sensitive notifications. The earliest the employer may initiate a query is after an individual accepts an offer of employment and after the employee and employer complete the Form I-9. The employer must initiate the query no later than the end of three business days after the new hire’s actual start date. 

Although an employer may initiate the query before a new hire’s actual start date, it may not pre-screen applicants and may not delay training or an actual start date based upon a tentative non-confirmation or a delay in the receipt of a confirmation of employment authorization. In short, an employee should not face any adverse employment consequences based upon an employer’s use of E-Verify unless a query results in a final non-confirmation.  For this reason, if the query returns an employment authorization response, an employer cannot speed up the employee’s agreed upon start-date, as that would be disparate treatment based upon E-Verify results of this employee compared to another who may have received a tentative non-confirmation.

For example, Company X always assigns a start-date to new employees that are two weeks after the employee has submitted an approved drug test. After the employee has accepted a job with Company X, and after the employee and Company X complete the Form I-9, the company can initiate the E-Verify query. However, the company cannot speed up or delay the employee’s start-date based upon the results of the query (unless the program issues a final non-confirmation, in which case the employee should not be further employed).  Employers must verify employees in a non-discriminatory manner, and may not schedule the timing of queries based upon the new hire’s national origin, citizenship status, race, or other prohibited characteristic.

Effective January 1, 2008, Arizona employers will be required to verify the eligibility of all newly hired employees within (3) days of their date of hire.