Florida at Center of E-Verify Tension for Industry, Lawmakers

Florida is on the verge of pushing more employers toward using the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of workers, but lawmakers face the perennial pressure from business groups to stop short of making it mandatory.

The legislation, S.B. 664, would require E-Verify, the government’s employment eligibility verification system, be used to check the work authorization status of new hires at businesses that receive economic development incentives or perform services under contract with the state or a local Florida government. Other private employers will have to use either E-Verify or an I-9 form, also used to verify ...