At the request of state Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), the Alabama Legislative Services Agency issued a report on Alabama’s E-Verify compliance rate, and the results were not good.
As ABC 31 detailed, the report showed that only 60 percent of the state’s businesses were in compliance with E-Verify – the online system that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the country. While this is around the national average, Alabama’s rating is failing in comparison to neighboring Georgia, which boasts a 94 percent compliance rate.
The disparity in compliance largely comes down to different enforcement mechanisms in respective states. For Alabama, enforcement can only occur on the backend, and it is a difficult process even then, with an individual having to file a complaint with the state attorney general’s office. In stark contrast, Georgia handles enforcement on the front-end, making each employer prove E-Verify compliance before issuing them a business license.
Orr is working to bring Alabama’s compliance rate up to par, which could help the state’s legal workers in skilled industries like construction when it comes to illegal immigrant labor driving wages down.
“Why are we not vetting people to make sure they’re able, legally, to work in this state?” Orr asked.
He added, “We need to make sure that every person here is legally eligible to work as opposed to those that are here illegally and taking jobs from American citizens.”
While state law already requires all employers to use E-Verify, Alabama’s backend enforcement is leaving plenty of room for people to skirt the law. Part of the solution might be a more pro-active approach to ensuring employer participation.
“I’m going to look at a bill to see if we could bring that to Alabama — that same system would get our compliance rate up from sixty-plus percent to ninety-plus percent like they have in Georgia,” Orr outlined.
The state senator, per ABC 31, will also continue to investigate other issues that could potentially be hindering Alabama’s E-Verify compliance.
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Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
