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4.0 Certain Organizations that Qualify for Exceptions

The E-Verify federal contractor rule generally requires use of E-Verify for all new employees, regardless of whether they are assigned to a federal contract. However, the following organizations awarded a federal contract that includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause are only required to use E-Verify for new hires and existing non-exempt employees who are working directly under a covered contract:

  • State and local governments
  • Institutions of higher education (as defined at 20 U.S.C. 1001(a))
  • Governments of federally recognized Indian tribes
  • Sureties performing under a takeover agreement entered into with a federal agency under a performance bond

Example: A city government has a federal contract that includes the FAR
E-Verify clause. After the E-Verify federal contractor rule implementation date, it hired Doris to work on a contract containing the FAR E-Verify clause and hired Frank to work on a project that is not part of a federal contract. The city government need only verify new and existing employees assigned to a qualifying federal contract. Therefore, the city government must use E-Verify to verify Doris, but is not required to verify Frank. The city is not required to verify anyone else on the staff not working on the federal contract, but may choose to verify the entire staff (except for those employees who are exempt).

You must indicate that your organization qualifies for the exception when you enroll in E-Verify or, if your company is already enrolled, when you update your company profile.

Note: Your Form I-9 requirements are no different than the requirements for any other federal contractor whose contract contains the FAR E-Verify clause. For more information, see Section 2.

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