E-Verify requirement may affect business

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - It's day two since a new part of Alabama’s immigration law that calls for businesses to confirm a person's immigration status before putting them on the payroll went into effect.

By now, every business owner in Alabama should be using E-verify. It's a web-based system that checks whether a person is legally able to work in the U.S.

It's all part of complying with Alabama's new immigration law.

Jim Todd with the Mobile County Extension Office said it has been preparing farmers and producers for months.

"We have been talking about it in production meetings with cotton, peanut, fruits and vegetable producers," said Todd.

Todd said most are familiar with the E-verify system and have been checking employees' immigration status since the state's crackdown on illegal immigration.

For others who waited until the April 1 deadline, Todd said they are catching on quickly using the steps on the Alabama Department of Homeland Security's website .

Todd said their concern isn't the E-Verify system, but a labor shortage following the state's illegal immigration law.

He said, "They're still struggling with that and time will tell, because this is the time of year as we get closer to the season when they really need help in the nurseries out there."

Todd said come summer and fall we should see what impact E-Verify and a labor shortage have had on local crops.

Coastal Human Resources, a company that does payroll services for several different types of business has seen a boost in business since the E-Verify requirement was announced.

"Dental offices, law firms, restaurants, manufacturers," said Jim Miller, who works for the company. "Businesses all over the country."

"A lot of people have called and asked if we could do that for them. Since January, we are getting a lot of activity and have included it in our payroll packages," said Miller.

If businesses don't run employees through the program, they face penalties that include firing the new employee, and being put on probation.

Click here for more information from the Alabama DHS about the requirement.