San Diego County Supervisors approve E-Verify system

SAN DIEGO “ On Sept. 13, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a recommendation from Chairman Bill Horn and Supervisor Dianne Jacob to implement the federal Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification System for all future County employees, effective October 21, 2011. The system, commonly known as E-Verify, is an online program that can be used by the private and public sectors to determine if an applicant is eligible for legal employment in the United States.

Chairman Horn said, œThis is a positive step for the County, especially in tough economic times. E-Verify is a way to help ensure that jobs are only going to those who can legally be employed and protect businesses and eligible job-seekers, all at no cost to the County. I would like to see if this can be used to require county contractors to implement the program.

The County of San Diego will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Homeland Security to establish points of agreement regarding participation in E-Verify.

œI'm optimistic that this important step will preserve jobs for legally-eligible workers by upgrading to a system superior to the one the county currently uses, said Supervisor Jacob. œI will be tracking the effectiveness of E-verify to see whether wider use will help turn off the jobs magnet that encourages illegal immigration.

The E-Verify system compares employee information, such as Social Security numbers, to records kept by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.