Worker Protections Against Discrimination in the E-Verify Process

Worker Protections Against Discrimination in the E-Verify Process
Worker Fact Sheet
Worker Protections Against
Discrimination in the E-Verify Process
If your employer uses E-Verify, you have rights.
E-Verify is an electronic program run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Employers use E-Verify to check if employees have the legal right to work in the United
States.
The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the U.S. Department of Justice’s
Civil Rights Division enforces a law that prohibits employers from discriminating in the E-
Verify process. This law is found at 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.
How E-Verify works 	E-Verify compares information from your completed Form I-9
to information in government records.
E-Verify will confirm that you have the legal right to work in
the United States if the information matches.
If the information does not match, E-Verify requires your
employer to tell you that E-Verify did not confirm your legal
right to work right away. This is known as a Tentative
Nonconfirmation, or mismatch.
You have rights while
fixing an E-Verify
mismatch
If you receive a mismatch, you have the right to take
action to fix the error. E-Verify rules require your employer
to give you written instructions on how to fix the problem.
These instructions include a deadline to contact the
government.
You may also get an email from E-Verify with information
about your E-Verify case if you include your email address
on your Form I-9.
Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
justice.gov/ier

Worker Protections Against Discrimination in the E-Verify Process
If your employer notifies you that you got a mismatch and
you are taking action to fix the problem, your employer is not
allowed to take any negative action against you because of
the mismatch, including:
• 	Firing you
• 	Suspending you
• 	Making you wait to start work
• 	Refusing to pay you for work you’ve done
An employer taking action against you based on the
mismatch might violate the law that IER enforces and
the E-Verify law.
Under the E-Verify law and
rules, employers are also
not allowed to:
• 	Create an E-Verify case before hiring you
• 	Check your information in E-Verify before you have
filled out your Form I-9
• 	Use E-Verify to check your information for
reverification
Still waiting for your Social
Security number?
E-Verify instructs employers to allow you to continue to work
after you have completed the Form I-9. Once your Social
Security number is available, your employer will create your
E-Verify case.
E-Verify employers must use the program consistently
and without regard to an employee’s citizenship,
immigration status, or national origin.
You can learn if your employer has run you through E-Verify
and more at e-verify.gov/mye-verify.
Call the Immigrant and
Employee Rights Section
if:
• 	Your employer uses E-Verify only for non-U.S.
citizens, workers from a certain country, or those
workers your employer thinks look “foreign.”
• 	Your employer won’t let you work or takes other
action against you when you are fixing a mismatch.
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Worker Protections Against Discrimination in the E-Verify Process
• 	Your employer asks you to show a specific document
for the Form I-9 or E-Verify.
Updated August 2023
Contact
• 	Call the Worker Hotline at
• 	For people with hearing disabilities 1-800-237-2515
• 	Calls can be anonymous.
• 	Free language services are available.
• 	To learn more, visit
1-800-255-7688
justice.gov/ier
Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)