Owning a business nowadays seems to come with a great deal of bureaucratic red tape. Recently, Florida law changed to require some employers to use E-Verify, the federal government’s program for verifying the identity and work eligibility of new employees.
If your business participates in the E-Verify program, you must be careful not to violate the employment rights of your employees. An easy way to run afoul of the program’s rules is to make mistakes after receiving an E-Verify tentative non-confirmation.
What is a TNC?
A TNC simply means the information you entered from your new employee’s I-9 does not match records in the databases from the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security. It is not, however, evidence your employee lacks the legal authorization he or she needs to work in the U.S.
Why do TNCs happen?
While it is certainly possible your employee cannot work legally in the country, there are other reasons you may receive a TNC. These include the following:
- Your employee’s name has changed
- Your employee’s citizenship or immigration status has changed
- Your employee made a mistake on his or her I-9
- You made a mistake when entering I-9 information
- The SSA or DHS database contains errors
How do you treat a TNC?
After getting a TNC for an employee, you should receive explicit instructions for resolving it. You must follow these instructions carefully and give your employee sufficient time to try to address the issue without taking adverse employment action. If your employee does not want to contest the TNC, though, you may need to terminate his or her employment.
Ultimately, to avoid violating both E-Verify’s memorandum or understanding and your employee’s rights, you must take your obligations under the program seriously.