The City Council’s Economic Development Committee on Wednesday voted 4-1 to create an ordinance that would require all construction companies contracting with Denver to use E-Verify for all new employees.
The full council must now vote on the rule, which would go into effect Sept. 1.
The E-Verify program is an online database that checks information on an employee’s I-9 form against data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
Employers may voluntarily subscribe to the service. However, many states and local governments have made E-Verify mandatory for contract work.
A Colorado law passed in 2006 requires service contractors — those that do not deliver a specific end product, such as a building — to use the system. The state has also applied the law to construction contracts. Federal contractors and subcontractors have been required to use the system since September 2009. Denver follows state law and requires service contractors to use E-Verify.
Ordinance co-author Jeanne Faatz said the rule would bring the city into line with state and federal governments.
Federal law allows employers to look only at new hires.
“We’re not talking about going backwards and trying to drive people out of their jobs,” co-sponsor Chris Nevitt said.
The state law is administered by the state Department of Labor and Employment. The Denver auditor’s office would do the work for the city.
Auditor’s office spokesman Denis Berckefeldt said the ordinance would require a place on new contracts where an employer would affirm that all new employees have gone through the E-Verify process.
Councilman Paul Lopez, who is not on the committee, said he understands the motivation of the ordinance but is worried people wrongly fired as a result of E-Verify would not have due process of law to gain their job back.
“All it takes is one case like that to ruin someone’s life,” Lopez said.
Faatz said it is not up to the city of Denver’s ordinance to come up with an appeals process because there is already a federal program.
Councilman Doug Linkhart, the only nay vote, cited a study by Westat for the Department of Homeland Security that suggested about 54 percent of the workers flagged as ineligible to work were in fact eligible.
