On March 3, 2011, the Georgia House of Representatives passed, by a 113-54 vote, House Bill 87 (pdf), an immigration enforcement bill that, among other provisions, would require employers to use E-Verify to authenticate their new hires’ legal work status. The bill, known as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011, now moves to the Senate, where a committee endorsed a similar measure on March 2. As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, HB 87’s controversial provisions, such as authorizing state and local police to verify the immigration status of certain criminal suspects, prompted “hundreds” of demonstrators to gather outside the Georgia Capitol during the House debate to “denounce the measure as an ‘Arizona copycat law.’”

Section 17 of HB 87 would amend Georgia Code section 36-60-6 to require employers to register and use E-Verify to authenticate their new hires’ legal work status. If enacted, compliance deadlines will be staggered according to an employer’s size:

• September 1, 2011: employers with 500 or more employees
• January 1, 2012: employers with 100 or more employees
• July 12, 2012: employers with five or more employees

Additionally, Section 17 of HB 87 mandates that a county or municipality cannot issue or renew a business license, occupational tax certificate, or other document required to operate a business unless it first receives proof that the business is authorized to use E-Verify. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts is directed to provide a standardized form affidavit that employers can use either: (1) to attest that the business does and will continue to use E-Verify, or (2) to claim exemption by attesting that the business employs fewer than five employees.