Utah law requires all private employers that employ 15 or more employees to use E-Verify or some other verification system to verify the employment status of new employees. A private employer is “a person who for federal taxation purposes is required to provide a federal form: (i) to an individual who performs services for the person in Utah; and (ii) to report income paid to the individual who performs the services.” Utah Code Ann. § 13-47-102(3)(a). Therefore, if you are a private employer with more than 15 employees you must use E-Verify.
Currently, there is no penalty, criminal or civil, under the law if you fail to comply with the Private Employer Verification Act. However, the Act provides liability protection to those employers who do use a status verification system to verify the federal legal status of a new employee. If a private employer complies with the Act and uses a status verification system to check a new hire, the employer cannot be held civil liable for either hiring an unauthorized alien whose verification check indicated they could be employed by the employer, or for refusing to employ an individual whose status verification came back that they were an unauthorized alien.
Private employers may register with the Department of Commerce to show that they comply with the Private Employer Verification Act. The Department of Commerce will then publish a list of Utah private employers that comply with the Act. This list will be published in the Department of Commerce’s website and access to the list is free of charge to the public. The list of Utah private employers registered with the Department of Commerce can be found here.
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