Recently, the Florida Department of Revenue released some important FAQs for the new Florida E-verify law. Click here to review and download the DOR Information sheet. Here are some of the more important new employee eligibility and e-verify questions and answers:

• Is an employer required to certify the employment eligibility of Florida and non-Florida employees? Section 448.095, Florida Statutes, requires that public agencies and private employers with 25 or more employees performing services in Florida must certify the eligibility of their employees performing services in Florida.
• Who can certify compliance with the new law (for employers with 25 employees)? Certification must be completed by (1) the individual owner, (2) the corporate president, treasurer, or other principal officer, or (3) a partner or member/managing member. The certification statement should be signed and dated.
• Can an agent or management company certify compliance? No, these entities do not have the statutory authority to certify the use of the E-Verify system on behalf of an employer. These entities will continue to file reemployment assistance reports with the Department on behalf of the employer, and the employer will separately certify the use of E-Verify.
• How does an employer certify compliance with E-verify? After July 1, 2023, each covered private employer must certify the use of the E-Verify system on its first Florida reemployment tax return filed in a calendar year. There are four (4) options to certify:
  • Employer E-Verify Certification (Form E-Verify)
  • Paper Report (Form RT-6, RT-6EW, RT-6A, RT-6NF, or RT-8A)
  • Online File and Pay Application
  • Extensible Markup Language (XML)
• What if an employer varies above and below 25 employees? A private employer must verify its new employee’s employment eligibility using E-Verify if that new employee will be the 25th or greater employee performing services in Florida at the time of the new employee’s employment verification.
• Do employers count employees at related companies (to determine 25 employee total)? Only include employees who are performing services for the private employer, unless the private employer is an authorized common paymaster. If the private employer is an authorized common paymaster for related companies, the common paymaster should count all employees for which it performs common paymaster duties as well as its own employees.

Keep checking with the Florida Department of Revenue for more updates in the future. Click here for the E-verify site.