The Department of Homeland Security has come out in favor of the E-Verify system to check on the legal status of potential employees and hopes to rescind the Social Security Administration's No-Match Rule, according to a news release.

E-Verify, which compares information from the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) against federal government databases to verify workers' employment eligibility, is a free Web-based system operated by DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration.

On average, 1,000 employers sign up for E-Verify each week, the release said. The government plans to implement the program for contractors and subcontractors Sept. 8.

"E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that reflects our continued commitment to working with employers to maintain a legal workforce," Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security secretary, said in the release.

The No-Match system, which was established by the Bush Administration in 2007 but immediately enjoined by a U.S. District Court, was intended to address employers' obligations if they received notice that Social Security numbers submitted by employees did not match up with Social Security Administration records.

The program generally was opposed by the produce industry.

"This rule would have been devastating to the California and Arizona fresh fruit, vegetable and tree-nut industries and would have caused massive layoffs of employment-authorized workers and U.S. citizens, while dragging the economy deeper into recession," Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of Irvine, Calif.-based Western Growers, said in a separate release.

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