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Committee backs bill lowering E-Verify threshold from six employees to one, with legal clarifications
Summary
Chairman Hensley's SB 0990 — lowering the private-employer E-Verify threshold from six employees to one — was amended, clarified by committee counsel that independent contractors are excluded, and sent to the calendar after debate over small-business burdens (6 ayes, 2 no, 1 pass).
Chairman Hensley introduced SB 0990 to reduce the employer threshold for E-Verify compliance from six paid employees to one. He said the change would expand the pool of private employers required to verify legal work status, noting the bill "decreases from 6 to 1 the number of paid employees an individual must have to be considered a private employer for the purposes of the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act." Committee counsel clarified the bill's scope: an "employee" means an individual for whom an employer must complete an I-9 under federal law and does not include independent contractors.
Members pressed on small-business impacts and enforcement; one member said his only concern was ensuring backhoe contractors and similar small employers could comply and be educated about alternatives to E-Verify (driver's license, passport, birth certificate). The amendment that makes the bill was adopted and SB 0990 was moved to the committee calendar with a recorded result of 6 ayes, 2 noes and 1 pass.
