GatorStart and E-Verify

All federal contractors, including higher education institutions who receive federal contracts that include the E-Verify clause, are required to verify all new hires and existing employees on federal contracts via E-Verify. E-Verify checks the information provided on an employee’s I-9 form against records contained in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) databases.

• A UF employee is typically only verified once via E-Verify even if moving employment positions from one UF department to another. If there is a break in service of one day or more, then the employee will need to be verified before starting in the new position. Active UF employees who are receiving additional payments do not need to be verified.
• It is unlawful to use E-Verify as a screening tool prior to offering a position to an applicant. Verification is only performed on a new hire who has accepted an offer of employment and completed the Form I-9.
• Section 1 of the Form I-9 must be completed on or before the employee’s first day of employment, and section 2 of the Form I-9 must be completed within three business days of the employee’s start date. If an employee does not provide valid work authorization within the three-day time frame, federal statute requires the employee be terminated from employment with the University of Florida.

The Form I-9 must be submitted to E-Verify within three days of the employee’s start date.

Resources

• E-Verify Poster: (English/Spanish)
• Right to Work Posters: (English) I (Spanish)

GatorStart

GatorStart is the University of Florida’s electronic onboarding system for new employees. It is designed to help speed up the hire paperwork process required by federal and state government, UF Payroll & Tax Services and UF Human Resources.

How GatorStart Works

GatorStart is triggered when a hire ePAF is initiated for all new employees with the exception of fellowships, courtesy appointments, and employees with an active record on the day prior to the new employee’s start date. Below is an instruction guide on additional actions hiring departments can take when using GatorStart.

Resources

What Can Hiring Departments Do in GatorStart?

E-Verify Submission Options

Electronic Version Submission

To initiate the E-verify process electronically, use GatorStart for all UF employees.

• The new hire information must be entered into ePAF so the onboarding packet, GatorStart, can be initiated.
• Once GatorStart has been completed, the department will complete the Form I-9 Section 2 in I9 Management and submit the case to E-Verify within three days of the employee’s start date.
• If you created an ePAF with a UF TempID and are waiting for the social security number to be provided, Section 2 in I-9 Management must still be completed within 3 business days of the employee’s date of hire.
• Once the employee has been selected in I-9 Management, the following steps must be followed to ensure the employee’s E-Verify case is initiated by the 3-day requirement as the social security card is in transit:
  • Click on Review/Change Section 1 Information link in I-9 Management
  • If the employee is using the UF TempID then delete the number in the SSN Field and select SSN Applied For directly underneath it
  • Proceed to complete Section 2

Alert! Remember to update and submit E-Verify case once the employee provides their social security number after receiving their card from the Social Security Administration

Navigation: NavBar > Main Menu > Human Resources > UF Departmental Administration > GatorStart Web Manager > I-9 Management > Search for Employees > Enter their name or SSN then search > Select employee’s name

Paper Version Submission

Distance hires must complete a paper version of Form I-9 that must be submitted to E-verify using I-9 Management.

Distance Hires

• The completed Form I-9 must be uploaded directly into I9 Management having Sections 1 and 2 manually entered and then sent to E-verify within three days of the employee’s start date.
• ALERT! Do not E-Verify the electronic version if the employee completed GatorStart.

E-Verify Submission Results

Approximately 95% of E-Verify inquiries are returned as “employment authorized”, and no further action is required. However, when an inquiry results in “Tentative Non-Confirmation,” which may require the employee to contact the appropriate agency – the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – to resolve the non-confirmation in employment authorization.

Tentative Non-Confirmation

• Verify that all information is correctly entered in I9 Management to avoid a “tentative non-confirmation.”
• When an employee receives a tentative non-confirmation, an email is automatically sent to the employee’s email as listed on Section 1 of the Form I-9.
• UF Human Resources will contact both the department and the employee, as needed, to discuss the steps to resolve the issues within the federal guidelines.  The employee should abstain from contacting any outside agencies until speaking with UF Human Resources.
• During this time this employee may not be terminated or prohibited from working. If an employee does not contest or does not contact the appropriate agency, (DHS/SSA), the employee will be terminated in accordance with E-Verify rules and regulations.

Once a final disposition is issued by USCIS, authorized or not-authorized, Employment Operations & Records will contact both the employee and the hiring department. Please note that incorrect entries, especially Social Security numbers, may result in an increase of “tentative non-confirmation” cases.

Late E-Verify Reasons

If a hiring department submits Section 2 of the Form I-9 outside the three-day window for a new or rehired employee, the department will see the E-Verify Late Reason screen in I-9 Management. E-Verify requires this step and monitors the responses in this section. The department must select a late hire reason from the Reason E-Verify Case Created Late drop-down menu. The drop-down menu options are:

• Waited for SSN to be issued.
• Operational or technical issue encountered.*
• Audit Revealed that New Hire Was Not Run.*
• Federal Contractor verifying an existing employee.*
• Employee presented an acceptable receipt as a Section 2 document.
• Other (200-character limit; information for E-Verify not UF; be concise in response, ex. Hire was entered late. Documents were received late.)

*Please contact Employment Operations & Records at 352-273-1079 or ufhr-employment@ufl.edu prior to selecting these options from the drop-down menu.

Frequently Asked Questions