Utah E-Verify & Work Authorization

Private employers at or above the statutory headcount — 150 employees (raised from 15 by HB 252 in 2022; confirm the current threshold) — must register with and use a status-verification system such as E-Verify for new hires (Utah Code § 13-47-201). Public employers must verify regardless of size; contractors must register and participate to enter a public contract for the physical performance of services in Utah, with statutory carve-outs (§ 63G-12-302(3)). The Act also carries a scheduled contingent repeal — it ends on the earlier of July 1, 2027 or 120 days after the governor finds Utah has the federal waiver needed to launch the state's Guest Worker Program (Utah Code § 63G-12-202(3)(a)); until either happens, the 150-employee duty stands.

Complying with Utah Code § 13-47-201 does more than create a presumption — under § 13-47-202 it bars civil liability under state law for the hire, or for declining to hire, once the verification result supports the decision — federal exposure is a separate question (see the federal floor below). The rebuttable presumption that an employer did not knowingly employ an unauthorized worker instead comes from a different law, the Immigration Accountability and Enforcement Act (Utah Code § 63G-12-305(3)), which covers private employers with 15+ employees, applies only within that act's own enforcement scheme, and only once its still-inactive “program start date” trigger fires. Unlike Arizona, Utah does not revoke business licenses for non-use — the incentive is liability protection, not punishment.

Every employer — regardless of the state threshold — must still complete the federal Form I-9 (edition 01/20/2025) for each new hire. That duty (8 U.S.C. § 1324a) has no size threshold at all. § 1324b is a separate statute and its coverage is split. The Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section treats unfair documentary practices (§ 1324b(a)(6)) and retaliation (§ 1324b(a)(5)) as reaching an employer of any size. But the bar on citizenship-status and national-origin discrimination in hiring and discharge (§ 1324b(a)(1)) starts at four employees — § 1324b(a)(2)(A) excepts an entity that “employs three or fewer employees,” and national-origin claims against employers with 15 or more go to the EEOC under Title VII instead. Being under four is not a safe harbour: 42 U.S.C. § 1981 reaches ancestry and ethnicity discrimination at any size.

Confirm your headcount against the current statutory threshold, register for E-Verify if you're covered (or voluntarily, for the safe harbor), complete I-9s for everyone, and apply verification uniformly. Don't pre-screen applicants through E-Verify before hire.