HR Initiative Applauds Hill Conferees for Dropping “Basic Pilot” Rider

Washington, D.C. – The Human Resource Initiative for a Legal Workforce today applauded House and Senate conferees for dropping a mandate that all private vendors holding contracts with the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development participate in the “Basic Pilot” employment verification system. 

The HR Initiative represents the nation’s leading human resource organizations, including hundreds of thousands of HR professionals and thousands of U.S. employers from every sector of the economy.  The HR experts have been critical of the provision as Basic Pilot’s significant “non-confirmation” rate would result in the erroneous rejection of significant numbers of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, resulting in a lengthy bureaucratic ordeal and potential job loss for many – while adding an enormous burden on the Social Security Administration.

Congressional conferees dropped a similar provision from the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.  The HR Initiative continued its called for additional Basic Pilot mandate riders to be removed from the following appropriations bills:

– Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration
– Commerce, Justice, Science

“Members of Congress seem to realize that Basic Pilot isn’t ready for prime time, and therefore should not be mandated,” said Mike Aitken, Director of Governmental Affairs, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  “We look forward to working with Congress on the specifics of an electronic employment verification system that can ensure a legal workforce while meeting the needs of U.S. employers.”