Small businesses in South Carolina will soon have to verify all their workers are legal through an electronic verification system, and state authorities are ramping up efforts to make sure they know how to comply.

The system, called E-Verify, enables businesses to submit employees' names and Social Security numbers to a federal database to verify their eligibility for employment.

In June, Gov. Nikki Haley signed an amendment to the "Illegal Aliens and Private Employment" law to require all businesses to use the program by Jan. 1. Businesses that don't comply could lose their licenses to operate in the state.

Since that amendment, state authorities have traveled extensively to promote awareness of E-Verify. Those efforts won't end anytime soon, according to Catherine Templeton, director of the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

"We'll never stop educating businesses in the state," Templeton said. "We'll have this concentrated push at least through the end of next year."

Read the complete story at islandpacket.com