STUART, Fla. — Antonio Bravo struggled to hide his surprise to a letter from the Florida Department of Commerce.
His roofing company, based in West Palm Beach, is one of 40 businesses that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said might not be in compliance with Florida’s E-Verify law. The Department of Commerce was asking for copies of all documentation to verify employment eligibility or face possible consequences, like fines worth $1,000 a day.
Florida law only requires employers with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify
There was just one problem: Florida’s law only requires employers with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify, which confirms somebody’s ability to work in the United States. And Bravo said he only had 10 employees.
“For us to get [the letter], it’s a little bit worrying,” he said. “You know, we don’t have a large legal department I can send this to and forget about.”
Bravo told WPTV’s Ethan Stein that he never heard of the complaint or any investigation. He also never saw the letter, dated Jan. 28, before WPTV brought him a copy on Friday.
“It’s scary a little bit to be caught in the middle of something like this when you’re just trying to do my job.” Bravo said. “And it doesn’t even affect me.”
Bravo’s business joins other larger companies facing similar accusations like Marriot, Circle K Stores, Cleveland Clinic, 7-Eleven and Trulieve.
Cuacua Family Plant Nursery, based in West Palm Beach, also got a letter. The owner told WPTV’s Ethan Stein that the only employees were him and his wife, during a visit to the plant nursery on Friday.
The company that owns Noodle World, a Thai restaurant in Stuart, also got a letter from the state with similar demands. The owner didn’t answer our calls, but the restaurant said it only had seven employees.
The letter sent on Tuesday was the first time the Department of Commerce had issued non-compliance letters since the governor signed a new state law in 2023, which required companies with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify.
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In an email to WPTV, Emily Hetherington, interim director of communications and external affairs, said the law went into affect in July 2024. She also said businesses will get 30 days to verify employee eligibility. But, she didn’t directly answer our questions about the department’s rationale or the agency’s confidence level that these businesses were supposed to comply with E-Verify laws.
However, the letters were posted online after Republican state lawmakers criticized the governor for not using the new law during a special session at the legislature this week. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled chamber cited the law when discussing if it should give the governor or the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson more control to enforce immigration laws.
The governor’s office didn’t respond to our requests for comment. But the letter attacks the legislature for not funding the program: “Though the legislature created but twice refused to fund this program, the Department has marshaled existing resources to enforce section 448.095, Florida Statues.”
