North Carolina's E-Verify law, which was effective in part on October 1, 2011  for employers that employ 500 or more employees, is expanding on  July 1, 2013, to cover employers that employ 25 or more employees. Additionally, the North Carolina legislature is considering several additions to the existing E-Verify legislation. Specifically, contractors and their subcontractors entering into a contract with a local government would be required to use E-Verify and an employer would not be penalized if it relied upon an employee's valid restricted drivers permit or valid restricted ID as part of its obligation to submit newly-hired employee data to E-Verify. This is an interesting situation given that Congress is currently debating an Immigration Reform bill, which would make E-Verify mandatory for all employers in the next four years. Thus, most legislatures have not been passing additional E-Verify legislation.