The Dignity Act of 2025 passed in May 2026, marking the most significant immigration legislation to affect U.S. employers in years. The National Restaurant Association, which actively supported the bill, estimates that more than 1.5 million restaurant workers could see their immigration status affected by its provisions — and that’s before counting the construction crews, cleaning operations, childcare workers, and agricultural employees in other sectors facing similarly significant changes.
For local business owners who employ immigrant workers, the passage of the Dignity Act creates both opportunity and compliance obligation. Understanding both — promptly — matters.
Note: The Dignity Act’s implementing regulations are still being finalized as of publication. Consult an immigration attorney for guidance specific to your workforce before taking action.
What the Dignity Act Does
The Dignity Act of 2025 creates legal pathways for certain long-term undocumented residents while establishing new compliance requirements for employers. The core provisions most relevant to local employers include:
Provisional legal status for eligible workers. The Act creates a new “Dignity” immigration status for individuals who have been continuously present in the United States for a defined period, have maintained employment, and meet other criteria (no serious criminal history, payment of a fee and back taxes). This status provides a legal basis to work and remain in the country while a longer-term pathway is pursued.
Agricultural and essential worker provisions. The Act includes specific provisions accelerating access for workers in agriculture and other essential industries, including food processing, construction, and healthcare support roles. Local operators in these sectors should pay particular attention to which employees may become eligible for expedited processing.
E-Verify phased expansion. The Act includes a phased timeline for expanding E-Verify use among employers who haven’t previously been subject to the mandate. The phase-in schedule is tiered by employer size, with larger employers required to comply earlier.
I-9 reverification provisions. Employers may be required to reverify employment authorization for certain workers as new status categories become available. The specific reverification requirements and timelines are subject to regulatory guidance that is still being finalized.
What This Means for Your Workforce
For employees who may now have a pathway to legal work authorization that didn’t previously exist, this is significant — and for employers who depend on that workforce, stable employment authorization for those workers is also a business benefit.
The immediate practical concern for most employers is not disrupting workers who are in the process of adjusting status. The transition period creates potential for confusion: workers who were previously in an uncertain status may now be applying for Dignity status, which takes time to process. During that processing window, their legal right to work may be in flux, and how you handle I-9 documentation during that window matters.
Key principles for the transition period:
Do not terminate workers preemptively. If a worker is in the process of applying for Dignity status, their employment authorization documentation may be changing. Terminating employees because their existing documentation is expiring — before understanding whether they’re transitioning to a new valid status — may expose you to wrongful termination claims. Consult legal counsel before making employment decisions tied to immigration status transitions.
Follow I-9 reverification procedures precisely. The I-9 process has specific rules about when and how to reverify. Accepting the wrong documents, failing to reverify when required, or reverifying when it’s not required are all compliance errors. USCIS’s I-9 Central is the authoritative resource; when in doubt, consult an employment attorney.
Create a consistent process. Immigration-related employment decisions must be applied consistently across your workforce. Inconsistent treatment — asking some employees for documentation while not asking others — can give rise to discrimination claims under the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
E-Verify Compliance
If you are not currently enrolled in E-Verify and the Dignity Act’s phased expansion applies to your business size or sector, you’ll need to enroll and begin using the system. E-Verify enrollment is free and administered through USCIS. The process requires completing a memorandum of understanding and training your staff on the system.
For employers already enrolled in E-Verify, review your current practices to ensure you’re running cases correctly: cases must be created within three business days of a new employee’s start date, and tentative non-confirmation (TNC) results must be handled according to specific procedures that give employees the opportunity to contest the result. Mishandling TNCs is a common compliance error.
Having the Conversation With Your Team
Employees who may be eligible for Dignity status need accurate information — and misinformation about immigration law spreads quickly in tight-knit communities. As an employer, you’re not an immigration attorney and shouldn’t try to be. But you can:
- Share information about nonprofit legal resources. Many cities have nonprofit immigration legal services organizations that provide free or low-cost consultations. CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network) and AILA’s pro bono programs can help workers find qualified representation.
- Give employees time to attend appointments. Applying for Dignity status may require documentation gathering, biometrics appointments, and legal consultations. Flexibility during this period supports retention.
- Avoid making promises you can’t keep. You don’t know the outcome of any individual’s application, and setting expectations you can’t guarantee creates legal and relational risk.
The Bottom Line for Local Operators
The Dignity Act creates more stability for immigrant workers in the long run, which is ultimately good for industries that depend on that labor. The transition period — while implementing regulations are being finalized and workers are adjusting their status — is the window of highest compliance risk for employers.
The practical steps right now: review your I-9 records for accuracy, consult an employment attorney about your specific workforce and sector, look at the E-Verify phased timeline to understand your enrollment deadline, and create a consistent process for handling documentation questions from employees who are in status transition. Acting proactively now — before a DOL audit or an employee complaint — is both cheaper and less disruptive than reacting later.
