How does Lowe's I-9 and E-Verify use compare to Home Depot and Walmart?

1. Why Form I‑9 and E‑Verify matter: the federal baseline

Federal law requires employers to complete a Form I‑9 for every new hire to verify identity and employment authorization; that duty is universal across employers regardless of size ^[1]. E‑Verify is a separate, web‑based service that supplements the Form I‑9 process by electronically comparing I‑9 information against Social Security Administration and DHS records ^{[2] [3]}. In short, every employer must do the I‑9; only participating employers use E‑Verify ^{[1] [3]}.

2. What E‑Verify actually does and timing requirements

E‑Verify cases are created using the information from a completed Form I‑9 and must be opened within three business days after an employee starts work for pay; the I‑9 completion is the triggering step ^[3]. E‑Verify does not replace the Form I‑9 — it “uses Form I‑9 information to confirm employees’ employment eligibility” — so compliance requires both correct I‑9 completion and correct E‑Verify case handling for participants ^{[4] [3]}.

3. Changes and system reliability that affect all employers

USCIS and E‑Verify have issued updates to Form I‑9 and E‑Verify functionality (for example, changes in April 2025 to citizenship-status selections and new I‑9 edition dates), and E‑Verify has experienced technical issues and temporary outages that employers must navigate while retaining I‑9 obligations ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}. An industry tracker noted E‑Verify downtime tied to federal shutdowns and later restorations — a reminder that reliance on E‑Verify can be affected by external events while I‑9 responsibilities persist ^[9].

4. What the sources do and do not say about Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart

The provided corporate and trade coverage in the search results focuses on retail competition and customer-facing differences between Lowe’s and Home Depot (product mix, store counts, pricing), not on internal HR/compliance practices related to Form I‑9 or E‑Verify ^{[10] [11] [12]}. Walmart results in this set relate to seller onboarding and I‑9 forms sold commercially, not to Walmart’s corporate E‑Verify or I‑9 policies ^{[13] [14]}. Therefore, available sources do not mention whether Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Walmart are enrolled in E‑Verify, how extensively they use it, or any internal I‑9 workflows for those firms (not found in current reporting).

5. How to fill the reporting gap responsibly

Because the supplied material lacks company‑level disclosure, the correct journalistic step is to seek direct primary sources: corporate compliance pages, employee‑handbooks, state contractor or federal contractor registries (E‑Verify publishes lists of enrolled employers in some contexts), and filings or statements from HR departments. The E‑Verify and USCIS pages explain the program mechanics you would use to evaluate company behavior once you obtain such corporate documents ^{[2] [3] [6]}.

6. Competing perspectives and potential incentives to disclose or hide enrollment

Companies sometimes publicize E‑Verify enrollment (for example, to signal compliance with federal contractor rules or immigration‑policy stances) while others may refrain from public statements to avoid political backlash or litigation risk; the supplied retail comparisons show corporate PR is typically focused on sales and service rather than immigration compliance ^{[10] [12]}. Because the available sources do not report each retailer’s stance, any claim about a retailer’s E‑Verify use would require a primary company statement or a reliable reporting source — which the current search results do not provide (not found in current reporting).

7. Practical next steps if you need a definitive comparison

To get a definitive, sourced answer: (a) check each company’s official HR or corporate responsibility pages for statements about E‑Verify and I‑9 policy; (b) consult the federal E‑Verify participant lists or contractor‑specific enrollment records if the retailer is a federal contractor; and (c) review authoritative reporting (e.g., investigative articles or regulatory filings) that cite company spokespeople or official documents. The E‑Verify and USCIS pages will help interpret any company statements you find because they explain required timing, what E‑Verify does, and recent changes to forms and processes ^{[3] [2] [6]}.

Limitations: supplied sources establish the legal framework and recent program changes but do not contain company‑specific information about Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Walmart I‑9 or E‑Verify practices; therefore this analysis highlights the gap and prescribes where to look for verifiable answers ^{[1] [3]}.