Employment Verification Act of 2005 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Act) to establish a mandatory electronic worker verification system on a two-to-five year phased-in basis (depending on the number of employees).
Provides: (1) for protection from unauthorized disclosure and discrimination; and (2) that employers who use the system will be considered to be in compliance with specified employment verification requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to review the impact of the employment eligibility verification system (established under the Act) on each class of employers, and certify for each such class that the system: (1) does not result in increased discrimination; and (2) does not interfere with the hiring process for employers or cause a waiting period longer than five days before a new hire can be confirmed as employment eligible.
Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to identify the sources of false or expired Social Security numbers and take steps to eliminate them from the Social Security system.
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) fully integrate all system databases and data systems and provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) with access to such information; (2) establish rules, policies, and operating and auditing procedures for collecting, removing, and updating system data; and (3) establish a clearinghouse bureau for the public to correct system information.
Amends INA to provide that documents establishing employability shall be: (1) a qualifying Social Security card; or (2) A U.S.-issued machine readable employment authorization card.
Establishes civil and criminal penalties for employment-related false citizenship claims. Increases civil monetary penalties for hiring, recruiting, referral, and paperwork violations.
Amends the Social Security Act to establish criminal penalties for misuse of Social Security account numbers.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1917 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1917
To require employers to verify the employment eligibility of their
employees, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 25, 2005
Mr. Hagel introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require employers to verify the employment eligibility of their
employees, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Employment Verification Act of
2005''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS TO CONDUCT EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY
VERIFICATION.
(a) Requirement to Participate in the Employment Eligibility
Verification Program.--Subtitle A of title IV of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.
1324a note) is amended--
(1) in section 401(c)(1)--
(A) by striking , ``basic pilot program'' and
inserting ``Employment Eligibility Verification
System''; and
(B) by striking ``the program'' and inserting ``the
system, on a continuous and permanent basis,'';
(2) in section 402, by amending subsection (a) to read as
follows:
``(a) Participation in Employment Eligibility Verification
Program.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 2 years
after the date of enactment of the Employment Verification Act
of 2005, any person or other entity that hires any individual
for employment in the United States shall participate in the
Employment Eligibility Verification System.
``(2) Phase-in period.--The requirement under paragraph (1)
shall only apply--
``(A) to persons or entities that employ more than
5,000 individuals in the United States beginning on the
later of--
``(i) 2 years after the date of enactment
of the Employment Verification Act of 2005; or
``(ii) 60 days after the Secretary of
Commerce makes the certification required by
section 201(b) of such Act;
``(B) to persons or entities that employ more than
1,000 individuals in the United States beginning on the
later of--
``(i) 3 years after the date of enactment
of the Employment Verification Act of 2005; or
``(ii) 60 days after the Secretary of
Commerce makes the certification required by
section 201(b) of such Act;
``(C) to persons or entities that employ more than
250 individuals in the United States beginning on the
later of--
``(i) 4 years after the date of enactment
of the Employment Verification Act of 2005; or
``(ii) 60 days after the Secretary of
Commerce makes the certification required by
section 201(b) of such Act; and
``(D) to persons or entities that employ more than
1 individual in the United States beginning on the
later of--
``(i) 5 years after the date of enactment
of the Employment Verification Act of 2005; or
``(ii) 60 days after the Secretary of
Commerce makes the certification required by
section 201(b) of such Act.
``(3) Voluntary participation authorized.--Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to prevent a person or other
entity that is not subject to the requirement under paragraph
(1) from voluntarily participating in the Employment
Eligibility Verification System.
``(4) Effect of participation.--A person or entity
participating in the Employment Eligibility Verification System
under this section shall be deemed to be in compliance with
section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1324a(b)).
``(5) Protection from unauthorized disclosure by
employer.--Each employer participating in the Employment
Eligibility Verification System shall--
``(A) notify employees and prospective employees of
the use of the System and that the System may be used
for immigration enforcement purposes; and
``(B) restrict access to the System and protect
from unauthorized disclosure the information entered
into or obtained from the System.''; and
(3) in section 403(a), by striking ``(a)'' and all that
follows through ``agrees to conform'' and inserting the
following:
``(a) Employment Eligibility Verification System.--A person or
other entity that elects to participate in the Employment Eligibility
Verification System shall agree to conform''.
(b) Certification.--The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Labor, the
Commissioner of Social Security, and the Special Counsel for
Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices of the Department of
Justice, shall review the impact of the Employment Eligibility
Verification System established under subtitle A of title IV of the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8
U.S.C. 1324a note) on each class of employers listed in section
402(a)(2) of such Act, as amended by subsection (a), and, when
appropriate, shall certify, for each such class, that the System--
(1) does not result in increased discrimination or cause
reasonable employers to conclude that employees of certain
races or ethnicities are more likely to have difficulties when
offered employment due to the operation of the system; and
(2) does not interfere with or delay the hiring process for
employers or cause a waiting period longer than 5 days before a
new hire can be confirmed as eligible to work.
(c) Protection From Discrimination.--Title IV of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.
1324a note), as amended by subsection (a), shall be implemented in such
a manner to prevent discrimination based on national origin or
citizenship status under section 274B of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b).
(d) Confidentiality.--
(1) Access to database.--No officer or employee of any
agency or department of the United States, other than
individuals responsible for the enforcement of immigration laws
or for the evaluation of the employment verification program at
the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the Department of Labor, may have access to any
information contained in the Employment Eligibility
Verification System.
(2) Protection from unauthorized disclosure.--Information
in the Employment Eligibility Verification System shall be
adequately protected against unauthorized disclosure for other
purposes, as provided in regulations established by the
Commissioner of Social Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Labor.
(e) Improvements to Database Integrity.--
(1) In general.--The Commissioner of Social Security shall
identify the sources of false, incorrect, or expired Social
Security numbers and take steps to eliminate such numbers from
the Social Security system.
(2) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security
shall submit a report to Congress that describes--
(A) the sources of false, incorrect, or expired
Social Security numbers;
(B) the steps taken by the Social Security
Administration to identify and eliminate the numbers
described in paragraph (1); and
(C) how the Social Security Administration plans to
complete the removal of the numbers described in
paragraph (1) from the Social Security system within 1
year after the date on which the report is submitted.
(f) Electronic Filing.--Any employer participating in the
Employment Eligibility Verification System may complete and allow for
new hires to complete employment verification documents electronically.
(g) Integration and Accuracy of Employment Eligibility Verification
System.--
(1) Integration.--Not later than the first effective date
of any mandatory participation in the Employment Eligibility
Verification System (referred to in this subsection as the
``System''), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall fully
integrate all databases and data systems that are used in the
System and provide the Social Security Administration with
current and immediate access to information in the System.
(2) Maintaining accuracy and integrity.--
(A) Policies and procedures.--
(i) Establishment.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security shall establish rules,
guidelines, policies, and operating and
auditing procedures for collecting, removing,
adding, and updating data maintained in the
System to ensure the accuracy and integrity of
the data.
(ii) Training.--The Secretary shall develop
and implement training on the rules,
guidelines, policies, and procedures
established under clause (i) for all personnel
authorized to access information maintained in
the System.
(B) Data maintenance procedures.--The Commissioner
of Social Security shall establish rules, guidelines,
policies, and operating and auditing procedures for
collecting, removing, updating, and adding data to the
System to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the data
and to limit access to the data to authorized
personnel.
(C) Enumeration.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State
and the Commissioner of Social Security, shall
establish such rules, guidelines, policies, and
operating and auditing procedures for collecting,
updating, and adding information to the System to
ensure the issuance of Social Security numbers to all
noncitizens authorized to work in the United States not
later than 10 days after lawful admission to the United
States or approval of a change of nonimmigrant status
by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
(D) Requirements.--The rules, guidelines, policies,
and procedures established under this subsection
shall--
(i) incorporate a simple and timely method
for--
(I) correcting errors regarding
immigration status, work authorization,
or any other relevant data in a timely
and effective manner;
(II) determining which Government
official provided the data to ascertain
the accuracy of such data; and
(III) clarify information known to
lead to errors regarding immigration
status, work authorization, or
misidentification;
(ii) include procedures for individuals
to--
(I) examine their personal record
for errors;
(II) seek expedited corrections of
data contained in the System; and
(III) appeal decisions concerning
data contained in the System;
(iii) strictly limit the agency personnel
authorized to input data into the System; and
(iv) identify classes of prejudicial
information requiring authorization of
supervisory personnel before entry into the
System.
(E) Centralizing and streamlining correction
process.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall establish a clearinghouse bureau
to centralize and streamline the process
through which members of the public can seek to
correct erroneous or inaccurate information
contained in the System that is related to
immigration status or otherwise impedes the
issuance of a Social Security number.
(ii) Time schedules.--The process described
in clause (i) shall include specific time
schedules for reviewing data correction
requests, rendering decisions on such requests,
and implementing appropriate correcting action
in a timely manner.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to--
(1) carry out the Employment Eligibility Verification
System throughout the United States; and
(2) sufficiently increase the number of Federal employees
dedicated to completing secondary verifications for the
Employment Eligibility Verification System to comply with the
timeframes established under this section and the amendments
made by this section.
SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT
AUTHORIZATION.
(a) In General.--Section 274A(b)(1) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in clause (i), by adding ``or'' at the end; and
(B) in clause (ii)(III), by inserting ``is machine
readable and'' before ``contains''; and
(2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
``(C) Documents evidencing employment
authorization.--A document that may be presented to
establish employment authorization under this section
is--
``(i) a Social Security card that complies
with section 511(a); or
``(ii) a machine readable, tamper resistant
card issued by the United States that
explicitly authorizes employment in the United
States.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED EMPLOYMENT AND FALSE CLAIMS OF
CITIZENSHIP.
Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1324a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(2)--
(A) by striking ``The individual'' and inserting
the following:
``(A) In general.--The individual''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Penalties.--Any individual who falsely
represents that the individual is a citizen for
purposes of obtaining employment shall, for each such
violation, be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000
and a term of imprisonment not to exceed 3 years.'';
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (4)(A)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``$250 and
not more than $2,000'' and inserting ``$500 and
not more than $4,000'';
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``$2,000
and not more than $5,000'' and inserting
``$4,000 and not more than $10,000''; and
(iii) in clause (iii), by striking ``$3,000
and not more than $10,000'' and inserting
``$6,000 and not more than $20,000''; and
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``$100 and not
more than $1,000'' and inserting ``$200 and not more
than $2,000''; and
(3) in subsection (f), by striking ``$3,000'' and inserting
``$6,000''.
SEC. 5. NEW CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR MISUSE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT
NUMBERS.
(a) In General.--Section 208(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7), by adding after subparagraph (C) the
following:
``(D) with intent to deceive, discloses, sells, or
transfers his own social security account number,
assigned to him by the Commissioner of Social Security
(in the exercise of the Commissioner's authority under
section 205(c)(2) to establish and maintain records),
to any person; or'';
(2) in paragraph (8), by adding ``or'' at the end; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) without lawful authority, offers, for a fee, to
acquire for any individual, or to assist in acquiring for any
individual, an additional social security account number or a
number that purports to be a social security account number; or
``(10) being an officer or employee of any executive,
legislative, or judicial agency or instrumentality of the
Federal Government or of a State or political subdivision
thereof (or a person acting as an agent of such an agency or
instrumentality), willfully acts or fails to act so as to cause
a violation of section 205(c)(2)(C)(xi); or
``(11) being an officer or employee of any executive,
legislative, or judicial agency or instrumentality of the
Federal Government or of a State or political subdivision
thereof (or a person acting as an agent of such an agency or
instrumentality) in possession of any individual's social
security account number (or an officer or employee thereof or a
person acting as an agent thereof), willfully acts or fails to
act so as to cause a violation of clause (vi)(II), (x), (xi),
(xii), (xiii), or (xiv) of section 205(c)(2)(C); or
``(12) being a trustee appointed in a case under title 11,
United States Code (or an officer or employee thereof or a
person acting as an agent thereof), willfully acts or fails to
act so as to cause a violation of clause (x), (xi), or (xiv) of
section 205(c)(2)(C);''.
(b) Effective Dates.--Paragraphs (7)(D), (9), (10), (11), and (12)
of section 208(a) of the Social Security Act, as added by subsection
(a)(2), shall apply with respect to each violation occurring after the
date of enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11825-11826)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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