Legal Employee Verification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require visas issued by the Secretary of State and immigration related documents issued by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security to comply with authentication and biometric standards recognized by domestic and international standards organizations.
Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) establish an Employment Eligibility Confirmation System to respond to inquiries made by employers regarding the identities and employment authorizations of their employees; (2) design, implement, and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database, including annual reverification; and (3) develop a plan to phase all workers into the Database and phase out the employer verification system established in specified existing provisions.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (currently, the Attorney General) to implement an integrated entry and exit data system.
Requires a process under which an H-2B alien (temporary nonagricultural worker) who files a nonfrivolous complaint regarding a violation of this Act and is otherwise eligible to remain and work in the United States may be allowed to seek other employment in the United States for a period not to exceed the maximum period of stay for that nonimmigrant.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1951 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1951
To establish a mandatory system for employers to verify the employment
eligibility of potential employees, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 19, 2007
Mr. Ellsworth introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on
Education and Labor and Homeland Security, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a mandatory system for employers to verify the employment
eligibility of potential 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 ``Legal Employee Verification Act''.
SEC. 2. DOCUMENT AND VISA REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 221(a) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Visas and Immigration Related Document Requirements.--
``(A) Visas issued by the Secretary of State and
immigration related documents issued by the Secretary of State
or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall comply with
authentication and biometric standards recognized by domestic
and international standards organizations.
``(B) Such visas and documents shall--
``(i) be machine-readable and tamper-resistant;
``(ii) use biometric identifiers that are
consistent with the requirements of section 303 of the
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of
2002 (8 U.S.C. 1732), and represent the benefits and
status set forth in such section;
``(iii) comply with the biometric and document
identifying standards established by the International
Civil Aviation Organization; and
``(iv) be compatible with the United States Visitor
and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology and the
employment verification system established under
section 274E.
``(C) The information contained on the visas or immigration
related documents described in subparagraph (B) shall include--
``(i) the alien's name, date and place of birth,
alien registration or visa number, and, if applicable,
social security number;
``(ii) the alien's citizenship and immigration
status in the United States; and
``(iii) the date that such alien's authorization to
work in the United States expires, if appropriate.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY CONFIRMATION SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Chapter 8 of title II of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 274D the following:
``employment eligibility
``Sec. 274E. (a) Employment Eligibility Confirmation System.--
``(1) In general.--The Commissioner of Social Security, in
consultation and coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall establish an Employment Eligibility
Confirmation System (referred to in this section as the
`System') through which the Commissioner responds to inquiries
made by employers who have hired individuals concerning each
individual's identity and employment authorization.
``(2) Maintenance of records.--The Commissioner shall
electronically maintain records by which compliance under the
System may be verified.
``(3) Objectives of the system.--The System shall--
``(A) facilitate the eventual transition for all
businesses from the employer verification system
established in section 274A with the System; and
``(B) utilize, as a central feature of the System,
machine-readable documents that contain encrypted
electronic information to verify employment
eligibility.
``(4) Initial response.--The System shall provide--
``(A) confirmation or a tentative nonconfirmation
of an individual's identity and employment eligibility
not later than 1 working day after the initial inquiry;
and
``(B) an appropriate code indicating such
confirmation or tentative nonconfirmation.
``(5) Secondary verification process in case of tentative
nonconfirmation.--
``(A) Establishment.--For cases of tentative
nonconfirmation, the Commissioner of Social Security,
in consultation and coordination with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall establish a secondary
verification process. The employer shall make the
secondary verification inquiry not later than 10 days
after receiving a tentative nonconfirmation.
``(B) Discrepancies.--If an employee chooses to
contest a secondary nonconfirmation, the employer shall
provide the employee with a referral letter and
instruct the employee to visit an office of the
Department of Homeland Security or the Social Security
Administration to resolve the discrepancy not later
than 10 working days after the receipt of such referral
letter in order to obtain confirmation.
``(C) Failure to contest.--An individual's failure
to contest a confirmation shall not constitute
knowledge (as defined in section 274a.1(l) of title 8,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date
of the enactment of the Legal Employee Verification
Act).
``(6) Design and operation of system.--The System shall be
designed, implemented, and operated--
``(A) to maximize its reliability and ease of use
consistent with protecting the privacy and security of
the underlying information through technical and
physical safeguards;
``(B) to allow employers to verify that a newly
hired individual is authorized to be employed;
``(C) to permit individuals to--
``(i) view their own records in order to
ensure the accuracy of such records; and
``(ii) contact the appropriate agency to
correct any errors through an expedited process
established by the Commissioner of Social
Security, in consultation and coordination with
the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
``(D) to prevent discrimination based on national
origin or citizenship status under section 274B.
``(7) Unlawful uses of system.--It shall be an unlawful
immigration-related employment practice--
``(A) for employers or other third parties to use
the System selectively or without authorization;
``(B) to use the System prior to an offer of
employment;
``(C) to use the System to exclude certain
individuals from consideration for employment as a
result of a perceived likelihood that additional
verification will be required, beyond what is required
for most job applicants;
``(D) to use the System to deny certain employment
benefits, otherwise interfere with the labor rights of
employees, or any other unlawful employment practice;
or
``(E) to take adverse action against any person,
including terminating or suspending an employee who has
received a tentative nonconfirmation.
``(b) Employment Eligibility Database.--
``(1) Requirement.--The Commissioner of Social Security, in
consultation and coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
Security and other appropriate agencies, shall design,
implement, and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database
(referred to in this section as the `Database') as described in
this subsection.
``(2) Data.--The Database shall include, for each
individual who is not a citizen or national of the United
States, but is authorized or seeking authorization to be
employed in the United States, the individual's--
``(A) country of origin;
``(B) immigration status;
``(C) employment eligibility;
``(D) occupation;
``(E) metropolitan statistical area of employment;
``(F) annual compensation paid;
``(G) period of employment eligibility;
``(H) employment commencement date; and
``(I) employment termination date.
``(3) Reverification of employment eligibility.--The
Commissioner of Social Security shall prescribe, by regulation,
a system to annually reverify the employment eligibility of
each individual described in this section--
``(A) by utilizing the machine-readable documents
described in section 221(a)(3); or
``(B) if machine-readable documents are not
available, by telephonic or electronic communication.
``(4) Confidentiality.--
``(A) Access to database.--No officer or employee
of any agency or department of the United States, other
than individuals responsible for the verification of
employment eligibility 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 Database.
``(B) Protection from unauthorized disclosure.--
Information in the Database 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.
``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to
design, implement, and maintain the Database.
``(c) Gradual Implementation.--The Commissioner of Social Security,
in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
Secretary of Labor shall develop a plan to phase all workers into the
Database and phase out the employer verification system established in
section 274A over a period of time that the Commissioner determines to
be appropriate.
``(d) Employer Responsibilities.--Each employer shall--
``(1) notify employees and prospective employees of the use
of the System and that the System may be used for immigration
enforcement purposes;
``(2) use--
``(A) a machine-readable document described in
subsection (a)(3)(B); or
``(B) the telephonic or electronic system to access
the Database;
``(3) provide, for each employee hired, the occupation,
metropolitan statistical area of employment, and annual
compensation paid;
``(4) retain the code received indicating confirmation or
nonconfirmation, for use in investigations described in section
212(n)(2); and
``(5) provide a copy of the employment verification receipt
to such employees.
``(e) Good-Faith Compliance.--
``(1) Affirmative defense.--A person or entity that
establishes good faith compliance with the requirements of this
section with respect to the employment of an individual in the
United States has established an affirmative defense that the
person or entity has not violated this section.
``(2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply if a
person or entity engages in an unlawful immigration-related
employment practice described in subsection (a)(7).''.
(b) Interim Directive.--Before the implementation of the Employment
Eligibility Confirmation System (referred to in this section as the
``System'') established under section 274E of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a), the Commissioner of Social
Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security,
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, implement an interim system
to confirm employment eligibility that is consistent with the
provisions of such section.
(c) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 months after the last day
of the second year and of the third year that the System is in
effect, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a
report on the System.
(2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) an assessment of the impact of the System on
the employment of unauthorized workers;
(B) an assessment of the accuracy of the Employment
Eligibility Database maintained by the Department of
Homeland Security and Social Security Administration
databases, and timeliness and accuracy of responses
from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social
Security Administration to employers;
(C) an assessment of the privacy, confidentiality,
and system security of the System;
(D) assess whether the System is being implemented
in a nondiscriminatory manner; and
(E) include recommendations on whether or not the
System should be modified.
SEC. 4. IMPROVED ENTRY AND EXIT DATA SYSTEM.
Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1365a) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ``Justice''
and inserting ``Homeland Security'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) collects the biometric machine-readable information
from an alien's visa or immigration-related document described
in section 221(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1201(a)(3)) at the time an alien arrives in the United
States and at the time an alien departs from the United States
to determine if such alien is entering, or is present in, the
United States unlawfully.''; and
(3) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ``Departments of
Justice and State'' and inserting ``Department of Homeland
Security and the Department of State''.
SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF H2B WORKERS.
The Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
establish a process under which a nonimmigrant worker described in
section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)) who files a nonfrivolous complaint
regarding a violation of this Act or the amendments made by this Act
and is otherwise eligible to remain and work in the United States may
be allowed to seek other appropriate employment in the United States
with an employer for a period not to exceed the maximum period of stay
authorized for that nonimmigrant classification.
SEC. 6. INCREASED FINES FOR PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR.
Section 274B(g)(2)(B)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1324b(g)(2)(B)(iv)) is amended--
(1) in subclause (I), by striking ``not less than $250 and
not more than $2,000'' and inserting ``not less than $500 and
not more than $3,000'';
(2) in subclause (II), by striking ``not less than $2,000
and not more than $5,000'' and inserting ``not less than $4,000
and not more than $8,000''; and
(3) in subclause (III), by striking ``not less than $3,000
and not more than $10,000'' and inserting ``not less than
$6,000 and not more than $20,000''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E803)
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.