Introduced Version
House Bill 2047 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2047
(By Delegates Moye and D. Poling)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic
Development and Small Business then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §21-1B-2 and §21-1B-3 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to verifying
legal employment status of workers; requiring employers to
register with and utilize the electronic verification of the
work authorization program
of the federal Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996; requiring
employers to only hire employees who are United States
citizens or who are authorized workers;
requiring employers to
register with and utilize the status verification system to
verify the federal employment authorization status of all
newly hired employees;
defining terms; and providing dates by
which employers are to meet the verification requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-1B-2 and §21-1B-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1B. VERIFYING LEGAL EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF WORKERS.
§21-1B-2. Definitions.
(a) "Employer" means any individual, person, corporation,
department, board, bureau, agency, commission, division, office,
company, firm, partnership, council or committee of the state
government, public benefit corporation, public authority or
political subdivision of the state or other business entity which
employs or seeks to employ an individual or individuals.
(b) "Commissioner" means the Labor Commissioner or his or her
designated agent.
(c) "Unauthorized worker" means a person who does not have the
legal right to be employed or is employed in violation of law.
(d) "Records" means records that may be required by the
Commissioner of Labor for the purposes of compliance with the
provisions of this article.
(e) "Knowingly" means, with respect to conduct or to a
circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a
person is aware by documentation or action that the person's
conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. Failure
to request or review documentation of an employee's legal status or
authorization to work is deemed to be "knowingly".
(f) "License" means any permit, certificate, approval,
registration, charter or similar form of authorization that is
required by law and that is issued for the purpose of operating a business in this state.
(g) "Status verification system" means the electronic
verification of work authorization program, known as the E-Verify
Program
, authorized by Division C
, Section 403(a)
of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996,
Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-546 and operated by the United
States Department of Homeland Security.
_____(h) "Unauthorized alien" means an alien as defined in 8 U.S.C.
§1324a(h)(3).
§21-1B-3. Unauthorized workers; employment prohibited.
(a) It is unlawful for any employer to knowingly employ, hire,
recruit or refer, either for him or herself her or on behalf of
another, for private or public employment within the state, an
unauthorized worker who is not duly authorized to be employed by
law.
(b) Employers in the State of West Virginia may only hire
employees who are citizens of the United States of America or are
authorized workers. For purposes of this section, an authorized
worker is an individual who was lawfully present in the United
States and permitted to work at the time of employment and for the
duration of employment, or was permanently residing in the United
States under color of law and permitted to work at the time of
employment and for the duration of employment.
_____(b) (c) Employers shall be required to verify a prospective employee's legal status or authorization to work prior to employing
the individual or contracting with the individual for employment
services and may only hire employees who are citizens of the United
States of America or are authorized to work. Every employer shall
register with and utilize the status verification system to verify
the federal employment authorization status of all newly hired
employees. For purposes of this section, a legal alien is an
individual who was lawfully present in the United States at the
time of employment and for the duration of employment, or was
permanently residing in the United States under color of law at the
time of employment and for the duration of employment.
_____(c) (d) For purposes of this article, proof of legal status or
authorization to work includes, but is not limited to, a valid
social security card, a valid immigration or nonimmigration visa:
which includes including photo identification, a valid birth
certificate, a valid passport, a valid photo identification card
issued by a government agency, a valid work permit or supervision
permit authorized by the Division of Labor, a valid permit issued
by the Department of Justice or other valid document providing
evidence of legal residence or authorization to work in the United
States.
(d) (e) For purposes of enforcing the provisions of this
article, and notwithstanding any other provision of this code to
the contrary, the commissioner or his or her authorized representative may access information maintained by any other state
agency, including, but not limited to, the Bureau of Employment
Programs and the Division of Motor Vehicles, for the limited
purpose of confirming the validity of a worker's legal status an
individual's eligibility or authorization to work. The commissioner
shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code to safeguard against the release of any
confidential or identifying information that is not necessary for
the limited purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article.
(f) State of West Virginia agencies and political
subdivisions, public contractors and private employers with two
hundred fifty or more employees shall meet verification
requirements not later than January 1, 2014.
_____(g) Employers with at least one hundred but less than two
hundred fifty employees shall meet verification requirements not
later than January 1, 2015.
_____(h) Employers with at least thirty but less than one hundred
employees shall meet verification requirements not later than
January 1, 2016.
_____(i) All employers shall meet verification requirements not
later than January 1, 2017.
_____(j) Employers with six or less employees may apply to the
Labor Commissioner for a waiver.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all employers in
West Virginia to verify legal employment status of workers by
requiring employers to register with and utilize the electronic
verification of work authorization program, known as the E-Verify
Program
, of Division C, Section 403(a
) of the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 and operated by
the United States Department of Homeland Security. The bill
requires employers to only hire employees who are citizens of the
country or who are authorized workers. The bill
requires employers
to register with and utilize the status verification system to
verify the federal employment authorization status of all newly
hired employees.
The bill provides new definitions. The bill
provides dates by which different employers are to meet the
verification requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.