ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 71
(Senator Hunter, original sponsor)
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[Passed March 13, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §21-1B-1, §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 employed in West
Virginia; defining "unauthorized workers"; and permitting
division of labor permits as proof of employment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-1B-1, §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-1. Findings; policy.
The Legislature finds that employers have the responsibility
to verify the legal employment status of all persons who come into
their employ and to report their employment to the appropriate
governmental agencies. Employers are precluded from hiring unauthorized workers and can be penalized for doing so.
Additionally, employers owe a duty to the residents of the state to
uphold the intent and integrity of the general workforce due to the
potential loss of revenue to the state by loss of taxes,
unemployment premiums and workers' compensation premiums.
§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.
§21-1B-3. Unauthorized workers; employment prohibited.
(a) It is unlawful for any employer to employ, hire, recruit,
or refer, either for him or herself 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 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.
(c) 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
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.
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