HB4198 HFA RIDENOUR AND COOP-GONZALEZ 2-9 #2 – REV adopted
Wiseman 3295
Delegates Ridenour, Coop-Gonzalez and McGeehan moved to amend the committee substitute for House Bill 4198 on page 2, section 2, line 38, immediately after the period, by inserting the following:
(a) It is unlawful for any employer to knowingly 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.
(d) 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 or authorization to work. The commissioner shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. 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.
(2) After hiring an employee, an employer shall employ provisionally a new employee until the new employee’s work authorization has been verified pursuant to this section. An employer shall submit a new employee’s name and information for verification even if the new employee’s employment is terminated less than three business days after becoming employed.
(3) If a new employee’s work authorization is not verified by the federal work authorization program, a private employer may not employ, continue to employ, or reemploy the new employee: Provided, That an employer may reemploy the new employee upon having his or her work authorization verified pursuant to this section.
(4) All employers shall keep a record of the verification for the duration of the employee’s employment with the employer or three years, whichever is longer.
(f) An employer is not required to comply with this section if:
(1) An employee was hired by the employer prior to the day of amendment of this section;
(2) The employer is not required to verify or reverify the employee’s eligibility to work pursuant to federal law.
(g) An employer may not employ any employee who meets the definition of unauthorized worker as defined in §21-1B-2 of this code. Failure to comply with requirements in §21-1B-2 or §21-1B-3 shall be presumed to be violations of this section.”;
And,
On page 2, section 5, line 2, immediately after the words “shall be fined” by striking the remainder of the sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the words “not less than $500 nor more than $2,500 for each offense, and each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense.”;
And,
On page 4, section 7, line 24, by striking subsection (d) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (d), to read as follows:
“(d) For purposes of enforcement under this section, upon a knowing and willful second violation of §21-1B-3 of this code, the commissioner shall:
(1) Publicly post notice of the violation on the division’s website;
(2) Bring a civil action to prohibit the employer from bidding on, entering into, or renewing
any contract with the state or any political subdivision thereof for a period of not less than two years; and
(3) Impose the maximum civil fine or sanction, as applicable, authorized under §21-1B-5
of this code.”;
And,
On page 4, section 7, line 32, by striking the current subsection (e) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (e), to read as follows:
“(e) Upon a knowing and willful third violation of §21-1B-3 of this code, the commissioner shall seek permanent revocation of the employer’s business license by bringing a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to permanently revoke the business license of the employer. The court shall permanently suspend the business license of the employer upon making specific findings that the employer knowingly and willfully violated the provisions of this article and shall then order that any applicable governing body will permanently suspend the employer’s business license.”;
And,
On page 5, section 7, line 49, immediately after the period, by inserting the following:
“An employer that does not utilize E-Verify shall bear the full burden of compliance and enforcement under this article and shall not be entitled to any presumption, defense, or reduction in penalties otherwise available under state law.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, an employer that does not utilize the federal E-Verify employment verification system at the time of hiring an employee shall not be eligible for any mitigation, reduction, warning, or discretionary leniency in the assessment of penalties, sanctions, or disciplinary actions imposed pursuant to this article.
(i) Any employer found to have knowingly and willfully violated §21-1B-3 of this code shall be ineligible, for a period of not less than three years from the date of the final order, to participate in any public-private partnership administered by the state or any political subdivision thereof.”
Adopted
Rejected