Legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Ken Calvert (R-CA) that would require employers to use the E-Verify system to ensure that new hires are work eligible gained approval from the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
The Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 3711, seeks to modernize the E-Verify system while minimizing disruption to businesses. The bill would phase-in mandatory use of E-Verify for all employers to vet new hires and allow employers to voluntarily utilize E-Verify to check the work eligibility of their current employees, as long as it is done in a nondiscriminatory fashion. Another provision would repeal the paper-based I-9 system currently used and transition to a completely electronic system while still providing the option for employers to continue to use the paper system, if they so choose.
“The Legal Workforce Act saves jobs for American workers at a time when nearly 20 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed,” Smith said. “Meanwhile, 7 million people are working in the United States illegally. By expanding the E-Verify system to all U.S. employers, employers will check the work authorization of new employees to ensure that the jobs only go to Americans and legal workers.”
Under the bill, mandatory use of E-Verify would be required within six months for employers with 10,000 employees or more, within 12 months for employers with 500 to 9,999 employees, within 18 months for employers with 20 to 499 employees, within 24 months for employers with 1 to 19 employees.
Calvert introduced legislation in 1996 that led to the creation of the E-Verify system as part of a law authored by Smith, which is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The system checks the Social Security numbers of new hires against records held by the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to determine work eligibility.
“American jobs should only go to citizens and people legally authorized to work in our country,” Calvert said. “I applaud the committee passage of the Legal Workforce Act and look forward to the bill coming to the House floor in the future.”
H.R. 3711 would preempt duplicative state laws requiring E-Verify use, but state and local governments would have authority to continue requiring employers to use E-Verify in order to be granted business licenses under the law.
Additionally, employers that use E-Verify couldn’t be prosecuted if a new hire provides incorrect or fraudulent information under the bill, and penalties would be enhanced for employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and for individuals who intentionally submit false information.
There is strong support for a mandatory electronic verification system, with 83 percent of employers indicating they support the system, according to a 2016 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.