[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>