| 3.23.22

Requiring all Employers to Verify That Workers are Legally in the U.S. (H.R. 1147)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 1147?

(Updated December 13, 2018)

This bill would require every employer in the U.S. to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system (EEVS) to verify employee data. The EEVS would be based on the E-Verify system, and would replace the current I-9 form system which is paper-based and voluntary.

The bill would allow employers to make a job offer after a final verification has been granted by the EEVS. These verify systems compare the information potential hires give to employers to U.S. Department of Homeland Security records. These include:

U.S. passport and visa information;
Immigration and naturalization records;
State-issued driver’s licenses and identity document information;
Social Security Administration records.

The real meat of this bill? Employers would be required to attest under penalty of perjury that they have e-verified that an employee is not an undocumented immigrant, or any other person who is not authorized to work or be in the country. This bill would also allow employers to voluntarily re-verify all of their employees.

In addition, people seeking employment would be required to attest that they are a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or otherwise have authorization to work in the U.S.

The following types of workers who have not been verified under E-Verify would be subject to verification:

Federal, state, or local government employees.
Employees who require a federal security clearance.
Employees assigned to work in the U.S. under a federal or state contract.

Argument in favor

Would quickly and accurately identify if a current or prospective employee is authorized to work in the U.S. This bill protects jobs for those who are supposed to be working in the U.S. and streamlines national employee verification.

Argument opposed

While this system may do what it is supposed to, it is very expensive and may not be worth the price tag. At a cost estimate of $600 million over 3 years for private sector employers, the bill is not worth the expense.

Impact

Anyone with a job, undocumented immigrants, people without a U.S. work authorization, employers, the DHS, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Cost of H.R. 1147

The CBO estimate is unavailable. However, the CBO estimate of the 2013 version of this bill found that implementation would cost about $635 million over the 2014-2018 period and a similar amount over the following five-year period. The CBO also expects this bill would increase the unified federal budget deficit by $30 billion over the 10-year window. Because the bill also imposes intergovernmental and private-sector mandates, it is projected to cost government entities more than $75 million per year and private sector entities over $150 million per year.

Additional Info

In-Depth:

EEVS would be required to give employers temporary verification or non-verification within three working days of an inquiry. In the event of a non-verification, a final verification or non-verification would be provided within 10 working days.

Employment recruitment and referrals would fall within the scope of EEVS, and union halls and nonprofit employment agencies would be required to use EEVS. Provisions for employers utilizing a good faith defense, the preemption of state or local law, employer penalties, and worker remedies for EEVS errors would be included.

This bill sets the groundwork for the creation of programs that block the use of misused social security numbers, and suspend or limit the use of Social Security numbers belonging to victims of identity theft. The Secretary of Homeland Security would be directed to:

Establish a program under which parents or legal guardians may suspend or limit the use of social security account number or other identifying information of a minor for the purposes of the employment eligibility verification system.
Establish an Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility Verification pilot program to provide employers with identity authentication and employment verification of enrolled new employees.

A phased-in EEVS participation deadline — between six months and two years — would be established for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers.

Of Note:

E-Verify is currently a voluntary program at the federal level for most employers, except for certain contractors that the federal government requires to participate in the program. However, E-Verify is mandatory for all employers in five states, while 11 states require its use for state agencies and contractors, and three states had E-Verify laws which either expired or were rescinded.

A similar version of this bill was introduced into the House in April 2013. While it made it out of committee and was scheduled to receive a vote in the House, it never saw one before the end of the 113th Congress.