U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) introduced legislation that requires U.S. employers to check the work eligibility of all future hires through the E-Verify system.
Specifically, the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 319) would repeal the requirements of the current paper-based I-9 system and replace it with a completely electronic work eligibility check using E-Verify. E-Verify, operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), checks the social security numbers of newly hired employees against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records to help ensure that they are eligible to work in the United States. The program confirms 99.8 percent of work-eligible employees and takes less than two minutes to use. Over one million American employers currently use E-Verify, and 22 states require E-Verify for some or all employers.
The bill would phase in mandatory E-Verify participation for new hires in six-month increments beginning on the date of enactment. Within six months of enactment, businesses with more than 10,000 employees must use E-Verify. Within 12 months of enactment, businesses with 500 to 9,999 employees must use E-Verify. Within 18 months after enactment, businesses with 20 to 499 employees must use E-Verify, and 24 months after enactment, businesses with 1 to 19 employees must use E-Verify.
Further, it allows a one-time six-month extension of the initial phase in. It also requires that employees performing “agricultural labor or services” are subject to an E-Verify check within 30 months of the date of enactment. In addition, the bill raises penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants in violation of the requirements of the bill and creates a penalty for individuals who knowingly submit false information to the E-Verify system.
“Like most Americans, I believe American jobs should only go to people legally authorized to work in our country,” Calvert said. “The Legal Workforce Act represents a crucial step towards fixing our broken immigration system. Until we have a mandatory workforce verification system – like E-Verify – in place, immigrants will have an incentive to come into our country through illegal means. We want and need immigrants to come to our nation to contribute to our economic success, but we must also remain a sovereign nation governed by the rule of law.”
The bill does allow an employer to keep using the paper-based I-9 system if they choose to do so.
Calvert authored the law that created the E-Verify program in 1996. Since then, he has worked to expand E-Verify and make it mandatory.