BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 622
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
622 (Roger Hernández) - As Amended April 27, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill expands the definition of unlawful employment practice
to prohibit an employer or other person, except as required by
federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds, from
using the federal electronic employment verification system
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known as E-Verify to check the employment authorization status
of an existing employee or an applicant who has not been offered
employment. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that nothing in this bill is to be interpreted to
prohibit an employer from utilizing an employment verification
system in accordance with federal law to check the employment
authorization status of an individual who has been offered
employment.
2)Provides that if the employer receives a tentative
nonconfirmation (or "no-match letter") issued by the Social
Security Administration or the United States Department of
Homeland Security, the employer is required to comply with the
required employee notification procedures under any memorandum
of understanding governing the use of the federal E-Verify
system.
3)Requires the employer to furnish to the employee any specified
notification containing information specific to the employee's
E-Verify case or any tentative nonconfirmation notice
promptly, but not exceeding the timeframe provided in the
Referral Date Confirmation notice, which is generated by
E-Verify after an employee chooses to contest the tentative
nonconfirmation notice.
4)Provides that, in addition to other remedies available, an
employer who violates this bill is liable for a civil penalty
not $10,000 for each unlawful use of the E-Verify system.
5)States that this bill is intended to prevent discrimination in
employment rather than to sanction the potential hiring and
employment of employees who are not authorized for employment
under federal law.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor/absorbable costs to the Department of Industrial Relations
(DIR) Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to monitor
compliance and enforcement related to discriminatory use of the
E-Verify system.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that compares
information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment
Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of
Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records
to confirm employment eligibility.
Some critics of the program have argued that it has been
hindered by inaccurate and outdated information in the DHS and
SSA databases and misuse of the program by employers.
According to the author, each year, thousands of people may be
wrongly kept from working or even fired because of a federal
program known as E-Verify.
This bill is co-sponsored by the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the California
Immigrant Policy Center with the goal of strengthening
California's protections for all workers by limiting misuse of
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the E-Verify program and creating penalties for abuse.
2)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 1236 (Fong), Chapter 691, Statutes of 2011 enacted
provisions of law that prohibit state and local entities
from requiring an employer, other than one of those
government entities, to use an electronic employment
verification system, including E-Verify, except when
required by federal law or as a condition of receiving
federal funds.
b) AB 263 (Roger Hernández), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2013
prohibited an employer or any other person or entity from
engaging in unfair immigration-related practices, as
defined, against any person for the purpose of retaliating
against the person for exercising specified rights. The
law defines "unfair immigration-related practice" to
include using E-Verify to check the employment
authorization status at a time or in a manner not required
under federal law or authorized under a federal memorandum
of understanding.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 622
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