BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2532
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
AB 2532
(Chiu) - As Introduced February 19, 2016
SUBJECT: Employment services: verification
SUMMARY:
1)Repeals the verification requirement of an individual's legal
status or authorization to work prior to providing employment
services by state or local government agency's or any private
organization contracting with the those agencies that provide
employment services.
2)Repeals the specified workplace posting requirement for
employment services being provided by the agencies.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires each state or local government agency or community
action agency, or any private organization contracting with a
state or local government agency, that provides specified
employment services to verify an individual's legal status or
authorization to work prior to providing services to that
individual in accordance with procedures established under
AB 2532
Page 2
federal law.
2)Specifies that proof of legal status or authorization to work
includes specified documents providing evidence of legal
residence or authorization to work in the United States. It
also exempts employment services offered by school districts
under secondary school and adult education programs from
provisions requiring verification of an individual's legal
status or authorization to work prior to providing services.
3)Requires each state or local government agency or community
action agency, or any private organization contracting with a
state or local government agency, that provides specified
employment services to post in a prominent location in the
workplace a notice stating that only citizens or those persons
legally authorized to work in the United States will be
permitted to use the agency's or organization's employment
services that are funded by the federal or state government,
as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: According to the Employment Development Department's
(EDD) website, California's workforce services, a part of the
United States (U.S.) Employment Service, is one of the world's
largest public employment service operations. With service
points throughout the state, the EDD program serves the state's
employers and job seekers. The nationwide U.S. Employment
Service was authorized by the federal Wagner Peyser Act (WPA) in
1933 and funded under Title III of the Social Security Act of
1935. The WPA was amended by the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act of 2014 to provide a foundation for the
AB 2532
Page 3
Workforce Services and other federal, state, and local workforce
development partners to offer services through the America's Job
Center of California (AJCC).
The AJCC's offer a variety of services that bring employers with
job openings together with qualified job seekers. Customers may
access services through self-service or with the assistance of
staff. The AJCC provides universal access to an integrated
array of labor exchange and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) services so that workers, job seekers, and businesses
can find the services they need at any of the job centers. The
AJCC serves the State's 900,000 employers and the more than a
million job seekers who use these services each year.
Currently, California law requires that EDD verify a job
seeker's legal status and authorization to work in the United
States prior to providing an employment-related service. The
requirement applies to all employment service applicants,
whether or not they are U.S. citizens, temporary or resident
aliens, residing in or outside of California.
Should this bill go into effect, under federal law, EDD would
still be required to ask each client to indicate eligibility to
work in the U.S. prior to providing job training and placement
services; however, it does not require agencies to verify an
individual's legal status to work prior to providing employment
services.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986
IRCA as passed in order to control and deter unlawful
immigration to the United States. Its major provisions
stipulated legalization of undocumented persons who had been
continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of
AB 2532
Page 4
certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who
knowingly hire undocumented workers, and increased enforcement
at U.S. borders. IRCA required employers to attest to their
employees' immigration status, through the establishment of the
I-9 Form; IRCA made it illegal to hire or recruit undocumented
workers knowingly, among other things. IRCA permits employers
to rely on a good faith belief in the proof of work
authorization an applicant offers.
In general IRCA also states it is unlawful for a person or other
entity to hire, to recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in
the United States an unauthorized person knowing the person is
an unauthorized worker with respect to employment or without
complying with the verification requirements. IRCA does not
require agencies to verify an individual's legal status to work
prior to providing employment services.
Arguments in Support
The sponsor of this measure, the Mexican American Legal Defense
and Educational Fund (MALDEF), argues the two Unemployment
Insurance provisions (UIC) this bill repeals impose an
unnecessary and redundant burden on businesses providing
employment services. Regulation of employment for immigrants is
already covered in federal law so any additional state
requirements place added costs on businesses. They further
argue that by repealing the two UIC sections would do nothing to
change immigrant eligibility for any government services which
is regulated by other provisions of federal and state law. Nor
would the bill change the federal obligation that employers face
with respect to employment of authorized workers and the duty to
check work authorization of new hires.
AB 2532
Page 5
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Civil Liberties Union
California Immigrant Policy Center
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
AB 2532
Page 6