BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2532
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2532 (Chiu)
As Introduced February 19, 2016
Majority vote
------------------------------------------------------------------
|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Labor |6-1 |Roger Hernández, Chu, |Patterson |
| | |Linder, McCarty, | |
| | |O'Donnell, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |15-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Jones, Obernolte, |
| | |Calderon, Chang, |Wagner |
| | |Daly, Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, McCarty, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY:
AB 2532
Page 2
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
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
(U.S.). 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 U.S. will be permitted to
AB 2532
Page 3
use the agency's or organization's employment services that
are funded by the federal or state government, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor/absorbable costs to the Employee Development
Department (EDD) to update current policies, processes and
manuals. EDD indicates removing the requirement to verify legal
status and authorization to work before providing a
staff-assisted service would simplify and streamline the intake
process, which would save time for front line staff in the EDD's
America's Job Center of California offices.
COMMENTS: According to the EDD Web site, California's workforce
services, a part of the 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 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.
AB 2532
Page 4
Currently, California law requires that EDD verify a job
seeker's legal status and authorization to work in the U.S.
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 get enacted, 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 was passed in order to control and deter unlawful
immigration to the U.S. Its major provisions stipulated
legalization of undocumented persons who had been continuously
unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of 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
AB 2532
Page 5
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.
No opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN:
0002841
AB 2532
Page 6