BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





          SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
                             Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:               AB 2532      Hearing Date:    June 8,  
          2016
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          |Author:    |Chiu                                                 |
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          |Version:   |February 19, 2016                                    |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Brandon Seto                                         |
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                    Subject:  Employment services:  verification


          KEY ISSUE
          
          Should the Legislature repeal the requirement to verify an  
          individual's legal status or authorization to work prior to them  
          receiving employment services from state or local government  
          agencies or any private contracting agencies?
           

          ANALYSIS
          
           Existing law

                  Requires each state or local government agency or  
               community action agency, or any private organization  
               contracting with them, that provides employment services  
               such as job training, retraining, or placement, to verify  
               an individual's legal status or authorization to work prior  
               to providing those services to that individual  
               (Unemployment Insurance Code §9601.5).  
                
                 Specifies that proof of legal status or authorization to  
               work includes a social security card, immigration visa,  
               birth certificate or passport, among others (Unemployment  








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               Insurance Code §9601.5).  
                  
                  Requires the agencies or organizations described above  
               that provide specified employment services to post a notice  
               in the workplace 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 (Unemployment Insurance Code §9601.7).
           
          This Bill  
          
                 Repeals the requirement to verify an individual's legal  
               status or authorization to work prior to them receiving  
               employment services from state or local government agencies  
               or any private contracting agencies.

                 Repeals the associated workplace posting requirement  
               that informs workers that only citizens or those legally  
               authorized to work in the U.S. can use employment services  
               being provided by these agencies.


          COMMENTS
          

          1.  Brief Background on the Immigration Reform and Control Act of  
            1986 (IRCA)
           
            IRCA was enacted into U.S. law as an attempt to control and  
            deter unlawful immigration to the United States.  Its major  
            provisions called for the legalization of undocumented persons  
            who had been continuously present in the U.S. since 1982, the  
            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,  
            and made it illegal to hire or recruit undocumented workers  
            knowingly, among other things.  IRCA also states that in terms  
            of employment in the United States, it is unlawful for a  
            person or other entity knowingly to recruit or refer for a fee  
            an unauthorized person, or to ignore the verification  
            requirements for providing these services.  







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          2.  Need for this bill?  
           
            SB 733 (Russell, 1993) added §9601.5 and 9601.7 to the  
            Unemployment Insurance (UI) Code (see "Existing law" section  
            above). The author argues that the law was always of  
            questionable constitutionality because federal law already  
            regulates those employment agents who "recruit or refer for a  
            fee" or in other words, provide employment services, under the  
            Immigration Reform and Control Act. This law expressly  
            preempts "any State or local law imposing civil or criminal  
            sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon  
            those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for  
            employment, unauthorized aliens."  8 U.S.C. § 1324a (h)(2).
           
            In short, the author argues that the sections of the UI Code  
            in question are not necessary and burdensome because they  
            already fall under the purview of federal law. In this case,  
            the IRCA prohibits state preemptions or interference with  
            federal law on this issue. The author states that AB 2532  
            repeals these sections and eliminates a problematic and  
            discriminatory redundancy with federal law.

          3.  Proponent Arguments  :
            
            Proponents state that this bill would remove two provisions of  
            California law sponsored by the nativist organization  
            Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). California  
            UI Code §9601.5 and 9601.7 were enacted two decades ago in an  
            era of heightened anti- immigrant lawmaking in the state.  
            Proponents assert that these two UI Code sections are  
            preempted by federal law and that their continued enforcement  
            would subject California to potential legal action. 

            Proponents add that the United States Supreme Court recently  
            held that federal law, since the 1986 enactment of IRCA,  
            provides a "comprehensive framework" to address the employment  
            of unauthorized immigrants and does not permit state  
            legislation within the area addressed by the framework.  
            Because UI Code §9601.5 and 9601.7 could result in civil  
            sanctions for a violation, the two provisions are expressly  
            preempted under IRCA so far as they apply to employment  
            services agencies that charge to recruit or refer. Moreover,  
            to the extent the provisions apply to agencies that provide  
            services for free, they are impliedly preempted because  







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            Congress, in enacting IRCA, decided not to regulate such free  
            services as part of its comprehensive framework. Also  
            proponents believe that the notice-posting obligation in UI  
            Code §9601.7 exacerbates these legal concerns and imposes  
            unnecessary added costs on businesses.

            Finally, proponents contend that AB 2532 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 the work authorization of new  
            hires.

          4.  Opponent Arguments  :

            None received.

          5.  Prior Legislation  :

            SB 733 (Russell) Chapter 819, Statutes of 1993 - Added the  
            requirement for state or local government or community action  
            agencies, or any private organization contracting with them to  
            verify an individual's legal status or authorization to work  
            in the United States before providing them with employment  
            services. Also requires these agencies and organizations to  
            post a notice in the workplace stating that only citizens or  
            those persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. will be  
            permitted to use the employment services that these entities  
            provide. 


          SUPPORT
          
          Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund (Sponsor)
          American Civil Liberties Union of California
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          Worksafe
          
          OPPOSITION
          
          None on file.


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