WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation that would permanently authorize and require employers to use the E-Verify program, an Internet-based system that assists employers in determining the eligibility of employees to work in the United States. Grassley is Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary which is responsible for immigration legislation.
The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2013 is cosponsored by Senators John Boozman, Bob Corker, Mike Johanns, Mike Lee, Jeff Sessions, David Vitter, Roger Wicker, Deb Fischer, Orrin Hatch and Mike Enzi.
“With employers using the program on a voluntary basis, E-Verify has already proven its value in helping to enforce immigration laws by giving employers a tool to determine if individuals are eligible to work in the United States. And, if we can help stop employers from hiring people here illegally, we can help stem the flow of individuals crossing the border for jobs,” Grassley said. “E-Verify will safeguard opportunities for legal workers and give employers a reliable tool to have a legal workforce.”
Currently, employers voluntarily submit information reported on an employee’s Form I-9 to the Department of Homeland Security through the E-Verify system, which works in partnership with the Social Security Administration to determine worker eligibility. There is no charge to employers to use E-Verify.
E-Verify was established in 1996 as a pilot program with employers in five states allowed to participate. The pilot program was reauthorized in 2001, expanded to employers in every state in 2003 under Grassley-authored legislation, and reauthorized again in 2008, 2009 and 2012. The program is currently authorized through 2015.
The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2013 does the following:
• Permanently reauthorizes the E-Verify program that was created in 1996.
• Makes the program mandatory for all employers within one year of date of enactment, requires federal contractors and agencies to use the program immediately, and directs “critical employers,” as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to use the system immediately upon designation.
• Increases penalties for employers who illegally hire undocumented workers.
• Reduces the liability that employers face if they participate in E-Verify when it involves the wrongful termination of an individual.
• Allows employers to use E-Verify before a person is hired, and requires them to check the status of all current employees within 3 years.
• Requires employers to terminate the employment of those found unauthorized to work due to a check through E-Verify.
• Helps ensure that the Social Security Administration catches multiple uses of Social Security numbers by requiring them to develop algorithms to detect anomalies.
• Establishes a demonstration project in a rural area or area without internet capabilities to assist small businesses in complying with the participation requirement.
• Amends the criminal code to make clear that defendants who possess or otherwise use identity information not their own without lawful authority and in the commission of another felony is still punishable for aggravated identity fraud, regardless of the defendant’s “knowledge” of the victim.
• Requires employers to re-verify an employee’s immigration status if the employment authorization is due to expire.