II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 478 

To gradually raise the Federal minimum wage, to permanently establish 

the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, to mandate the 

use of E-Verify by all employers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 

Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. ROMNEY, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. 

PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To gradually raise the Federal minimum wage, to permanently establish the E-Verify employment eligibility 

verification system, to mandate the use of E-Verify by 

all employers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2021’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 

Sec. 4. Minimum wage increases. 

Sec. 5. Establishment of permanent E-Verify program. 

Sec. 6. Mandatory E-Verify for all employers. 

Sec. 7. Penalty for failure to use E-Verify. 

Sec. 8. Enhanced penalties for unauthorized employment. 

Sec. 9. E-Verify self-check. 

Sec. 10. E-Verify process. 

Sec. 11. Good faith defense. 

Sec. 12. Preemption. 

Sec. 13. Access to information. 

Sec. 14. Fraud and misuse of documents. 

Sec. 15. Fraud prevention. 

Sec. 16. Protection of Social Security Administration programs. 

Sec. 17. Inspector General audits. 

Sec. 18. Recruitment, referral, and continuation of employment. 

Sec. 19. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im4 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of 

5 Public Law 104–208), Congress directed the estab6 lishment of 3 pilot programs for employment eligi7 bility confirmation, including what became the E8 Verify Pilot Program. 

9 (2) The E-Verify Pilot Program has grown into 

10 a successful, necessary tool for employers across the 

11 country that want to verify their workers’ employ12 ment eligibility. 

13 (3) E-Verify is a fast, reliable, electronic sys14 tem, administered by the Department of Homeland 

15 Security, that offers United States employers a tool 

16 to verify that prospective employees are legally au17 thorized to work in the United States. 


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1 (4) All Federal executive departments and legis2 lative branch offices, employers subject to certain 

3 court orders under section 274A(e)(4) or 274B(g) of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1324a(e)(4) and 1324b(g)), employers with Federal 

6 contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal 

7 Acquisition Regulation E-Verify clause, and employ8 ers in several States are required to use E-Verify to 

9 confirm the identity and employment eligibility of 

10 their employees. 

11 (5) Many other employers voluntarily use E12 Verify to confirm that their workforce complies with 

13 Federal immigration laws. In December 2020, 

14 1,102,643 employers were using E-Verify. 

15 (6) It is necessary to make E-Verify permanent 

16 and mandatory to prevent unauthorized employment, 

17 which— 

18 (A) drives illegal immigration to the 

19 United States; and 

20 (B) undermines economic opportunity for 

21 authorized workers. 

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

23 The purposes of this Act are— 

24 (1) to gradually increase the Federal minimum 

25 wage; 


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1 (2) to provide a permanent authorization for E2 Verify; and 

3 (3) to require all employers to use E-Verify. 

4 SEC. 4. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES. 

5 (a) SCHEDULED INCREASES.—Section 6(a) of the 

6 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this sec11 tion, not less than— 

12 ‘‘(A) $8.00 per hour, beginning on the ef13 fective date under section 4(e) of the Higher 

14 Wages for American Workers Act of 2021; 

15 ‘‘(B) $8.75 per hour, beginning on the 

16 date that is 1 year after such effective date; 

17 ‘‘(C) $9.50 per hour, beginning on the date 

18 that is 2 years after such effective date; 

19 ‘‘(D) $10.00 per hour, beginning on the 

20 date that is 3 years after such effective date; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(E) beginning on the date that is 5 years 

23 after such effective date, and every 2 years 

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1 retary for purposes of this subsection under 

2 subsection (h);’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

4 semicolon; 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para6 graph (5); and 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(4) if such employee is employed by a business 

10 with fewer than 20 employees (including a franchise 

11 with fewer than 20 employees) and except as other12 wise provided under paragraphs (2), (3), or (5), not 

13 less than— 

14 ‘‘(A) $7.75 per hour, beginning on the ef15 fective date under section 4(e) of the Higher 

16 Wages for American Workers Act of 2021; 

17 ‘‘(B) $8.25 per hour, beginning on the 

18 date that is 1 year after such effective date; 

19 ‘‘(C) $8.75 per hour, beginning on the date 

20 that is 2 years after such effective date; 

21 ‘‘(D) $9.25 per hour, beginning on the 

22 date that is 3 years after such effective date; 

23 ‘‘(E) $9.75 per hour, beginning on the 

24 date that is 4 years after such effective date; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) beginning on the date that is 5 years 

2 after such effective date, the wage rate in effect 

3 under paragraph (1)(E); or’’. 

4 (b) INCREASES IN YOUTH MINIMUM WAGE.—Section 

5 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

6 U.S.C. 206(g)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘90’’ and inserting ‘‘180’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘less than $4.25 an hour.’’ and 

9 inserting the following: ‘‘less than— 

10 ‘‘(A) $4.75 per hour, beginning on the effective 

11 date under section 4(e) of the Higher Wages for 

12 American Workers Act of 2021; 

13 ‘‘(B) $5.25 per hour, beginning on the date 

14 that is 1 year after such effective date; 

15 ‘‘(C) $5.75 per hour, beginning on the date that 

16 is 2 years after such effective date; and 

17 ‘‘(D) $6.00 per hour, beginning on the date 

18 that is 3 years after such effective date; and 

19 ‘‘(E) beginning on the date that is 5 years after 

20 such effective date, and every 2 years thereafter, the 

21 youth minimum wage rate amount determined by 

22 the Secretary for purposes of this subsection under 

23 subsection (h).’’. 

24 (c) DETERMINATION BASED ON INCREASE IN THE

25 CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.—Section 6 of the Fair Labor 


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1 Standards Act of 1938, as amended by subsections (a) and 

2 (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(h)(1) Not later than the date that is 1 year before 

4 a new minimum wage rate under subsection (a)(1)(E) and 

5 new youth minimum wage rate under subsection (g)(1)(E) 

6 are to take effect for a 2-year period, the Secretary shall 

7 determine the minimum wage rate and youth minimum 

8 wage rate to be in effect pursuant to this subsection. The 

9 minimum wage rate or youth minimum wage rate deter10 mined pursuant to this subsection shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) not less than the amount in effect under 

12 subsection (a)(1) or subsection (g)(1), respectively, 

13 on the date of such determination; 

14 ‘‘(B) increased from such amount by the per15 centage increase in the Chained Consumer Price 

16 Index for All Urban Consumers (as published by the 

17 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

18 Labor) for the preceding 2 years, as calculated in 

19 accordance with paragraph (2); and 

20 ‘‘(C) rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. 

21 ‘‘(2) In making each determination under paragraph 

22 (1) and calculating the percentage increase in the Chained 

23 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers under 

24 paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall compare the Con25 sumer Price Index for the most recent month, quarter, or 


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1 year available (as selected by the Secretary before the first 

2 year for which a minimum wage or youth minimum wage 

3 is in effect pursuant to this subsection) with the Consumer 

4 Price Index for the same month in the second preceding 

5 year, the same quarter in the second preceding year, or 

6 the second preceding year, respectively.’’. 

7 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

8 amendments made by this Act shall be construed to im9 pact or affect the Secretary’s authority to issue special 

10 certificates under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Stand11 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)). 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall take effect on the later of— 

14 (1) January 1, 2022; or 

15 (2) the date that is 90 days after the national 

16 emergency declaration issued by the President under 

17 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 

18 seq.) with respect to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

19 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT E-VERIFY. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT E-VERIFY.— 

21 Section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

22 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(d) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT E-VERIFY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the date of the enact25 ment of the Higher Wages for American Workers 


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1 Act of 2021, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 shall permanently establish E-Verify, based on the 

3 E-Verify pilot program implemented under section 

4 401(c)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im5 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

6 note), that— 

7 ‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by per8 sons through a website, mobile application, or 

9 other toll-free electronic media, as determined 

10 by the Secretary, concerning— 

11 ‘‘(i) an individual’s identity; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) whether such individual is au13 thorized to be employed in the United 

14 States; and 

15 ‘‘(B) maintains records of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the inquiries that were made; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the verifications that were pro18 vided (or not provided); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the codes provided to inquirers 

20 as evidence of their compliance with their 

21 obligations under E-Verify. 

22 ‘‘(2) RESPONSES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INITIAL RESPONSES.—E-Verify shall 

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1 ployment eligibility not later than 3 business 

2 days after the initial inquiry. If providing con3 firmation or tentative nonconfirmation, E4 Verify shall provide an appropriate code indi5 cating such confirmation or such nonconfirma6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(B) SECONDARY CONFIRMATION PROCESS

8 IN CASE OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In cases of ten10 tative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 

11 specify, in consultation with the Commis12 sioner of Social Security, an available sec13 ondary verification process to confirm the 

14 validity of information provided and to 

15 provide a final confirmation or noncon16 firmation not later than 10 business days 

17 after the date on which the notice of the 

18 tentative nonconfirmation is provided by 

19 the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary, in 

21 consultation with the Commissioner— 

22 ‘‘(I) may extend the deadline 

23 under clause (i) once, on a case-by24 case basis, for a period of 10 business 

25 days; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) if such deadline is extended, 

2 shall document such extension within 

3 the verification system. 

4 ‘‘(iii) NOTIFICATIONS.—The Sec5 retary, in consultation with the Commis6 sioner, shall immediately notify the em7 ployee and employer of any tentative non8 confirmation under clause (i), which shall 

9 include— 

10 ‘‘(I) guidance to the prospective 

11 employee regarding the secondary 

12 verification process; and 

13 ‘‘(II) any extension granted 

14 under clause (ii). 

15 ‘‘(iv) PROCESS.—The Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the Commissioner, 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) create a standard process for 

19 extensions and notifications under this 

20 paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(II) make a description of such 

22 process available to the public. 

23 ‘‘(v) CODE.—When final confirmation 

24 or nonconfirmation is provided, the 

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1 priate code indicating such confirmation or 

2 nonconfirmation. 

3 ‘‘(3) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF E-VERIFY.— 

4 E-Verify shall be designed and operated— 

5 ‘‘(A) to maximize its reliability and ease of 

6 use by persons and other entities consistent 

7 with insulating and protecting the privacy and 

8 security of the underlying information; 

9 ‘‘(B) to respond to all inquiries made by 

10 such persons and entities on whether individ11 uals are authorized to be employed and to reg12 ister all times when such inquiries are not re13 ceived; 

14 ‘‘(C) to prevent unauthorized disclosure of 

15 personal information through appropriate ad16 ministrative, technical, and physical safeguards; 

17 ‘‘(D) to include reasonable safeguards 

18 against unlawful discriminatory practices based 

19 on national origin or citizenship status, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use 

22 of E-Verify to verify eligibility; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the exclusion of certain individ24 uals from consideration for employment as 

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1 tional verification will be required, beyond 

2 what is required for most job applicants; 

3 ‘‘(E) to maximize the prevention of iden4 tity theft use in the system; 

5 ‘‘(F) to limit the subjects of verification 

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(i) individuals hired, referred, or re8 cruited, in accordance with paragraph (1) 

9 or (4) of subsection (b); 

10 ‘‘(ii) employees and prospective em11 ployees, in accordance with paragraph (1), 

12 (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(iii) individuals seeking to confirm 

14 their own employment eligibility on a vol15 untary basis; and 

16 ‘‘(G) to confirm identity and employment 

17 authorization through verification and compari18 son of records maintained by the Department of 

19 Homeland Security, other Federal departments, 

20 States, or outlying possessions of the United 

21 States, as determined necessary by the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) records maintained by the Social 

24 Security Administration; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) passports, passport cards, and 

2 visa records (including photographs) main3 tained by the Department of State; 

4 ‘‘(iii) notwithstanding section 6103 of 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any 

6 other provision of law, Employer Identi7 fication Number records maintained by the 

8 Internal Revenue Service; 

9 ‘‘(iv) State driver’s license or identity 

10 card information (including photographs) 

11 maintained by the Department of Motor 

12 Vehicles of a State or outlying possession; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(v) any other Federal records that 

15 the Secretary of Homeland Security deter16 mines to be relevant and necessary for 

17 such purpose. 

18 ‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF

19 SOCIAL SECURITY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of 

21 Social Security, in consultation with the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security (and any designee 

23 of the Secretary selected to establish and ad24 minister the verification system), shall establish 

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1 Verify, which, within the periods specified in 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2), 

3 compares the name and Social Security account 

4 number provided in an inquiry against such in5 formation maintained by the Commissioner in 

6 order to validate (or not validate)— 

7 ‘‘(i) the information provided regard8 ing each individual whose identity and em9 ployment eligibility is being confirmed; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the correspondence of the name 

11 and number; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) whether the individual has pre13 sented a Social Security account number 

14 that is not valid for employment. 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURES.—The 

16 Commissioner may not disclose or release Social 

17 Security information (other than such confirma18 tion or nonconfirmation) under E-Verify except 

19 as provided for in this section or section 

20 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(I)). 

22 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF

23 HOMELAND SECURITY.—The Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security, in consultation with any designee of the 

25 Secretary selected to establish and administer the 


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1 verification system, shall establish a reliable, secure, 

2 electronic method within E-Verify, which, within the 

3 periods specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

4 paragraph (2), compares the name and alien identi5 fication or authorization number (or any other infor6 mation as determined relevant by the Secretary) 

7 which are provided in an inquiry against such infor8 mation maintained or accessed by the Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(A) to validate (or not validate)— 

10 ‘‘(i) the information provided regard11 ing each individual whose identity and em12 ployment eligibility is being confirmed; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the correspondence of the name 

14 and number; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) whether the alien is authorized 

16 to be employed in the United States; or 

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent that the Secretary de18 termines to be feasible and appropriate, to de19 termine whether the records available to the 

20 Secretary verify the identity or status of a na21 tional of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

23 STATE.—The Secretary of State, in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Homeland Security and any 

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1 lected to establish and administer the verification 

2 system, shall establish a reliable, secure method, 

3 that compares and provides, within the time periods 

4 required under paragraphs (2) and (3), a confirma5 tion or nonconfirmation of the name and passport, 

6 passport card, or visa number provided in an inquiry 

7 against such information maintained by the Sec8 retary of State in order to confirm (or to not con9 firm) the information provided regarding an indi10 vidual whose identity and employment eligibility 

11 must be confirmed. 

12 ‘‘(7) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis13 sioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Home14 land Security shall immediately, and not later than 

15 3 business days after receiving updated information, 

16 update their information in a manner that promotes 

17 the maximum accuracy and shall provide a process 

18 for the prompt correction of erroneous information, 

19 including instances in which it is brought to their at20 tention in the secondary verification process de21 scribed in paragraph (2)(B). 

22 ‘‘(8) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

23 Nothing in this subsection, or in the Higher Wages 

24 for American Workers Act of 2021, may be con25 strued to directly or indirectly authorize— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the issuance or use of national identi2 fication cards; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the establishment of a national iden4 tification card. 

5 ‘‘(9) REMEDIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual al7 leges that the individual would not have been 

8 dismissed from a job absent an error of the 

9 verification mechanism, the individual may 

10 seek— 

11 ‘‘(i) compensation only through the 

12 mechanism of chapter 171 of title 28, 

13 United States Code (commonly known as 

14 the ‘Federal Tort Claims Act’); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) injunctive relief to correct such 

16 error. 

17 ‘‘(B) CLASS ACTIONS.—No class action 

18 may be brought under this subsection.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 401 of the 

20 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

21 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is amended— 

22 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

23 follows: ‘‘E-VERIFY’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘3 pilot pro2 grams of employment eligibility confirmation’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘E-Verify’’; and 

4 (3) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘; TERMINATION’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘Unless the Congress oth8 erwise provides, the Secretary of Homeland Se9 curity shall terminate a pilot program on Sep10 tember 30, 2015.’’. 

11 (c) TRANSITION FROM PILOT TO PERMANENT E12 VERIFY PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the 

14 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon15 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is re16 pealed. 

17 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any Fed18 eral law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delega19 tion of authority, or any document of, or pertaining 

20 to, the Department of Homeland Security, the De21 partment of Justice, or the Social Security Adminis22 tration, to the employment eligibility confirmation 

23 system established under section 404 of the Illegal 

24 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

25 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is deemed to 


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1 refer to E-Verify, which has been permanently estab2 lished pursuant to subsection (a). 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Re5 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (di6 vision C of Public Law 104–208) is amended by 

7 striking the items relating to subtitle A of title IV. 

8 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

9 take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (d) FUNDING.— 

12 (1) TRANSFERS.—On the first day of each fis13 cal year beginning after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

15 transfer $100,000,000 in unobligated funds from the 

16 general fund of the Treasury to the Department of 

17 Homeland Security, which shall be used to carry out 

18 E-Verify. 

19 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

20 addition to the amounts transferred pursuant to 

21 paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appro22 priated $100,000,000, in fiscal year 2022, and in 

23 each successive fiscal year, to carry out E-Verify. 

24 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap3 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

5 Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

11 of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) PERMANENT E-VERIFY INITIAL REPORT.— 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the President shall submit a report 

15 to the appropriate congressional committees describ16 ing the implementation of the permanent E-Verify 

17 Program, including— 

18 (A) any significant changes made from the 

19 E-Verify Pilot Program in existence on the day 

20 before the date of the enactment of this Act; 

21 (B) any additional planned changes to 

22 streamline or improve the permanent E-Verify 

23 Program; and 

24 (C) a classified appendix, if necessary, to 

25 discuss sensitive topics, such as measures to 


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1 prevent unauthorized disclosure of personal in2 formation. 

3 (3) PERMANENT E-VERIFY ANNUAL REPORT.— 

4 Not later than 1 year after the submission of the re5 port under paragraph (2), and annually thereafter, 

6 the President shall submit a report to the appro7 priate congressional committees, the Committee on 

8 Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on 

9 Appropriations of the House of Representatives de10 scribing the status of the permanent E-Verify Pro11 gram, including— 

12 (A) statistics on use, confirmations, ten13 tative and final nonconfirmations, and response 

14 times; and 

15 (B) information regarding the costs of the 

16 program, including an accounting of any in17 creases in costs that occurred during the pre18 vious year. 

19 SEC. 6. MANDATORY E-VERIFY FOR ALL EMPLOYERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person or other entity hiring, 

21 recruiting, or referring an individual for employment in 

22 the United States shall utilize E-Verify in accordance with 

23 this section. 

24 (b) IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE.— 


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1 (1) HIRING.—Except as provided in paragraphs 

2 (3) and (4), an employer shall use E-Verify when3 ever hiring an individual for employment in the 

4 United States beginning— 

5 (A) on the date that is 6 months after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act if the em7 ployer has 10,000 or more employees in the 

8 United States on such date of enactment; 

9 (B) on the date that is 9 months after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act if the em11 ployer has at least 500 employees in the United 

12 States and fewer than 10,000 employees in the 

13 United States on such date of enactment; 

14 (C) on the date that is 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act if the em16 ployer has at least 20 employees in the United 

17 States fewer than 500 employees in the United 

18 States on such date of enactment; 

19 (D) on the date that is 18 months after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act if the em21 ployer has at least 1 employee in the United 

22 States and fewer than 20 employees in the 

23 United States on such date of enactment; and 


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1 (E) on the date that is 1 year after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act for any new 

3 employer. 

4 (2) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.—Except as 

5 provided in paragraph (3), the requirement under 

6 subsection (b) shall apply to a person or other entity 

7 recruiting or referring an individual for employment 

8 in the United States beginning on the date that is 

9 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (3) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERVICES.—Not11 withstanding paragraph (1), the requirement under 

12 subsection (b) shall not apply to the verification of 

13 employment eligibility for employees performing ag14 ricultural labor or services until on or after the date 

15 that is 18 months after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 (4) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Sec18 retary of Homeland Security shall authorize and di19 rect any person or entity responsible for granting ac20 cess to, protecting, securing, operating, admin21 istering, or regulating part of the critical infrastruc22 ture (as defined in section 1016(e) of the Critical In23 frastructure Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 

24 5195c(e))) to use E-Verify whenever hiring an indi25 vidual for employment in the United States on or 


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1 after the date that is 6 months after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act. 

3 (5) USE OF CONTRACT LABOR.—Any employer 

4 who uses a contract, subcontract, or exchange to ob5 tain the labor of an individual in the United States 

6 after the applicable effective date under paragraphs 

7 (1) through (4) shall certify, in such contract, sub8 contract, or exchange, that the employer, and all 

9 parties to such contract, subcontract, or exchange, 

10 use E-Verify. 

11 (6) TRANSITION RULE.—Any person or other 

12 entity hiring, recruiting, or referring an individual 

13 for employment in the United States before the ap14 plicable effective date under paragraphs (1) through 

15 (4) shall be subject to any other provision of Federal 

16 law requiring the person or entity to participate in 

17 the E-Verify Pilot Program described in section 

18 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi19 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

20 note), as in effect before the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, including Executive Order 13465 (8 

22 U.S.C. 1324a note), and all references to the E23 Verify Pilot Program or a requirement to participate 

24 in an employment verification program, shall be 


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1 deemed to refer to the E-Verify program established 

2 under section 4 of such Act. 

3 (c) EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

4 (1) FORMER E-VERIFY REQUIRED USERS, IN5 CLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Notwithstand6 ing the deadlines set forth in subsection (b)(1), be7 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Homeland Security shall require em9 ployers required to participate in E-Verify described 

10 in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

11 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

12 1324a note), including employers required to partici13 pate in such program by reason of Federal acquisi14 tion laws (and regulations promulgated under those 

15 laws, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation), 

16 to use E-Verify (and comply with any additional re17 quirements of such Federal acquisition laws and reg18 ulation). 

19 (2) FORMER E-VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS AND

20 OTHERS DESIRING EARLY COMPLIANCE.—Notwith21 standing the deadlines set forth in subsection (b)(1), 

22 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

23 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for 

24 the voluntary use of E-Verify by employers volun25 tarily electing to participate in the E-Verify program 


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1 described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigra2 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

3 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) before such date, and 

4 by other employers seeking voluntary early compli5 ance. 

6 SEC. 7. PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO USE E-VERIFY. 

7 If a person or entity fails to utilize E-Verify as re8 quired by law, including failing to comply with section 

9 6(b)(5) or providing information to the system that the 

10 person or entity knows or reasonably believes to be false, 

11 such failure shall be treated as a violation of paragraph 

12 (1)(A), (1)(B), or (2) of section 274A(a) of the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)), as applica14 ble. 

15 SEC. 8. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED EM16 PLOYMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A of the Immigration 

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (e)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ 

22 each place such term appears and inserting 

23 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Department of 

3 Homeland Security’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

7 (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para8 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 

9 (II) in subparagraph (A)(i), by 

10 striking ‘‘not less than $250 and not 

11 more than $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not 

12 less than $2,500 and not more than 

13 $5,000’’; 

14 (III) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by 

15 striking ‘‘not less than $2,000 and 

16 not more than $5,000’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘not less than $5,000 and not more 

18 than $10,000’’; 

19 (IV) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by 

20 striking ‘‘not less than $3,000 and 

21 not more than $10,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘not less than $10,000 and not more 

23 than $25,000’’; and 

24 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

2 take appropriate remedial action.’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

4 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik5 ing ‘‘PAPERWORK’’; 

6 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, subject to para7 graphs (10) through (12),’’ after ‘‘in an 

8 amount’’; and 

9 (iii) by striking ‘‘$100 and not more 

10 than $1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 and 

11 not more than $25,000’’; and 

12 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(10) ADJUSTMENT OF PENALTY FOR GOOD

14 FAITH VIOLATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se15 curity or the Attorney General may waive or reduce 

16 a civil penalty under paragraph (4)(A) (with respect 

17 to a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of sub18 section (a) for hiring or continuation of employment 

19 or recruitment or referral by person or entity) or a 

20 civil penalty under paragraph (5) (with respect to a 

21 violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring or re22 cruitment or referral by a person or entity) if the vi23 olator establishes that the violator acted in good 

24 faith. 


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1 ‘‘(11) MITIGATION.—The size of the business 

2 shall be taken into account when assessing the level 

3 of civil money penalty under paragraph (4). 

4 ‘‘(12) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

5 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security determines that a person or 

8 entity is a repeat violator of paragraph (1)(A) 

9 or (2) of subsection (a), or is convicted of a 

10 crime under this section, such person or entity 

11 may be proposed for debarment from the re12 ceipt of Federal contracts, grants, or coopera13 tive agreements in accordance with the debar14 ment standards and pursuant to the debarment 

15 procedures set forth in the Federal Acquisition 

16 Regulation. 

17 ‘‘(B) DOES NOT HAVE CONTRACT, GRANT, 

18 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security or the Attorney General determines 

20 that a person or entity should be proposed for 

21 debarment in accordance with subparagraph 

22 (A), and such an person or entity does not hold 

23 a Federal contract, grant or cooperative agree24 ment, the Secretary or the Attorney General 


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1 shall refer the matter to the Administrator of 

2 General Services to determine— 

3 ‘‘(i) whether to list the person or enti4 ty on the List of Parties Excluded from 

5 Federal Procurement; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if the person or entity is included 

7 on such list, the duration and scope of 

8 such inclusion. 

9 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE10 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 or the Attorney General determines that a per12 son or entity should be proposed for debarment 

13 in accordance with this subparagraph (A), and 

14 such person or entity holds a Federal contract, 

15 grant or cooperative agreement, the Secretary 

16 or the Attorney General— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall advise all agencies or de18 partments holding a contract, grant, or co19 operative agreement with the person or en20 tity of the Government’s interest in having 

21 the person or entity proposed for debar22 ment; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) after soliciting and considering 

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1 ments, may refer the matter to any appro2 priate lead agency to determine— 

3 ‘‘(I) whether to list the person or 

4 entity on the List of Parties Excluded 

5 from Federal Procurement; and 

6 ‘‘(II) if the person or entity is in7 cluded on such list, the duration and 

8 scope of such inclusion. 

9 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

10 person or entity under this paragraph shall be 

11 reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 of the Federal 

12 Acquisition Regulation. 

13 ‘‘(13) CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT AFTER FINAL

14 NONCONFIRMATION.—If a person or other entity 

15 continues to employ (or to recruit or refer) an indi16 vidual after receiving final nonconfirmation, a rebut17 table presumption is created that the person or enti18 ty has violated subsection (a)(1)(A).’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (f), by amending paragraph 

20 (1) to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti22 ty that engages in a pattern or practice of violations 

23 of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall be 

24 fined not more than $30,000 for each unauthorized 


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1 alien with respect to which such a violation occurs, 

2 imprisoned for not more than 18 months, or both.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), the amendments made by subsection (a) 

6 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 (2) CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT AFTER FINAL

9 NONCONFIRMATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of sec11 tion 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act, as added by subsection (a)(1)(D), 

13 shall take effect on the date that is 6 months 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (B) PENALTY CALCULATIONS.—The cal16 culation of any penalties under section 

17 274A(e)(13)(B) of the Immigration and Na18 tionality Act, as added by subsection (a)(1)(D), 

19 shall not include any period of continuing em20 ployment before the effective date referred to in 

21 subparagraph (A). 

22 SEC. 9. E-VERIFY SELF-CHECK. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu24 rity, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Secu25 rity, shall establish a secure self-verification procedure to 


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1 permit an individual to verify his or her employment eligi2 bility. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The self-verification procedure es4 tablished under subsection (a)— 

5 (1) shall be subject to appropriate safeguards to 

6 prevent misuse of the confirmation system, including 

7 requiring employees or applicants— 

8 (A) to use any self-verification feature; or 

9 (B) to provide the employer with self10 verification results; and 

11 (2) shall allow individuals to contact the appro12 priate agency to correct or update the information 

13 contained in the confirmation system. 

14 SEC. 10. E-VERIFY PROCESS. 

15 Section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION

18 PROCESS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFER20 RAL.—A person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or 

21 referring an individual for employment in the United 

22 States shall be subject to the following requirements: 

23 ‘‘(A) ATTESTATION AFTER EXAMINATION

24 OF DOCUMENTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) ATTESTATION.—During the 

2 verification period, the person or entity 

3 shall attest, by either a handwritten or 

4 electronic signature, under penalty of per5 jury, on a form, including electronic for6 mats, designated or established by the Sec7 retary by regulation not later than 6 

8 months after the date of the enactment of 

9 the Higher Wages for American Workers 

10 Act of 2021, that the person or entity has 

11 verified that the individual is not an unau12 thorized alien by— 

13 ‘‘(I)(aa) obtaining from the indi14 vidual the individual’s Social Security 

15 account number or United States 

16 passport number and recording the 

17 number on the form; 

18 ‘‘(bb) if the individual does 

19 not attest to United States na20 tionality under subparagraph 

21 (B), obtaining such identification 

22 or authorization number estab23 lished by the Department of 

24 Homeland Security for the alien 

25 as the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security may specify, and record2 ing such number on the form; 

3 ‘‘(II) examining, in a manner 

4 prescribed by the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(aa) a document described 

6 in clause (ii) that relates to the 

7 individual presenting the docu8 ment; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) a document described 

10 in clause (iii) that relates to the 

11 individual presenting the docu12 ment and a document described 

13 in clause (iv) that relates to the 

14 individual presenting the docu15 ment; and 

16 ‘‘(III) matching the photograph 

17 on a document described in subclause 

18 (II) that relates to the individual pre19 senting the document with a photo20 graph of such individual, if such pho21 tograph is available through the E22 Verify Program. 

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1 LISHING IDENTITY.—A document de2 scribed in this clause is an individual’s— 

3 ‘‘(I) unexpired United States 

4 passport or passport card; 

5 ‘‘(II) unexpired permanent resi6 dent card that contains a photograph; 

7 ‘‘(III) unexpired employment au8 thorization card that contains a pho9 tograph; 

10 ‘‘(IV) in the case of a non11 immigrant alien authorized to work 

12 for a specific employer incident to sta13 tus, a foreign passport with Form I– 

14 94 or Form I–94A, or other docu15 mentation as designated by the Sec16 retary specifying the alien’s non17 immigrant status as long as the pe18 riod of status has not yet expired and 

19 the proposed employment is not in 

20 conflict with any restrictions or limita21 tions identified in the documentation; 

22 ‘‘(V) passport from the Fed23 erated States of Micronesia (FSM) or 

24 the Republic of the Marshall Islands 

25 (RMI) with Form I–94 or Form I– 


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1 94A, or other documentation as des2 ignated by the Secretary, indicating 

3 nonimmigrant admission under the 

4 Compact of Free Association Between 

5 the United States and the FSM or 

6 RMI; or 

7 ‘‘(VI) other document designated 

8 by the Secretary of Homeland Secu9 rity, if the document— 

10 ‘‘(aa) contains a photograph 

11 of the individual and biometric 

12 identification data from the indi13 vidual and such other personal 

14 identifying information relating 

15 to the individual as the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security finds, by 

17 regulation, sufficient for purposes 

18 of this clause; 

19 ‘‘(bb) is evidence of author20 ization of employment in the 

21 United States; and 

22 ‘‘(cc) contains security fea23 tures to make it resistant to tam24 pering, counterfeiting, and fraud25 ulent use. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM2 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document 

3 described in this clause is an individual’s 

4 Social Security account number card 

5 (other than such a card which specifies on 

6 the face that the issuance of the card does 

7 not authorize employment in the United 

8 States). 

9 ‘‘(iv) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING

10 IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUAL.—A document 

11 described in this clause is— 

12 ‘‘(I) an individual’s unexpired 

13 State issued driver’s license or identi14 fication card if the license or card 

15 contains a photograph and personally 

16 identifying information, such as name, 

17 date of birth, gender, height, eye 

18 color, and home address; 

19 ‘‘(II) an individual’s unexpired 

20 U.S. military identification card that 

21 contains a photograph; 

22 ‘‘(III) an individual’s unexpired 

23 Native American tribal identification 

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1 ognized by the Bureau of Indian Af2 fairs; or 

3 ‘‘(IV) in the case of an individual 

4 who is younger than 18 years of age, 

5 a parent or legal guardian’s attesta6 tion under penalty of law as to the 

7 identity and age of the individual. 

8 ‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF

9 CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security finds, by regulation, 

11 that any document described in clause (ii), 

12 (iii), or (iv) as establishing employment au13 thorization or identity does not reliably es14 tablish such authorization or identity or is 

15 being used fraudulently to an unacceptable 

16 degree, the Secretary may prohibit or place 

17 conditions on its use for purposes of this 

18 paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EM20 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During the 

22 verification period, the individual shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) attest, by either a hand24 written or electronic signature, under 

25 penalty of perjury, and on the form 


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1 designated or established for purposes 

2 of subparagraph (A), that the indi3 vidual is a citizen or national of the 

4 United States, an alien lawfully ad5 mitted for permanent residence, or an 

6 alien who is authorized under this Act 

7 or by the Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity to be hired, recruited, or re9 ferred for such employment; and 

10 ‘‘(II) provide his or her Social 

11 Security account number or valid 

12 United States passport number. 

13 ‘‘(ii) OTHER IDENTIFICATION.—If the 

14 individual does not attest to United States 

15 nationality under clause (i), the individual 

16 shall provide the identification or author17 ization number established for the alien by 

18 the Department of Homeland Security, as 

19 specified by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(C) E-VERIFY REDESIGN.—The Secretary 

21 is authorized to issue regulations allowing any 

22 person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or re23 ferring an individual for employment and the 

24 individual to comply with this section through 


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1 an updated digital verification system that re2 quires the submission of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the information required under 

4 subparagraph (A)(i)(I); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the documentation required 

6 under subparagraph (A)(i)(II); and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the matching of any available 

8 photos with any photo contained in any 

9 document presented for identity or employ10 ment verification purposes. 

11 ‘‘(D) SYSTEM RESPONSES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) CONFIRMATION RECEIVED.—If a 

13 person or other entity receives an appro14 priate confirmation of an individual’s iden15 tity and work eligibility under the 

16 verification system within the specified pe17 riod, the person or entity shall record, on 

18 the form designated or established for pur19 poses of subparagraph (A), an appropriate 

20 code provided by the system that indicates 

21 a final confirmation of such identity and 

22 work eligibility of the individual. 

23 ‘‘(ii) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMA24 TION.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 

2 or other entity receives a tentative 

3 nonconfirmation of an individual’s 

4 identity or work eligibility under the 

5 verification system within the speci6 fied period, the person or entity 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(aa) inform the individual 

9 for whom the verification is 

10 sought of such nonconfirmation; 

11 ‘‘(bb) if the individual does 

12 not contest the nonconfirmation 

13 within 10 business days after re14 ceiving such tentative noncon15 firmation, record on the form an 

16 appropriate code which has been 

17 provided under the system to in18 dicate a final nonconfirmation; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(cc) if the individual does 

21 contest the nonconfirmation dur22 ing such period, refer the indi23 vidual secondary verification 

24 process described in subsection 

25 (d)(2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(II) DURATION.—A noncon2 firmation described in subclause (I) 

3 shall remain tentative until a final 

4 confirmation or nonconfirmation is 

5 provided by the verification system 

6 not later than 10 business days after 

7 the issuance of a tentative noncon8 firmation. 

9 ‘‘(III) NOT GROUNDS FOR TER10 MINATION.—An employer may not 

11 terminate the employment of an indi12 vidual because of a failure of the indi13 vidual to have his or her identity and 

14 work eligibility confirmed under this 

15 section until the nonconfirmation be16 comes final. Nothing in this subclause 

17 may be construed to apply to a termi18 nation of employment for any reason 

19 other than because of such failure. 

20 ‘‘(IV) NOT GROUNDS FOR RE21 SCISSION OF OFFER.—An employer 

22 may not rescind an offer of employ23 ment to an individual because of a 

24 failure of the individual to have his or 

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1 firmed under this section until the 

2 nonconfirmation becomes final. Noth3 ing in this subclause may be con4 strued to apply to a rescission of an 

5 offer of employment for any reason 

6 other than because of such failure. 

7 ‘‘(iii) FINAL CONFIRMATION OR NON8 CONFIRMATION RECEIVED.—If a final con9 firmation or nonconfirmation is provided 

10 by the verification system regarding an in11 dividual, the person or entity shall record 

12 on the form an appropriate code that is 

13 provided under the system and that indi14 cates a confirmation or nonconfirmation of 

15 identity and work eligibility of the indi16 vidual. 

17 ‘‘(iv) EXTENSION.—If a person or 

18 other entity in good faith attempts to make 

19 an inquiry during the time period specified 

20 and the verification system has registered 

21 that not all inquiries were received during 

22 such time, the person or entity may make 

23 an inquiry in the first 5 subsequent busi24 ness days in which the verification system 

25 registers that it has received all inquiries. 


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1 If the verification system cannot receive in2 quiries at all times during a day, the per3 son or entity merely has to assert that the 

4 entity attempted to make the inquiry on 

5 that day for the previous sentence to apply 

6 to such an inquiry, and does not have to 

7 provide any additional proof concerning 

8 such inquiry. 

9 ‘‘(v) TERMINATION UPON FINAL NON10 CONFIRMATION.—Not later than 3 busi11 ness days after receiving a final noncon12 firmation regarding an individual, the per13 son or entity shall terminate the employ14 ment of the individual (or decline to recruit 

15 or refer the individual). 

16 ‘‘(E) VERIFICATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(I) In the case of recruitment or 

19 referral, the term ‘verification period’ 

20 means the period ending on the date 

21 recruiting or referring commences. 

22 ‘‘(II) In the case of hiring, the 

23 term ‘verification period’ means the 

24 period beginning on the date on which 

25 an offer of employment is extended 


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1 and ending on the date that is 3 busi2 ness days after the date of hire, ex3 cept as provided in clause (iii). The 

4 offer of employment may be condi5 tioned in accordance with clause (ii). 

6 ‘‘(ii) JOB OFFER MAY BE CONDI7 TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 

8 offer a prospective employee an employ9 ment position that is conditioned on final 

10 verification of the identity and employment 

11 eligibility of the employee using the proce12 dures established under this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(iii) CONTACT INFORMATION.—A 

14 person or other entity, upon making an 

15 offer of employment to a prospective em16 ployee under clause (ii), shall submit to E17 Verify the contact information of the pro18 spective employee, including an email ad19 dress or a telephone number, so that E20 Verify can notify the prospective employee 

21 in the case of a tentative nonconfirmation. 

22 ‘‘(iv) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstand23 ing clause (i)(II), if a United States cit24 izen, a lawful permanent resident, or an 

25 alien who is authorized for employment 


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1 provides evidence from the Social Security 

2 Administration that such individual has 

3 applied for a Social Security account num4 ber, the verification period shall end on the 

5 date that is 3 business days after the date 

6 on which the individual receives the Social 

7 Security account number. 

8 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

9 LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraphs (B) and (C), a person or entity 

12 shall use E-Verify to seek reverification of the 

13 employment eligibility of all individuals with a 

14 limited period of work authorization employed 

15 by the person or entity not later than 3 busi16 ness days after the date on which the employ17 ee’s prior work authorization expires. 

18 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Employers shall 

19 be subject to the requirement under subpara20 graph (A) beginning on the date on which the 

21 employer is required to use E-Verify under sec22 tion 6 of the Higher Wages for American Work23 ers Act of 2021. 

24 ‘‘(C) REVERIFICATION.—Paragraph (1)(C) 

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1 graph on the same basis as it applies to 

2 verifications under paragraph (1), except that 

3 employers shall use a form designated or estab4 lished by the Secretary by regulation for pur5 poses of this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(3) PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER8 TAIN EMPLOYEES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

10 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

11 enactment of the Higher Wages for Amer12 ican Workers Act of 2021, an employer 

13 shall use E-Verify to seek verification of 

14 the identity and employment eligibility of 

15 any individual described in clause (ii) who 

16 is employed by the employer and whose 

17 employment eligibility has not been verified 

18 under the E-Verify program described in 

19 section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

20 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

21 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note). 

22 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An 

23 individual described in this clause is— 

24 ‘‘(I) an employee of any unit of a 

25 Federal, State, or local government; 


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1 ‘‘(II) an employee who requires a 

2 Federal security clearance working in 

3 a Federal, State or local government 

4 building, a military base, a nuclear 

5 energy site, a weapons site, or an air6 port or other facility that requires 

7 workers— 

8 ‘‘(aa) to carry a Transpor9 tation Worker Identification Cre10 dential; or 

11 ‘‘(bb) to have access to a Se12 cure Identification Display Area; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(III) an employee assigned to 

15 perform work in the United States 

16 under a Federal contract, except that 

17 this subclause— 

18 ‘‘(aa) is not applicable to in19 dividuals who normally perform 

20 support work, such as indirect or 

21 overhead functions, and do not 

22 perform any substantial duties 

23 applicable to the contract, or are 

24 working solely on contracts that 

25 provide Commercial Off The 


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1 Shelf goods or services as set 

2 forth by the Federal Acquisition 

3 Regulatory Council, unless they 

4 are subject to verification under 

5 subclause (II); and 

6 ‘‘(bb) only applies to con7 tracts in excess of the micro-pur8 chase threshold (as defined in 

9 section 2.101 of title 48, Code of 

10 Federal Regulations). 

11 ‘‘(B) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR MUL12 TIPLE USERS OF SAME SOCIAL SECURITY AC13 COUNT NUMBER.—An employer who is required 

14 to use E-Verify, or has elected voluntarily to 

15 use E-Verify, shall make inquiries to the system 

16 in accordance with the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) The Commissioner of Social Secu18 rity shall notify annually employees (at the 

19 employee address listed on the Wage and 

20 Tax Statement) who submit a Social Secu21 rity account number to which more than 1 

22 employer reports income and for which 

23 there is a pattern of unusual multiple use. 

24 The notification letter shall identify the 

25 number of employers to which income is 


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1 being reported as well as sufficient infor2 mation notifying the employee of the proc3 ess to contact the Social Security Adminis4 tration Fraud Hotline if the employee be5 lieves the employee’s identity may have 

6 been stolen. The notice may not include in7 formation protected as private, in order to 

8 avoid any recipient of the notice from 

9 being in the position to further commit or 

10 begin committing identity theft. 

11 ‘‘(ii) If the person to whom the Social 

12 Security account number was issued by the 

13 Social Security Administration has been 

14 identified and confirmed by the Commis15 sioner, and indicates that the Social Secu16 rity account number was used without his 

17 or her knowledge, the Secretary and the 

18 Commissioner shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) lock the Social Security ac20 count number or employment eligi21 bility verification purposes; and 

22 ‘‘(II) notify the employers of the 

23 individuals who wrongfully submitted 

24 the Social Security account number 


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1 that the employee may not be work el2 igible. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Each employer receiving notifi4 cation of an incorrect Social Security ac5 count number under clause (ii) shall use 

6 E-Verify to check the work eligibility sta7 tus of the applicable employee not later 

8 than 10 business days after receiving the 

9 notification. 

10 ‘‘(C) ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para12 graph (2) and subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

13 an employer may make an inquiry through 

14 E-Verify to seek verification of the identity 

15 and employment eligibility of any indi16 vidual employed by the employer. If an em17 ployer chooses voluntarily to seek 

18 verification of any individual employed by 

19 the employer, the employer shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) seek verification of all indi21 viduals employed by the employer; and 

22 ‘‘(II) notify E-Verify whether the 

23 individual is an existing or prospective 

24 employee. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF VERIFICATION DECI2 SION.—An employer’s decision not to vol3 untarily seek verification of its current 

4 workforce under this subparagraph may 

5 not be considered by any government agen6 cy in any proceeding, investigation, or re7 view provided for in this Act. 

8 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

9 (1)(C)(ii) shall apply to verifications pursuant 

10 to this paragraph on the same basis as it ap11 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

12 except that employers shall use a form des13 ignated or established by the Secretary by regu14 lation for purposes of this paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(4) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER16 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

17 law, the person or entity— 

18 ‘‘(A) may copy a document presented by 

19 an individual under this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may retain the copy for the purpose 

21 of complying with the requirements under this 

22 subsection. 

23 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—A form 

24 designated or established by the Secretary of Home25 land Security under this subsection and any inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S478.IS S478

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1 mation contained in or appended to such form, may 

2 not be used for purposes other than for the enforce3 ment or administration of this Act and any other 

4 provision of Federal or State criminal law. 

5 ‘‘(6) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

7 provided in this subsection, a person or entity 

8 is considered to have complied with a require9 ment of this subsection notwithstanding a tech10 nical or procedural failure to meet such require11 ment if there was a good faith attempt to com12 ply with the requirement. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT

14 AFTER NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

15 apply if— 

16 ‘‘(i) the failure is not de minimus; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu18 rity has explained to the person or entity 

19 the basis for the failure and why it is not 

20 de minimus; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the person or entity has been 

22 provided a period of not less than 30 cal23 endar days (beginning after the date of the 

24 explanation) within which to correct the 

25 failure; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor2 rected the failure voluntarily within such 

3 period. 

4 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC5 TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

6 apply to a person or entity that has or is engag7 ing in a pattern or practice of violating para8 graph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a).’’. 

9 SEC. 11. GOOD FAITH DEFENSE. 

10 Section 274A(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(3)) is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(3) GOOD FAITH DEFENSE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) DEFENSE.—An employer (or person 

15 or entity that hires, employs, recruits, or refers, 

16 or is otherwise obligated to comply with this 

17 section) who establishes that it has complied in 

18 good faith with the requirements of subsection 

19 (b)— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall not be liable to a job appli21 cant, an employee, the Federal Govern22 ment, or a State or local government, 

23 under Federal, State, or local criminal or 

24 civil law for any employment-related action 

25 taken with respect to a job applicant or 


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1 employee in good-faith reliance on informa2 tion provided through the system estab3 lished under subsection (d); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) has established compliance with 

5 its obligations under subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B) of paragraph (1) and subsection 

7 (b) absent a showing by the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security, by clear and con9 vincing evidence, that the employer had 

10 knowledge that an employee is an unau11 thorized alien. 

12 ‘‘(B) MITIGATION ELEMENT.—For pur13 poses of subparagraph (A)(i), if an employer 

14 proves by a preponderance of the evidence that 

15 the employer uses a reasonable, secure, and es16 tablished technology to authenticate the identity 

17 of the new employee, that fact shall be taken 

18 into account for purposes of determining good 

19 faith use of the system established under sub20 section (d). 

21 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO SEEK AND OBTAIN

22 VERIFICATION.—Subject to the effective dates 

23 and other deadlines applicable under subsection 

24 (b), in the case of a person or entity in the 

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1 ploy, an individual, or recruits or refers an indi2 vidual for employment, the following require3 ments shall apply: 

4 ‘‘(i) FAILURE TO SEEK

5 VERIFICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 

7 or entity has not made an inquiry, 

8 under the mechanism established 

9 under subsection (d) and in accord10 ance with the timeframes established 

11 under subsection (b), seeking 

12 verification of the identity and work 

13 eligibility of the individual, the de14 fense under subparagraph (A) shall 

15 not be considered to apply with re16 spect to any employment, except as 

17 provided in subclause (II). 

18 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAIL19 URE OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.— 

20 If such a person or entity in good 

21 faith attempts to make an inquiry in 

22 order to qualify for the defense under 

23 subparagraph (A) and the verification 

24 mechanism has registered that not all 

25 inquiries were responded to during the 


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1 relevant time, the person or entity can 

2 make an inquiry until the end of the 

3 first subsequent business day in which 

4 the verification mechanism registers 

5 no nonresponses and qualify for such 

6 defense. 

7 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO OBTAIN

8 VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity 

9 has made the inquiry described in clause 

10 (i)(I), but has not received an appropriate 

11 verification of such identity and work eligi12 bility under such mechanism within the 

13 time period specified under subsection 

14 (d)(2) after the time the verification in15 quiry was received, the defense under sub16 paragraph (A) shall not be considered to 

17 apply with respect to any employment after 

18 the end of such time period.’’. 

19 SEC. 12. PREEMPTION. 

20 Section 274A(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nation21 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(2)) is amended to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec24 tion preempt any State or local law, ordinance, pol25 icy, or rule, including any criminal or civil fine or 


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1 penalty structure, to the extent they may relate to 

2 the hiring, continued employment, or verification for 

3 employment eligibility purposes, of unauthorized 

4 aliens.’’. 

5 SEC. 13. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. 

6 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘E7 Verify purposes’’ means— 

8 (1) preventing identity theft, fraud, and misuse 

9 of E-Verify; and 

10 (2) administering and enforcing the provisions 

11 of this Act and section 274A of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) governing employ13 ment eligibility verification. 

14 (b) FEDERAL RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of law, including section 6103 of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986, with respect to Employer Identi17 fication Number information, the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security shall have access to relevant Federal records de19 scribed in clauses (i) through (iii) of section 

20 274A(d)(3)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

21 U.S.C. 1324a(d)(3)(G) for E-Verify purposes. 

22 (c) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—Any Federal agency 

23 or other Federal Government entity possessing records de24 scribed in subsection (a) shall provide such assistance and 

25 cooperation as the Secretary of Homeland Security may 


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1 request to resolve initial verification inquiries, further ac2 tion required results, cases in continuance, and final non3 confirmation results relating to such records or to other4 wise improve the accuracy of E-Verify. 

5 (d) STATE COOPERATION.— 

6 (1) DRIVER’S LICENSE INFORMATION.—Not7 withstanding section 2721 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, or any other law, a State department of motor 

9 vehicles may provide information described in section 

10 274A(d)(3)(G)(iv) of the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act, as added by section 5(a) of this Act, ob12 tained by the department, including an individual’s 

13 photograph, to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 for E-Verify purposes. 

15 (2) INFORMATION SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

16 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall maximize 

17 enrollment of States and other non-Federal Govern18 ment entities possessing information described in 

19 section 274A(d)(3)(G)(iv) of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act in information sharing agreements 

21 that provide access to such information to the Sec22 retary for E-Verify purposes and fully implement 

23 such agreements. 

24 (3) CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL GRANT FUND25 ING.— 


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1 (A) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

2 GRANTS.—Section 3(4) of the Public Works 

3 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

4 U.S.C. 3122(4)) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) GRANTS CONDITIONED ON INFORMA7 TION SHARING.—The term ‘eligible recipient’ 

8 does not include, with respect to grants author9 ized under section 201, 203, 205, or 207— 

10 ‘‘(i) a State that— 

11 ‘‘(I) does not provide access to 

12 driver’s license or identity card infor13 mation (including photographs) main14 tained by the State department of 

15 motor vehicles to the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security for E-Verify pur17 poses (as defined in section 13(a) of 

18 the Higher Wages for American 

19 Workers Act of 2021); or 

20 ‘‘(II) does not provide such as21 sistance and cooperation as the Sec22 retary may request to resolve initial 

23 verification inquiries, further action 

24 required results, cases in continuance, 


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1 and final nonconfirmation results re2 lating to such records; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) a city, or other political subdivi4 sion of a State described in clause (i), in5 cluding a special purpose unit of such 

6 State or political subdivision engaged in 

7 economic or infrastructure development ac8 tivities, or a consortium of such political 

9 subdivisions.’’. 

10 (B) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK

11 GRANTS.—Section 104 of the Housing and 

12 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

13 U.S.C. 5304) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(n) PROTECTIONS FOR AUTHORIZED WORKERS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated to 

17 carry out this title may not be obligated or expended 

18 for any State (or any unit of general local govern19 ment that is a political subdivision of such State) 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) does not provide access to driver’s li22 cense or identity card information (including 

23 photographs) maintained by the State depart24 ment of motor vehicles to the Department of 

25 Homeland Security for E-Verify purposes (as 


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1 defined in section 13(a) of the Higher Wages 

2 for American Workers Act of 2021); or 

3 ‘‘(B) does not provide such assistance and 

4 cooperation as the Secretary may request to re5 solve initial verification inquiries, further action 

6 required results, cases in continuance, and final 

7 nonconfirmation results relating to such 

8 records. 

9 ‘‘(2) RETURNED AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) STATE.—If a State receives funding 

11 under this title during any period in which the 

12 State is ineligible to receive such funding pursu13 ant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) direct the State to immediately 

15 return to the Secretary any such funding; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) reallocate amounts returned 

18 under clause (i) for grants under this title 

19 to other States that are not ineligible for 

20 such funding. 

21 ‘‘(B) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN22 MENT.—If a unit of general local government 

23 receives funding under this title during any pe24 riod in which it is ineligible for such funding 

25 pursuant to paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the local government shall return 

2 any such amounts to the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall reallocate 

4 such amounts for grants under this title to 

5 States and other units of general local gov6 ernment that are not ineligible for such 

7 funding. 

8 ‘‘(C) REALLOCATION RULES.—In reallo9 cating amounts pursuant to subparagraphs (A) 

10 and (B), the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall apply the relevant allocation 

12 formula under subsection (b), with all enti13 ties ineligible for funding pursuant to 

14 paragraph (1) excluded; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall not be subject to the rules 

16 for reallocation under subsection (c).’’. 

17 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

18 made by this paragraph shall take effect on the 

19 date that is 1 year after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 14. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

22 Section 1546(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘identification 

25 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document 


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1 or document meant to establish work authorization 

2 (including the documents described in section 

3 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

4 U.S.C. 1324a(b)),’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘identification 

6 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

7 document meant to establish work authorization (in8 cluding the documents described in section 274A(b) 

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1324a(b))),’’. 

11 SEC. 15. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

12 (a) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT

13 NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con14 sultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall 

15 establish a program in which Social Security account num16 bers that have been identified to be subject to unusual 

17 multiple use through E-Verify or that are otherwise sus18 pected or determined to have been compromised by iden19 tity fraud, the Social Security account numbers of de20 ceased individuals, or other misuse, shall be blocked from 

21 use by E-Verify unless the individual using such number 

22 is able to establish, through secure and fair additional se23 curity procedures, as determined by the Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security, that the individual is the legitimate 

25 holder of the number. 


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1 (b) ALLOWING SUSPENSION OF USE OF CERTAIN SO2 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—The Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commis4 sioner of Social Security, shall establish a program which 

5 shall provide a reliable, secure method by which victims 

6 of identity fraud and other individuals may suspend or 

7 limit the use of their Social Security account numbers or 

8 other identifying information for purposes of E-Verify. 

9 The Secretary may implement the program on a limited 

10 pilot program basis before making it fully available to all 

11 individuals. 

12 (c) ALLOWING PARENTS TO PREVENT THEFT OF

13 THEIR CHILD’S IDENTITY.—The Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 

15 Security, shall establish a program which shall provide a 

16 reliable, secure method by which parents or legal guard17 ians may suspend or limit the use of the Social Security 

18 account number or other identifying information of a 

19 minor under their care for the purposes of E-Verify. The 

20 Secretary may implement the program on a limited pilot 

21 program basis before making it fully available to all indi22 viduals. 


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1 SEC. 16. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA2 TION PROGRAMS. 

3 Pursuant to an agreement with the Commissioner of 

4 Social Security, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

5 continue to provide funds to the Commissioner for the full 

6 costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner under 

7 section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

8 amended by this Act. 

9 SEC. 17. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDITS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 

12 of the Social Security Administration, in order to uncover 

13 evidence of individuals who are not authorized to work in 

14 the United States, shall complete audits of— 

15 (1) workers who dispute wages reported on 

16 their Social Security account number because they 

17 believe that their names and such numbers were 

18 fraudulently used by others to secure employment; 

19 (2) children’s Social Security account numbers 

20 that have been fraudulently used for work purposes; 

21 (3) employers whose workers present significant 

22 numbers of mismatched Social Security account 

23 numbers or names for wage reporting; 

24 (4) Social Security account numbers of de25 ceased individuals that were fraudulently used for 

26 work purposes; and 


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1 (5) Social Security account numbers of retired 

2 individuals that were potentially used fraudulently 

3 for work purposes. 

4 (b) SUBMISSION.—The Inspector General of the So5 cial Security Administration shall— 

6 (1) submit the audits completed pursuant to 

7 subsection (a) to— 

8 (A) the Committee on Finance of the Sen9 ate; 

10 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

11 Senate; 

12 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

14 (D) the Committee on Ways and Means of 

15 the House of Representatives; 

16 (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

17 House of Representatives; and 

18 (F) the Committee on Homeland Security 

19 of the House of Representatives. 

20 (2) make the information contained in such au21 dits available to Federal law enforcement. 

22 SEC. 18. RECRUITMENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION 

23 OF EMPLOYMENT. 

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1 MENT.—Section 274A(a) of the Immigration and Nation2 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘for a fee’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (1), by amending subpara5 graph (B) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(B) to hire, continue to employ, or to re7 cruit or refer for employment in the United 

8 States an individual without complying with the 

9 requirements of subsection (b).’’; and 

10 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘after hiring 

11 an alien for employment in accordance with para12 graph (1),’’ and inserting ‘‘after complying with 

13 paragraph (1),’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 6 

16 months after the date of the enactment of this Act to the 

17 extent such amendments relate to continuation of employ18 ment. 

19 SEC. 19. DEFINITIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘agricul21 tural labor or services’’, ‘‘date of hire’’, ‘‘recruit’’, ‘‘refer’’, 

22 and ‘‘unauthorized alien’’, have the meanings given such 

23 terms in section 274A(i) of the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act, as amended by subsection (b). 


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1 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE IMMIGRATION AND NA2 TIONALITY ACT.—Section 274A of the Immigration and 

3 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (h), by striking paragraph (3); 

5 and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERVICES.— 

9 The term ‘agricultural labor or services’— 

10 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term by 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture, by regulation; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes— 

13 ‘‘(i) agricultural labor (as defined in 

14 section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue 

15 Code of 1986); 

16 ‘‘(ii) agriculture (as defined in section 

17 3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

18 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f))); 

19 ‘‘(iii) all activities required for the 

20 preparation, processing, or manufacturing 

21 of a product of agriculture (as defined in 

22 such section 3(f)) for further distribution; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(iv) the handling, planting, drying, 

25 packing, packaging, processing, freezing, 


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1 or grading prior to delivery for storage of 

2 any agricultural or horticultural com3 modity in its unmanufactured state. 

4 ‘‘(2) DATE OF HIRE.—The term ‘date of hire’ 

5 means the date of commencement of employment for 

6 wages or other remuneration. 

7 ‘‘(3) RECRUIT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), the term ‘recruit’ means the 

10 act of soliciting a person who is in the United 

11 States, directly or indirectly, and referring the 

12 person to another with the intent of obtaining 

13 employment for that person. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘recruit’ 

15 only applies to persons or entities referring for 

16 remuneration (whether on a retainer or contin17 gency basis) except that the term applies to— 

18 ‘‘(i) union hiring halls that refer 

19 union members or nonunion individuals 

20 who pay union membership dues regardless 

21 of whether they receive remuneration; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) labor service entities or labor 

23 service agencies, whether public, private, 

24 for-profit, or nonprofit that recruit, dis25 patch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 


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1 laborers for any period of time by a third 

2 party. 

3 ‘‘(4) REFER.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the term ‘refer’ means the 

6 act of sending or directing a person who is in 

7 the United States or transmitting documenta8 tion or information to another, directly or indi9 rectly, with the intent of obtaining employment 

10 in the United States for such person. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘refer’ only 

12 applies to persons or entities referring for re13 muneration (whether on a retainer or contin14 gency basis) except that the term applies to— 

15 ‘‘(i) union hiring halls that refer 

16 union members or nonunion individuals 

17 who pay union membership dues regardless 

18 of whether they receive remuneration; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) labor service entities or labor 

20 service agencies, whether public, private, 

21 for-profit, or nonprofit, that refer, dis22 patch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 

23 laborers for any period of time by a third 

24 party. 


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1 ‘‘(5) UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN.—The term ‘unau2 thorized alien’ means, with respect to the employ3 ment of an alien at a particular time, an alien who 

4 is not— 

5 ‘‘(A) an alien lawfully admitted for perma6 nent residence; or 

7 ‘‘(B) otherwise authorized to be employed 

8 under this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security.’’. 

Æ 


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