IB 

Union Calendar No. 508 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1772 

[Report No. 113–677, Part I] 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make mandatory and 

permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment 

eligibility verification system, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2013 

Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. 

GOWDY, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. LANCE, Mr. KING of 

New York, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. ROYCE, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. FORBES, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mr. ISSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 

CULBERSON, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. HALL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. STEWART, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, and 

Mr. MARCHANT

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

The Committees on Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 26, 2013] 

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A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make 

mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use 

of an electronic employment eligibility verification system, and for other purposes. 

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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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legal Workforce Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROCESS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A(b) of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)) is amended 

8 to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROC10 ESS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFER12 RAL.—The requirements referred to in paragraphs 

13 (1)(B) and (3) of subsection (a) are, in the case of a 

14 person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or referring 

15 an individual for employment in the United States, 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) ATTESTATION AFTER EXAMINATION OF

18 DOCUMENTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) ATTESTATION.—During the 

20 verification period (as defined in subpara21 graph (E)), the person or entity shall attest, 

22 under penalty of perjury and on a form, in23 cluding electronic and telephonic formats, 

24 designated or established by the Secretary 

25 by regulation not later than 6 months after 

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1 the date of the enactment of the Legal Work2 force Act, that it has verified that the indi3 vidual is not an unauthorized alien by— 

4 ‘‘(I) obtaining from the individual 

5 the individual’s social security account 

6 number and recording the number on 

7 the form (if the individual claims to 

8 have been issued such a number), and, 

9 if the individual does not attest to 

10 United States nationality under sub11 paragraph (B), obtaining such identi12 fication or authorization number estab13 lished by the Department of Homeland 

14 Security for the alien as the Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security may specify, 

16 and recording such number on the 

17 form; and 

18 ‘‘(II) examining— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a document relating to 

20 the individual presenting it de21 scribed in clause (ii); or 

22 ‘‘(bb) a document relating to 

23 the individual presenting it de24 scribed in clause (iii) and a docu25 ment relating to the individual 

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1 presenting it described in clause 

2 (iv). 

3 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM4 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION AND ESTAB5 LISHING IDENTITY.—A document described 

6 in this subparagraph is an individual’s— 

7 ‘‘(I) unexpired United States 

8 passport or passport card; 

9 ‘‘(II) unexpired permanent resi10 dent card that contains a photograph; 

11 ‘‘(III) unexpired employment au12 thorization card that contains a photo13 graph; 

14 ‘‘(IV) in the case of a non15 immigrant alien authorized to work for 

16 a specific employer incident to status, 

17 a foreign passport with Form I–94 or 

18 Form I–94A, or other documentation 

19 as designated by the Secretary speci20 fying the alien’s nonimmigrant status 

21 as long as the period of status has not 

22 yet expired and the proposed employ23 ment is not in conflict with any re24 strictions or limitations identified in 

25 the documentation; 

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1 ‘‘(V) passport from the Federated 

2 States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Re3 public of the Marshall Islands (RMI) 

4 with Form I–94 or Form I–94A, or 

5 other documentation as designated by 

6 the Secretary, indicating non7 immigrant admission under the Com8 pact of Free Association Between the 

9 United States and the FSM or RMI; or 

10 ‘‘(VI) other document designated 

11 by the Secretary of Homeland Secu12 rity, if the document— 

13 ‘‘(aa) contains a photograph 

14 of the individual and biometric 

15 identification data from the indi16 vidual and such other personal 

17 identifying information relating 

18 to the individual as the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security finds, by 

20 regulation, sufficient for purposes 

21 of this clause; 

22 ‘‘(bb) is evidence of author23 ization of employment in the 

24 United States; and 

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1 ‘‘(cc) contains security fea2 tures to make it resistant to tam3 pering, counterfeiting, and fraud4 ulent use. 

5 ‘‘(iii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM6 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document 

7 described in this subparagraph is an indi8 vidual’s social security account number 

9 card (other than such a card which specifies 

10 on the face that the issuance of the card does 

11 not authorize employment in the United 

12 States). 

13 ‘‘(iv) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING

14 IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUAL.—A document de15 scribed in this subparagraph is— 

16 ‘‘(I) an individual’s unexpired 

17 State issued driver’s license or identi18 fication card if it contains a photo19 graph and information such as name, 

20 date of birth, gender, height, eye color, 

21 and address; 

22 ‘‘(II) an individual’s unexpired 

23 U.S. military identification card; 

24 ‘‘(III) an individual’s unexpired 

25 Native American tribal identification 

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1 document issued by a tribal entity rec2 ognized by the Bureau of Indian Af3 fairs; or 

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

5 under 18 years of age, a parent or 

6 legal guardian’s attestation under pen7 alty of law as to the identity and age 

8 of the individual. 

9 ‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF

10 CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security finds, by regulation, 

12 that any document described in clause (i), 

13 (ii), or (iii) as establishing employment au14 thorization or identity does not reliably es15 tablish such authorization or identity or is 

16 being used fraudulently to an unacceptable 

17 degree, the Secretary may prohibit or place 

18 conditions on its use for purposes of this 

19 paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(vi) SIGNATURE.—Such attestation 

21 may be manifested by either a hand-written 

22 or electronic signature. 

23 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EMPLOY24 MENT AUTHORIZATION.—During the verification 

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1 dividual shall attest, under penalty of perjury on 

2 the form designated or established for purposes of 

3 subparagraph (A), that the individual is a cit4 izen or national of the United States, an alien 

5 lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an 

6 alien who is authorized under this Act or by the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security to be hired, re8 cruited, or referred for such employment. Such 

9 attestation may be manifested by either a hand10 written or electronic signature. The individual 

11 shall also provide that individual’s social secu12 rity account number (if the individual claims to 

13 have been issued such a number), and, if the in14 dividual does not attest to United States nation15 ality under this subparagraph, such identifica16 tion or authorization number established by the 

17 Department of Homeland Security for the alien 

18 as the Secretary may specify. 

19 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM

20 AND VERIFICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After completion of 

22 such form in accordance with subpara23 graphs (A) and (B), the person or entity 

24 shall— 

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1 ‘‘(I) retain a paper, microfiche, 

2 microfilm, or electronic version of the 

3 form and make it available for inspec4 tion by officers of the Department of 

5 Homeland Security, the Special Coun6 sel for Immigration-Related Unfair 

7 Employment Practices, or the Depart8 ment of Labor during a period begin9 ning on the date of the recruiting or 

10 referral of the individual, or, in the 

11 case of the hiring of an individual, the 

12 date on which the verification is com13 pleted, and ending— 

14 ‘‘(aa) in the case of the re15 cruiting or referral of an indi16 vidual, 3 years after the date of 

17 the recruiting or referral; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) in the case of the hir19 ing of an individual, the later of 

20 3 years after the date the 

21 verification is completed or one 

22 year after the date the individ23 ual’s employment is terminated; 

24 and 

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1 ‘‘(II) during the verification pe2 riod (as defined in subparagraph (E)), 

3 make an inquiry, as provided in sub4 section (d), using the verification sys5 tem to seek verification of the identity 

6 and employment eligibility of an indi7 vidual. 

8 ‘‘(ii) CONFIRMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(I) CONFIRMATION RECEIVED.— 

10 If the person or other entity receives an 

11 appropriate confirmation of an indi12 vidual’s identity and work eligibility 

13 under the verification system within 

14 the time period specified, the person or 

15 entity shall record on the form an ap16 propriate code that is provided under 

17 the system and that indicates a final 

18 confirmation of such identity and work 

19 eligibility of the individual. 

20 ‘‘(II) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMA21 TION RECEIVED.—If the person or 

22 other entity receives a tentative non23 confirmation of an individual’s iden24 tity or work eligibility under the 

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1 riod specified, the person or entity 

2 shall so inform the individual for 

3 whom the verification is sought. If the 

4 individual does not contest the noncon5 firmation within the time period speci6 fied, the nonconfirmation shall be con7 sidered final. The person or entity 

8 shall then record on the form an ap9 propriate code which has been provided 

10 under the system to indicate a final 

11 nonconfirmation. If the individual does 

12 contest the nonconfirmation, the indi13 vidual shall utilize the process for sec14 ondary verification provided under 

15 subsection (d). The nonconfirmation 

16 will remain tentative until a final con17 firmation or nonconfirmation is pro18 vided by the verification system within 

19 the time period specified. In no case 

20 shall an employer terminate employ21 ment of an individual because of a 

22 failure of the individual to have iden23 tity and work eligibility confirmed 

24 under this section until a noncon25 firmation becomes final. Nothing in 

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1 this clause shall apply to a termi2 nation of employment for any reason 

3 other than because of such a failure. In 

4 no case shall an employer rescind the 

5 offer of employment to an individual 

6 because of a failure of the individual to 

7 have identity and work eligibility con8 firmed under this subsection until a 

9 nonconfirmation becomes final. Noth10 ing in this subclause shall apply to a 

11 recission of the offer of employment for 

12 any reason other than because of such 

13 a failure. 

14 ‘‘(III) FINAL CONFIRMATION OR

15 NONCONFIRMATION RECEIVED.—If a 

16 final confirmation or nonconfirmation 

17 is provided by the verification system 

18 regarding an individual, the person or 

19 entity shall record on the form an ap20 propriate code that is provided under 

21 the system and that indicates a con22 firmation or nonconfirmation of iden23 tity and work eligibility of the indi24 vidual. 

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1 ‘‘(IV) EXTENSION OF TIME.—If 

2 the person or other entity in good faith 

3 attempts to make an inquiry during 

4 the time period specified and the 

5 verification system has registered that 

6 not all inquiries were received during 

7 such time, the person or entity may 

8 make an inquiry in the first subse9 quent working day in which the 

10 verification system registers that it has 

11 received all inquiries. If the 

12 verification system cannot receive in13 quiries at all times during a day, the 

14 person or entity merely has to assert 

15 that the entity attempted to make the 

16 inquiry on that day for the previous 

17 sentence to apply to such an inquiry, 

18 and does not have to provide any addi19 tional proof concerning such inquiry. 

20 ‘‘(V) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCON21 FIRMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(aa) TERMINATION OR NO23 TIFICATION OF CONTINUED EM24 PLOYMENT.—If the person or 

25 other entity has received a final 

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1 nonconfirmation regarding an in2 dividual, the person or entity may 

3 terminate employment of the indi4 vidual (or decline to recruit or 

5 refer the individual). If the person 

6 or entity does not terminate em7 ployment of the individual or pro8 ceeds to recruit or refer the indi9 vidual, the person or entity shall 

10 notify the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security of such fact through the 

12 verification system or in such 

13 other manner as the Secretary 

14 may specify. 

15 ‘‘(bb) FAILURE TO NOTIFY.— 

16 If the person or entity fails to 

17 provide notice with respect to an 

18 individual as required under item 

19 (aa), the failure is deemed to con20 stitute a violation of subsection 

21 (a)(1)(A) with respect to that in22 dividual. 

23 ‘‘(VI) CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT

24 AFTER FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.—If 

25 the person or other entity continues to 

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1 employ (or to recruit or refer) an indi2 vidual after receiving final noncon3 firmation, a rebuttable presumption is 

4 created that the person or entity has 

5 violated subsection (a)(1)(A). 

6 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVE DATES OF NEW PROCE7 DURES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) HIRING.—Except as provided in 

9 clause (iii), the provisions of this paragraph 

10 shall apply to a person or other entity hir11 ing an individual for employment in the 

12 United States as follows: 

13 ‘‘(I) With respect to employers 

14 having 10,000 or more employees in 

15 the United States on the date of the en16 actment of the Legal Workforce Act, on 

17 the date that is 6 months after the date 

18 of the enactment of such Act. 

19 ‘‘(II) With respect to employers 

20 having 500 or more employees in the 

21 United States, but less than 10,000 em22 ployees in the United States, on the 

23 date of the enactment of the Legal 

24 Workforce Act, on the date that is 12 

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1 months after the date of the enactment 

2 of such Act. 

3 ‘‘(III) With respect to employers 

4 having 20 or more employees in the 

5 United States, but less than 500 em6 ployees in the United States, on the 

7 date of the enactment of the Legal 

8 Workforce Act, on the date that is 18 

9 months after the date of the enactment 

10 of such Act. 

11 ‘‘(IV) With respect to employers 

12 having 1 or more employees in the 

13 United States, but less than 20 em14 ployees in the United States, on the 

15 date of the enactment of the Legal 

16 Workforce Act, on the date that is 24 

17 months after the date of the enactment 

18 of such Act. 

19 ‘‘(ii) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.— 

20 Except as provided in clause (iii), the pro21 visions of this paragraph shall apply to a 

22 person or other entity recruiting or refer23 ring an individual for employment in the 

24 United States on the date that is 12 months 

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1 after the date of the enactment of the Legal 

2 Workforce Act. 

3 ‘‘(iii) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV4 ICES.—With respect to an employee per5 forming agricultural labor or services, this 

6 paragraph shall not apply with respect to 

7 the verification of the employee until the 

8 date that is 24 months after the date of the 

9 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act. For 

10 purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 

11 ‘agricultural labor or services’ has the 

12 meaning given such term by the Secretary 

13 of Agriculture in regulations and includes 

14 agricultural labor as defined in section 

15 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986, agriculture as defined in section 3(f) 

17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

18 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)), the handling, planting, 

19 drying, packing, packaging, processing, 

20 freezing, or grading prior to delivery for 

21 storage of any agricultural or horticultural 

22 commodity in its unmanufactured state, all 

23 activities required for the preparation, proc24 essing or manufacturing of a product of ag25 riculture (as such term is defined in such 

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1 section 3(f)) for further distribution, and 

2 activities similar to all the foregoing as they 

3 relate to fish or shellfish in aquaculture fa4 cilities. An employee described in this clause 

5 shall not be counted for purposes of clause 

6 (i). 

7 ‘‘(iv) TRANSITION RULE.—Subject to 

8 paragraph (4), the following shall apply to 

9 a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, 

10 or referring an individual for employment 

11 in the United States until the effective date 

12 or dates applicable under clauses (i) 

13 through (iii): 

14 ‘‘(I) This subsection, as in effect 

15 before the enactment of the Legal Work16 force Act. 

17 ‘‘(II) Subtitle A of title IV of the 

18 Illegal Immigration Reform and Im19 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

20 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect before 

21 the effective date in section 7(c) of the 

22 Legal Workforce Act. 

23 ‘‘(III) Any other provision of Fed24 eral law requiring the person or entity 

25 to participate in the E-Verify Program 

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1 described in section 403(a) of the Ille2 gal Immigration Reform and Immi3 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

4 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect before 

5 the effective date in section 7(c) of the 

6 Legal Workforce Act, including Execu7 tive Order 13465 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note; 

8 relating to Government procurement). 

9 ‘‘(E) VERIFICATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

11 this paragraph: 

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

13 referral, the term ‘verification period’ 

14 means the period ending on the date 

15 recruiting or referring commences. 

16 ‘‘(II) In the case of hiring, the 

17 term ‘verification period’ means the 

18 period beginning on the date on which 

19 an offer of employment is extended and 

20 ending on the date that is 3 business 

21 days after the date of hire, except as 

22 provided in clause (iii). The offer of 

23 employment may be conditioned in ac24 cordance with clause (ii). 

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1 ‘‘(ii) JOB OFFER MAY BE CONDI2 TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 

3 offer a prospective employee an employment 

4 position that is conditioned on final 

5 verification of the identity and employment 

6 eligibility of the employee using the proce7 dures established under this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwith9 standing clause (i)(II), in the case of an 

10 alien who is authorized for employment and 

11 who provides evidence from the Social Secu12 rity Administration that the alien has ap13 plied for a social security account number, 

14 the verification period ends three business 

15 days after the alien receives the social secu16 rity account number. 

17 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

18 LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

20 subparagraph (B), a person or entity shall make 

21 an inquiry, as provided in subsection (d), using 

22 the verification system to seek reverification of 

23 the identity and employment eligibility of all in24 dividuals with a limited period of work author25 ization employed by the person or entity during 

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1 the 3 business days after the date on which the 

2 employee’s work authorization expires as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) With respect to employers having 

4 10,000 or more employees in the United 

5 States on the date of the enactment of the 

6 Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the date 

7 that is 6 months after the date of the enact8 ment of such Act. 

9 ‘‘(ii) With respect to employers having 

10 500 or more employees in the United States, 

11 but less than 10,000 employees in the 

12 United States, on the date of the enactment 

13 of the Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the 

14 date that is 12 months after the date of the 

15 enactment of such Act. 

16 ‘‘(iii) With respect to employers having 

17 20 or more employees in the United States, 

18 but less than 500 employees in the United 

19 States, on the date of the enactment of the 

20 Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the date 

21 that is 18 months after the date of the en22 actment of such Act. 

23 ‘‘(iv) With respect to employers having 

24 1 or more employees in the United States, 

25 but less than 20 employees in the United 

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1 States, on the date of the enactment of the 

2 Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the date 

3 that is 24 months after the date of the en4 actment of such Act. 

5 ‘‘(B) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV6 ICES.—With respect to an employee performing 

7 agricultural labor or services, or an employee re8 cruited or referred by a farm labor contractor (as 

9 defined in section 3 of the Migrant and Seasonal 

10 Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 1801)), subparagraph (A) shall not apply with 

12 respect to the reverification of the employee until 

13 the date that is 24 months after the date of the 

14 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act. For pur15 poses of the preceding sentence, the term ‘agricul16 tural labor or services’ has the meaning given 

17 such term by the Secretary of Agriculture in reg18 ulations and includes agricultural labor as de19 fined in section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986, agriculture as defined in section 

21 3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

22 U.S.C. 203(f)), the handling, planting, drying, 

23 packing, packaging, processing, freezing, or grad24 ing prior to delivery for storage of any agricul25 tural or horticultural commodity in its unmanumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 factured state, all activities required for the 

2 preparation, processing, or manufacturing of a 

3 product of agriculture (as such term is defined 

4 in such section 3(f)) for further distribution, and 

5 activities similar to all the foregoing as they re6 late to fish or shellfish in aquaculture facilities. 

7 An employee described in this subparagraph 

8 shall not be counted for purposes of subpara9 graph (A). 

10 ‘‘(C) REVERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

11 (1)(C)(ii) shall apply to reverifications pursuant 

12 to this paragraph on the same basis as it applies 

13 to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), ex14 cept that employers shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab16 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

17 purposes of this paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro19 film, or electronic version of the form and 

20 make it available for inspection by officers 

21 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

22 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re23 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

24 Department of Labor during the period be25 ginning on the date the reverification commstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mences and ending on the date that is the 

2 later of 3 years after the date of such 

3 reverification or 1 year after the date the 

4 individual’s employment is terminated. 

5 ‘‘(3) PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CERTAIN

7 EMPLOYEES.— 

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

9 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

10 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, an 

11 employer shall make an inquiry, as pro12 vided in subsection (d), using the 

13 verification system to seek verification of the 

14 identity and employment eligibility of any 

15 individual described in clause (ii) employed 

16 by the employer whose employment eligi17 bility has not been verified under the E18 Verify Program described in section 403(a) 

19 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im20 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

21 U.S.C. 1324a note). 

22 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An 

23 individual described in this clause is any of 

24 the following: 

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1 ‘‘(I) An employee of any unit of a 

2 Federal, State, or local government. 

3 ‘‘(II) An employee who requires a 

4 Federal security clearance working in 

5 a Federal, State or local government 

6 building, a military base, a nuclear 

7 energy site, a weapons site, or an air8 port or other facility that requires 

9 workers to carry a Transportation 

10 Worker Identification Credential 

11 (TWIC). 

12 ‘‘(III) An employee assigned to 

13 perform work in the United States 

14 under a Federal contract, except that 

15 this subclause— 

16 ‘‘(aa) is not applicable to in17 dividuals who have a clearance 

18 under Homeland Security Presi19 dential Directive 12 (HSPD 12 

20 clearance), are administrative or 

21 overhead personnel, or are work22 ing solely on contracts that pro23 vide Commercial Off The Shelf 

24 goods or services as set forth by 

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1 latory Council, unless they are 

2 subject to verification under sub3 clause (II); and 

4 ‘‘(bb) only applies to con5 tracts over the simple acquisition 

6 threshold as defined in section 

7 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations. 

9 ‘‘(B) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR MUL10 TIPLE USERS OF SAME SOCIAL SECURITY AC11 COUNT NUMBER.—In the case of an employer 

12 who is required by this subsection to use the 

13 verification system described in subsection (d), or 

14 has elected voluntarily to use such system, the 

15 employer shall make inquiries to the system in 

16 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 

22 one 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 informa2 tion notifying the employee of the process to 

3 contact the Social Security Administration 

4 Fraud Hotline if the employee believes the 

5 employee’s identity may have been stolen. 

6 The notice shall not share information pro7 tected as private, in order to avoid any re8 cipient of the notice from being in the posi9 tion to further commit or begin committing 

10 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 security 

16 account number was used without their 

17 knowledge, the Secretary and the Commis18 sioner shall lock the social security account 

19 number for employment eligibility 

20 verification purposes and shall notify the 

21 employers of the individuals who wrongfully 

22 submitted the social security account num23 ber that the employee may not be work eli24 gible. 

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1 ‘‘(iii) Each employer receiving such 

2 notification of an incorrect social security 

3 account number under clause (ii) shall use 

4 the verification system described in sub5 section (d) to check the work eligibility sta6 tus of the applicable employee within 10 

7 business days of receipt of the notification. 

8 ‘‘(C) ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS.—Subject to 

9 paragraph (2), and subparagraphs (A) through 

10 (C) of this paragraph, beginning on the date that 

11 is 30 days after the date of the enactment of the 

12 Legal Workforce Act, an employer may make an 

13 inquiry, as provided in subsection (d), using the 

14 verification system to seek verification of the 

15 identity and employment eligibility of any indi16 vidual employed by the employer. If an employer 

17 chooses voluntarily to seek verification of any in18 dividual employed by the employer, the employer 

19 shall seek verification of all individuals em20 ployed at the same geographic location or, at the 

21 option of the employer, all individuals employed 

22 within the same job category, as the employee 

23 with respect to whom the employer seeks volun24 tarily to use the verification system. An employ25 er’s decision about whether or not voluntarily to 

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1 seek verification of its current workforce under 

2 this subparagraph may not be considered by any 

3 government agency in any proceeding, investiga4 tion, or review provided for in this Act. 

5 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION.—Paragraph (1)(C)(ii) 

6 shall apply to verifications pursuant to this 

7 paragraph on the same basis as it applies to 

8 verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), except 

9 that employers shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab11 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

12 purposes of this paragraph; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro14 film, or electronic version of the form and 

15 make it available for inspection by officers 

16 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

17 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re18 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

19 Department of Labor during the period be20 ginning on the date the verification com21 mences and ending on the date that is the 

22 later of 3 years after the date of such 

23 verification or 1 year after the date the in24 dividual’s employment is terminated. 

25 ‘‘(4) EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) FORMER E-VERIFY REQUIRED USERS, 

2 INCLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Notwith3 standing the deadlines in paragraphs (1) and 

4 (2), beginning on the date of the enactment of the 

5 Legal Workforce Act, the Secretary is authorized 

6 to commence requiring employers required to 

7 participate in the E-Verify Program described in 

8 section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

9 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

10 U.S.C. 1324a note), including employers re11 quired to participate in such program by reason 

12 of Federal acquisition laws (and regulations pro13 mulgated under those laws, including the Federal 

14 Acquisition Regulation), to commence compli15 ance with the requirements of this subsection 

16 (and any additional requirements of such Fed17 eral acquisition laws and regulation) in lieu of 

18 any requirement to participate in the E-Verify 

19 Program. 

20 ‘‘(B) FORMER E-VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS

21 AND OTHERS DESIRING EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

22 Notwithstanding the deadlines in paragraphs (1) 

23 and (2), beginning on the date of the enactment 

24 of the Legal Workforce Act, the Secretary shall 

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1 quirements of this subsection by employers volun2 tarily electing to participate in the E-Verify 

3 Program described in section 403(a) of the Ille4 gal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re5 sponsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

6 before such date, as well as by other employers 

7 seeking voluntary early compliance. 

8 ‘‘(5) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER9 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, the person or entity may copy a document pre11 sented by an individual pursuant to this subsection 

12 and may retain the copy, but only (except as other13 wise permitted under law) for the purpose of com14 plying with the requirements of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—A form 

16 designated or established by the Secretary of Home17 land Security under this subsection and any informa18 tion contained in or appended to such form, may not 

19 be used for purposes other than for enforcement of this 

20 Act and any other provision of Federal criminal law. 

21 ‘‘(7) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

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

23 provided in this subsection, a person or entity is 

24 considered to have complied with a requirement 

25 of this subsection notwithstanding a technical or 

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1 procedural failure to meet such requirement if 

2 there was a good faith attempt to comply with 

3 the requirement. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT

5 AFTER NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

6 apply if— 

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

8 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu9 rity has explained to the person or entity 

10 the basis for the failure and why it is not 

11 de minimus; 

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

13 provided a period of not less than 30 cal14 endar days (beginning after the date of the 

15 explanation) within which to correct the 

16 failure; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor18 rected the failure voluntarily within such 

19 period. 

20 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC21 TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

22 apply to a person or entity that has or is engag23 ing in a pattern or practice of violations of sub24 section (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2). 

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1 ‘‘(8) SINGLE EXTENSION OF DEADLINES UPON

2 CERTIFICATION.—In a case in which the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security has certified to the Congress that 

4 the employment eligibility verification system re5 quired under subsection (d) will not be fully oper6 ational by the date that is 6 months after the date of 

7 the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, each dead8 line established under this section for an employer to 

9 make an inquiry using such system shall be extended 

10 by 6 months. No other extension of such a deadline 

11 shall be made.’’. 

12 (b) DATE OF HIRE.—Section 274A(h) of the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF DATE OF HIRE.—As used in 

16 this section, the term ‘date of hire’ means the date of 

17 actual commencement of employment for wages or 

18 other remuneration, unless otherwise specified.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

20 Section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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

22 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS23 TEM.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Patterned on the employ25 ment eligibility confirmation system established under 

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1 section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

2 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

3 1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

4 shall establish and administer a verification system 

5 through which the Secretary (or a designee of the Sec6 retary, which may be a nongovernmental entity)— 

7 ‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by persons 

8 at any time through a toll-free telephone line 

9 and other toll-free electronic media concerning 

10 an individual’s identity and whether the indi11 vidual is authorized to be employed; and 

12 ‘‘(B) maintains records of the inquiries that 

13 were made, of verifications provided (or not pro14 vided), and of the codes provided to inquirers as 

15 evidence of their compliance with their obliga16 tions under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The verification sys18 tem shall provide confirmation or a tentative noncon19 firmation of an individual’s identity and employment 

20 eligibility within 3 working days of the initial in21 quiry. If providing confirmation or tentative noncon22 firmation, the verification system shall provide an 

23 appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 

24 such nonconfirmation. 

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1 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY CONFIRMATION PROCESS IN

2 CASE OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.—In cases of 

3 tentative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall specify, 

4 in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Se5 curity, an available secondary verification process to 

6 confirm the validity of information provided and to 

7 provide a final confirmation or nonconfirmation not 

8 later than 10 working days after the date on which 

9 the notice of the tentative nonconfirmation is received 

10 by the employee. The Secretary, in consultation with 

11 the Commissioner, may extend this deadline once on 

12 a case-by-case basis for a period of 10 working days, 

13 and if the time is extended, shall document such ex14 tension within the verification system. The Secretary, 

15 in consultation with the Commissioner, shall notify 

16 the employee and employer of such extension. The 

17 Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner, 

18 shall create a standard process of such extension and 

19 notification and shall make a description of such 

20 process available to the public. When final confirma21 tion or nonconfirmation is provided, the verification 

22 system shall provide an appropriate code indicating 

23 such confirmation or nonconfirmation. 

24 ‘‘(4) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM.—The 

25 verification system shall be designed and operated— 

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

2 use by persons and other entities consistent with 

3 insulating and protecting the privacy and secu4 rity of the underlying information; 

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

6 such persons and entities on whether individuals 

7 are authorized to be employed and to register all 

8 times when such inquiries are not received; 

9 ‘‘(C) with appropriate administrative, tech10 nical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau11 thorized disclosure of personal information; 

12 ‘‘(D) to have reasonable safeguards against 

13 the system’s resulting in unlawful discrimina14 tory practices based on national origin or citi15 zenship status, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use of 

17 the system to verify eligibility; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the exclusion of certain individ19 uals from consideration for employment as 

20 a result of a perceived likelihood that addi21 tional verification will be required, beyond 

22 what is required for most job applicants; 

23 ‘‘(E) to maximize the prevention of identity 

24 theft use in the system; and 

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

2 the following individuals: 

3 ‘‘(i) Individuals hired, referred, or re4 cruited, in accordance with paragraph (1) 

5 or (4) of subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(ii) Employees and prospective em7 ployees, in accordance with paragraph (1), 

8 (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(iii) Individuals seeking to confirm 

10 their own employment eligibility on a vol11 untary basis. 

12 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF

13 SOCIAL SECURITY.—As part of the verification sys14 tem, the Commissioner of Social Security, in con15 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

16 (and any designee of the Secretary selected to estab17 lish and administer the verification system), shall es18 tablish a reliable, secure method, which, within the 

19 time periods specified under paragraphs (2) and (3), 

20 compares the name and social security account num21 ber provided in an inquiry against such information 

22 maintained by the Commissioner in order to validate 

23 (or not validate) the information provided regarding 

24 an individual whose identity and employment eligi25 bility must be confirmed, the correspondence of the 

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1 name and number, and whether the individual has 

2 presented a social security account number that is not 

3 valid for employment. The Commissioner shall not 

4 disclose or release social security information (other 

5 than such confirmation or nonconfirmation) under 

6 the verification system except as provided for in this 

7 section or section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security 

8 Act. 

9 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF

10 HOMELAND SECURITY.—As part of the verification 

11 system, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in con12 sultation with any designee of the Secretary selected 

13 to establish and administer the verification system), 

14 shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, within 

15 the time periods specified under paragraphs (2) and 

16 (3), compares the name and alien identification or 

17 authorization number (or any other information as 

18 determined relevant by the Secretary) which are pro19 vided in an inquiry against such information main20 tained or accessed by the Secretary in order to vali21 date (or not validate) the information provided, the 

22 correspondence of the name and number, whether the 

23 alien is authorized to be employed in the United 

24 States, or to the extent that the Secretary determines 

25 to be feasible and appropriate, whether the records 

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1 available to the Secretary verify the identity or status 

2 of a national of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(7) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis4 sioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Home5 land Security shall update their information in a 

6 manner that promotes the maximum accuracy and 

7 shall provide a process for the prompt correction of 

8 erroneous information, including instances in which 

9 it is brought to their attention in the secondary 

10 verification process described in paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON USE OF THE VERIFICATION

12 SYSTEM AND ANY RELATED SYSTEMS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION

14 CARD.—Nothing in this section shall be con15 strued to authorize, directly or indirectly, the 

16 issuance or use of national identification cards 

17 or the establishment of a national identification 

18 card. 

19 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

20 Secretary may authorize or direct any person or 

21 entity responsible for granting access to, pro22 tecting, securing, operating, administering, or 

23 regulating part of the critical infrastructure (as 

24 defined in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infra25 structure Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 

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1 5195c(e))) to use the verification system to the 

2 extent the Secretary determines that such use 

3 will assist in the protection of the critical infra4 structure. 

5 ‘‘(9) REMEDIES.—If an individual alleges that 

6 the individual would not have been dismissed from a 

7 job but for an error of the verification mechanism, the 

8 individual may seek compensation only through the 

9 mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and in10 junctive relief to correct such error. No class action 

11 may be brought under this paragraph.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. RECRUITMENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION OF 

13 EMPLOYMENT. 

14 (a) ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO RULES FOR RECRUIT15 MENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

16 Section 274A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)) is amended— 

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

19 (2) in paragraph (1), by amending subpara20 graph (B) to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(B) to hire, continue to employ, or to re22 cruit or refer for employment in the United 

23 States an individual without complying with the 

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

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

2 an alien for employment in accordance with para3 graph (1),’’ and inserting ‘‘after complying with 

4 paragraph (1),’’. 

5 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 274A(h) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)), as amended by 

7 section 2(b) of this Act, is further amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) DEFINITION OF RECRUIT OR REFER.—As 

10 used in this section, the term ‘refer’ means the act of 

11 sending or directing a person who is in the United 

12 States or transmitting documentation or information 

13 to another, directly or indirectly, with the intent of 

14 obtaining employment in the United States for such 

15 person. Only persons or entities referring for remu16 neration (whether on a retainer or contingency basis) 

17 are included in the definition, except that union hir18 ing halls that refer union members or nonunion indi19 viduals who pay union membership dues are included 

20 in the definition whether or not they receive remu21 neration, as are labor service entities or labor service 

22 agencies, whether public, private, for-profit, or non23 profit, that refer, dispatch, or otherwise facilitate the 

24 hiring of laborers for any period of time by a third 

25 party. As used in this section, the term ‘recruit’ 

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1 means the act of soliciting a person who is in the 

2 United States, directly or indirectly, and referring the 

3 person to another with the intent of obtaining em4 ployment for that person. Only persons or entities re5 ferring for remuneration (whether on a retainer or 

6 contingency basis) are included in the definition, ex7 cept that union hiring halls that refer union members 

8 or nonunion individuals who pay union membership 

9 dues are included in this definition whether or not 

10 they receive remuneration, as are labor service entities 

11 or labor service agencies, whether public, private, for12 profit, or nonprofit that recruit, dispatch, or other13 wise facilitate the hiring of laborers for any period of 

14 time by a third party.’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

16 section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, except that the amend18 ments made by subsection (a) shall take effect 6 months 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act insofar as such 

20 amendments relate to continuation of employment. 

21 SEC. 5. GOOD FAITH DEFENSE. 

22 Section 274A(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(3)) is amended to read as fol24 lows: 

25 ‘‘(3) GOOD FAITH DEFENSE.— 

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

2 entity that hires, employs, recruits, or refers (as 

3 defined in subsection (h)(5)), or is otherwise obli4 gated to comply with this section) who estab5 lishes that it has complied in good faith with the 

6 requirements of subsection (b)— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall not be liable to a job appli8 cant, an employee, the Federal Government, 

9 or a State or local government, under Fed10 eral, State, or local criminal or civil law for 

11 any employment-related action taken with 

12 respect to a job applicant or employee in 

13 good-faith reliance on information provided 

14 through the system established under sub15 section (d); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) has established compliance with 

17 its obligations under subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) of paragraph (1) and subsection (b) 

19 absent a showing by the Secretary of Home20 land Security, by clear and convincing evi21 dence, that the employer had knowledge that 

22 an employee is an unauthorized alien. 

23 ‘‘(B) MITIGATION ELEMENT.—For purposes 

24 of subparagraph (A)(i), if an employer proves by 

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1 ployer uses a reasonable, secure, and established 

2 technology to authenticate the identity of the new 

3 employee, that fact shall be taken into account 

4 for purposes of determining good faith use of the 

5 system established under subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO SEEK AND OBTAIN

7 VERIFICATION.—Subject to the effective dates and 

8 other deadlines applicable under subsection (b), 

9 in the case of a person or entity in the United 

10 States that hires, or continues to employ, an in11 dividual, or recruits or refers an individual for 

12 employment, the following requirements apply: 

13 ‘‘(i) FAILURE TO SEEK

14 VERIFICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 

16 or entity has not made an inquiry, 

17 under the mechanism established under 

18 subsection (d) and in accordance with 

19 the timeframes established under sub20 section (b), seeking verification of the 

21 identity and work eligibility of the in22 dividual, the defense under subpara23 graph (A) shall not be considered to 

24 apply with respect to any employment, 

25 except as provided in subclause (II). 

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1 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAILURE

2 OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.—If such 

3 a person or entity in good faith at4 tempts to make an inquiry in order to 

5 qualify for the defense under subpara6 graph (A) and the verification mecha7 nism has registered that not all inquir8 ies were responded to during the rel9 evant time, the person or entity can 

10 make an inquiry until the end of the 

11 first subsequent working day in which 

12 the verification mechanism registers no 

13 nonresponses and qualify for such de14 fense. 

15 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO OBTAIN

16 VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity has 

17 made the inquiry described in clause (i)(I) 

18 but has not received an appropriate 

19 verification of such identity and work eligi20 bility under such mechanism within the 

21 time period specified under subsection 

22 (d)(2) after the time the verification inquiry 

23 was received, the defense under subpara24 graph (A) shall not be considered to apply 

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1 with respect to any employment after the 

2 end of such time period.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. PREEMPTION AND STATES’ RIGHTS. 

4 Section 274A(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(2)) is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) SINGLE, NATIONAL POLICY.—The pro9 visions of this section preempt any State or local 

10 law, ordinance, policy, or rule, including any 

11 criminal or civil fine or penalty structure, inso12 far as they may now or hereafter relate to the 

13 hiring, continued employment, or status 

14 verification for employment eligibility purposes, 

15 of unauthorized aliens. 

16 ‘‘(B) STATE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL

17 LAW.— 

18 ‘‘(i) BUSINESS LICENSING.—A State, 

19 locality, municipality, or political subdivi20 sion may exercise its authority over busi21 ness licensing and similar laws as a pen22 alty for failure to use the verification sys23 tem described in subsection (d) to verify em24 ployment eligibility when and as required 

25 under subsection (b). 

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1 ‘‘(ii) GENERAL RULES.—A State, at its 

2 own cost, may enforce the provisions of this 

3 section, but only insofar as such State fol4 lows the Federal regulations implementing 

5 this section, applies the Federal penalty 

6 structure set out in this section, and com7 plies with all Federal rules and guidance 

8 concerning implementation of this section. 

9 Such State may collect any fines assessed 

10 under this section. An employer may not be 

11 subject to enforcement, including audit and 

12 investigation, by both a Federal agency and 

13 a State for the same violation under this 

14 section. Whichever entity, the Federal agen15 cy or the State, is first to initiate the en16 forcement action, has the right of first re17 fusal to proceed with the enforcement ac18 tion. The Secretary must provide copies of 

19 all guidance, training, and field instruc20 tions provided to Federal officials imple21 menting the provisions of this section to 

22 each State.’’. 

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1 SEC. 7. REPEAL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Illegal 

3 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

4 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is repealed. 

5 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any Federal law, 

6 Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, 

7 or any document of, or pertaining to, the Department of 

8 Homeland Security, Department of Justice, or the Social 

9 Security Administration, to the employment eligibility con10 firmation system established under section 404 of the Illegal 

11 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

12 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is deemed to refer to the employ13 ment eligibility confirmation system established under sec14 tion 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

15 amended by section 3 of this Act. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

17 on the date that is 36 months after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

19 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections, in 

20 section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi21 grant Responsibility Act of 1996, is amended by striking 

22 the items relating to subtitle A of title IV. 

23 SEC. 8. PENALTIES. 

24 Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

25 (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

26 (1) in subsection (e)(1)— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 

2 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec3 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

5 ‘‘Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Department of Home6 land Security’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (e)(4)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter be9 fore clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para10 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

12 ‘‘not less than $250 and not more than $2,000’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘not less than $2,500 and not 

14 more than $5,000’’; 

15 (C) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

16 ‘‘not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000’’ 

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

18 more than $10,000’’; 

19 (D) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 

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

21 $10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $10,000 

22 and not more than $25,000’’; and 

23 (E) by moving the margin of the continu24 ation text following subparagraph (B) two ems 

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1 to the left and by amending subparagraph (B) to 

2 read as follows: 

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

4 take such other remedial action as is appro5 priate.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (e)(5)— 

7 (A) in the paragraph heading, strike ‘‘PA8 PERWORK’’; 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘, subject to paragraphs 

10 (10) through (12),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘$100’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$1,000’’; 

13 (D) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

15 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘Failure by a person or entity to utilize the em17 ployment eligibility verification system as re18 quired by law, or providing information to the 

19 system that the person or entity knows or reason20 ably believes to be false, shall be treated as a vio21 lation of subsection (a)(1)(A).’’; 

22 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (e) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY FOR GOOD

25 FAITH VIOLATION.—In the case of imposition of a 

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1 civil penalty under paragraph (4)(A) with respect to 

2 a violation of subsection (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2) for hiring 

3 or continuation of employment or recruitment or re4 ferral by person or entity and in the case of imposi5 tion of a civil penalty under paragraph (5) for a vio6 lation of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring or recruit7 ment or referral by a person or entity, the penalty 

8 otherwise imposed may be waived or reduced if the vi9 olator establishes that the violator acted in good faith. 

10 ‘‘(11) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

11 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a person or entity is 

13 determined by the Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity to be a repeat violator of paragraph (1)(A) 

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

16 crime under this section, such person or entity 

17 may be considered for debarment from the re18 ceipt of Federal contracts, grants, or cooperative 

19 agreements in accordance with the debarment 

20 standards and pursuant to the debarment proce21 dures set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regu22 lation. 

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

24 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Se25 curity or the Attorney General wishes to have a 

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1 person or entity considered for debarment in ac2 cordance with this paragraph, and such an per3 son or entity does not hold a Federal contract, 

4 grant or cooperative agreement, the Secretary or 

5 Attorney General shall refer the matter to the 

6 Administrator of General Services to determine 

7 whether to list the person or entity on the List 

8 of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement, 

9 and if so, for what duration and under what 

10 scope. 

11 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE12 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 or the Attorney General wishes to have a person 

14 or entity considered for debarment in accordance 

15 with this paragraph, and such person or entity 

16 holds a Federal contract, grant or cooperative 

17 agreement, the Secretary or Attorney General 

18 shall advise all agencies or departments holding 

19 a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement with 

20 the person or entity of the Government’s interest 

21 in having the person or entity considered for de22 barment, and after soliciting and considering the 

23 views of all such agencies and departments, the 

24 Secretary or Attorney General may refer the 

25 matter to any appropriate lead agency to determstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mine whether to list the person or entity on the 

2 List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procure3 ment, and if so, for what duration and under 

4 what scope. 

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

6 person or entity in accordance with this para7 graph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 of 

8 the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

9 ‘‘(12) OFFICE FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN10 MENT COMPLAINTS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity shall establish an office— 

12 ‘‘(A) to which State and local government 

13 agencies may submit information indicating po14 tential violations of subsection (a), (b), or (g)(1) 

15 that were generated in the normal course of law 

16 enforcement or the normal course of other official 

17 activities in the State or locality; 

18 ‘‘(B) that is required to indicate to the com19 plaining State or local agency within 5 business 

20 days of the filing of such a complaint by identi21 fying whether the Secretary will further inves22 tigate the information provided; 

23 ‘‘(C) that is required to investigate those 

24 complaints filed by State or local government 

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1 agencies that, on their face, have a substantial 

2 probability of validity; 

3 ‘‘(D) that is required to notify the com4 plaining State or local agency of the results of 

5 any such investigation conducted; and 

6 ‘‘(E) that is required to report to the Con7 gress annually the number of complaints received 

8 under this paragraph, the States and localities 

9 that filed such complaints, and the resolution of 

10 the complaints investigated by the Secretary.’’; 

11 and 

12 (5) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection (f) 

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or entity 

15 which engages in a pattern or practice of violations 

16 of subsection (a)(1) or (2) shall be fined not more 

17 than $5,000 for each unauthorized alien with respect 

18 to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned for not 

19 more than 18 months, or both, notwithstanding the 

20 provisions of any other Federal law relating to fine 

21 levels.’’. 

22 SEC. 9. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

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

24 amended— 

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

2 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

3 document meant to establish work authorization (in4 cluding the documents described in section 274A(b) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act),’’; and 

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

7 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

8 document meant to establish work authorization (in9 cluding the documents described in section 274A(b) of 

10 the Immigration and Nationality Act),’’. 

11 SEC. 10. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA12 TION PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for fis14 cal years beginning on or after October 1, 2013, the Com15 missioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security shall enter into and maintain an agreement which 

17 shall— 

18 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

19 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

20 under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by sec22 tion 3 of this Act, including (but not limited to)— 

23 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

24 technological equipment and systems necessary 

25 for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the 

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1 Commissioner under such section 274A(d), but 

2 only that portion of such costs that are attrib3 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

4 (B) responding to individuals who contest a 

5 tentative nonconfirmation provided by the em6 ployment eligibility verification system estab7 lished under such section; 

8 (2) provide such funds annually in advance of 

9 the applicable quarter based on estimating method10 ology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec11 retary (except in such instances where the delayed en12 actment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

13 such quarterly payments); and 

14 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili15 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro16 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed by 

17 the Inspectors General of the Social Security Admin18 istration and the Department of Homeland Security. 

19 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION IN

20 ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.—In any case in which 

21 the agreement required under subsection (a) for any fiscal 

22 year beginning on or after October 1, 2013, has not been 

23 reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, the latest agree24 ment between the Commissioner and the Secretary of Home25 land Security providing for funding to cover the costs of 

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1 the responsibilities of the Commissioner under section 

2 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1324a(d)) shall be deemed in effect on an interim basis for 

4 such fiscal year until such time as an agreement required 

5 under subsection (a) is subsequently reached, except that the 

6 terms of such interim agreement shall be modified by the 

7 Director of the Office of Management and Budget to adjust 

8 for inflation and any increase or decrease in the volume 

9 of requests under the employment eligibility verification 

10 system. In any case in which an interim agreement applies 

11 for any fiscal year under this subsection, the Commissioner 

12 and the Secretary shall, not later than October 1 of such 

13 fiscal year, notify the Committee on Ways and Means, the 

14 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appro15 priations of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Finance, the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

17 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate of the fail18 ure to reach the agreement required under subsection (a) 

19 for such fiscal year. Until such time as the agreement re20 quired under subsection (a) has been reached for such fiscal 

21 year, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not later 

22 than the end of each 90-day period after October 1 of such 

23 fiscal year, notify such Committees of the status of negotia24 tions between the Commissioner and the Secretary in order 

25 to reach such an agreement. 

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1 SEC. 11. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

2 (a) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT

3 NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con4 sultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall 

5 establish a program in which social security account num6 bers that have been identified to be subject to unusual mul7 tiple use in the employment eligibility verification system 

8 established under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and 

9 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by section 

10 3 of this Act, or that are otherwise suspected or determined 

11 to have been compromised by identity fraud or other misuse, 

12 shall be blocked from use for such system purposes unless 

13 the individual using such number is able to establish, 

14 through secure and fair additional security procedures, that 

15 the individual is the legitimate holder of the number. 

16 (b) ALLOWING SUSPENSION OF USE OF CERTAIN SO17 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—The Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commissioner 

19 of Social Security, shall establish a program which shall 

20 provide a reliable, secure method by which victims of iden21 tity fraud and other individuals may suspend or limit the 

22 use of their social security account number or other identi23 fying information for purposes of the employment eligibility 

24 verification system established under section 274A(d) of the 

25 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as 

26 amended by section 3 of this Act. The Secretary may implemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ment the program on a limited pilot program basis before 

2 making it fully available to all individuals. 

3 (c) ALLOWING PARENTS TO PREVENT THEFT OF

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

5 Security, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 

6 Security, shall establish a program which shall provide a 

7 reliable, secure method by which parents or legal guardians 

8 may suspend or limit the use of the social security account 

9 number or other identifying information of a minor under 

10 their care for the purposes of the employment eligibility 

11 verification system established under 274A(d) of the Immi12 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as 

13 amended by section 3 of this Act. The Secretary may imple14 ment the program on a limited pilot program basis before 

15 making it fully available to all individuals. 

16 SEC. 12. USE OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION 

17 PHOTO TOOL. 

18 An employer who uses the photo matching tool used 

19 as part of the E-Verify System shall match the photo tool 

20 photograph to both the photograph on the identity or em21 ployment eligibility document provided by the employee 

22 and to the face of the employee submitting the document 

23 for employment verification purposes. 

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1 SEC. 13. IDENTITY AUTHENTICATION EMPLOYMENT ELIGI2 BILITY VERIFICATION PILOT PROGRAMS. 

3 Not later than 48 months after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after 

5 consultation with the Commissioner of Social Security and 

6 the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 

7 Technology, shall establish by regulation not less than 2 

8 Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility 

9 Verification pilot programs, each using a separate and dis10 tinct technology (the ‘‘Authentication Pilots’’). The purpose 

11 of the Authentication Pilots shall be to provide for identity 

12 authentication and employment eligibility verification with 

13 respect to enrolled new employees which shall be available 

14 to subject employers who elect to participate in either of 

15 the Authentication Pilots. Any subject employer may cancel 

16 the employer’s participation in the Authentication Pilot 

17 after one year after electing to participate without prejudice 

18 to future participation. The Secretary shall report to the 

19 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

20 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate the Sec21 retary’s findings on the Authentication Pilots, including the 

22 authentication technologies chosen, not later than 12 

23 months after commencement of the Authentication Pilots. 

24 SEC. 14. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDITS. 

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

26 of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the 

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1 Social Security Administration shall complete audits of the 

2 following categories in order to uncover evidence of individ3 uals who are not authorized to work in the United States: 

4 (1) Workers who dispute wages reported on their 

5 social security account number when they believe 

6 someone else has used such number and name to re7 port wages. 

8 (2) Children’s social security account numbers 

9 used for work purposes. 

10 (3) Employers whose workers present significant 

11 numbers of mismatched social security account num12 bers or names for wage reporting. 

13 (b) SUBMISSION.—The Inspector General of the Social 

14 Security Administration shall submit the audits completed 

15 under subsection (a) to the Committee on Ways and Means 

16 of the House of Representative and the Committee on Fi17 nance of the Senate for review of the evidence of individuals 

18 who are not authorized to work in the United States. The 

19 Chairmen of those Committees shall then determine infor20 mation to be shared with the Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity so that such Secretary can investigate the unauthorized 

22 employment demonstrated by such evidence. 

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Union Calendar No. 508 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1772 

[Report No. 113–677, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 

bility verification system, and for other purposes. relating to use of an electronic employment eligimake mandatory and permanent requirements 

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

The Committees on Ways and Means and Education and 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union and orthe Workforce discharged; committed to the Committee 

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