I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2164 

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 

JUNE 14, 2011 

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

CHAFFETZ, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, 

Mr. CARTER, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, 

and Mr. GOODLATTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 

on Education and the Workforce and Ways and Means, 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 

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. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROC2 ESS. 

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

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

5 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION

6 PROCESS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFER8 RAL.—The requirements referred to in paragraphs 

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

10 a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or refer11 ring an individual for employment in the United 

12 States, the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) ATTESTATION AFTER EXAMINATION

14 OF DOCUMENTATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) ATTESTATION.—During the 

16 verification period (as defined in subpara17 graph (F)), the person or entity shall at18 test, under penalty of perjury and on a 

19 form, including electronic and telephonic 

20 formats, designated or established by the 

21 Secretary by regulation not later than 6 

22 months after the date of the enactment of 

23 the Legal Workforce Act, that it has 

24 verified that the individual is not an unau25 thorized alien by— 


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1 ‘‘(I) obtaining from the indi2 vidual the individual’s social security 

3 account number and recording the 

4 number on the form (if the individual 

5 claims to have been issued such a 

6 number), and, if the individual does 

7 not attest to United States citizenship 

8 under subparagraph (B), obtaining 

9 such identification or authorization 

10 number established by the Depart11 ment of Homeland Security for the 

12 alien as the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security may specify, and recording 

14 such number on the form; and 

15 ‘‘(II) examining— 

16 ‘‘(aa) a document described 

17 in clause (ii); or 

18 ‘‘(bb) a document described 

19 in clause (iii) and a document de20 scribed in clause (iv). 

21 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM22 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION AND ESTAB23 LISHING IDENTITY.—A document de24 scribed in this subparagraph is an individ25 ual’s— 


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1 ‘‘(I) unexpired United States 

2 passport or passport card; 

3 ‘‘(II) unexpired permanent resi4 dent card that contains a photograph; 

5 ‘‘(III) unexpired employment au6 thorization card that contains a pho7 tograph; 

8 ‘‘(IV) in the case of a non9 immigrant alien authorized to work 

10 for a specific employer incident to sta11 tus, a foreign passport with Form I– 

12 94 or Form I–94A bearing the same 

13 name as the passport and containing 

14 as endorsement of the alien’s non15 immigrant status, as long as the pe16 riod of endorsement has not yet ex17 pired and the proposed employment is 

18 not in conflict with any restrictions or 

19 limitations identified on the form; 

20 ‘‘(V) passport from the Fed21 erated States of Micronesia (FSM) or 

22 the Republic of the Marshall Islands 

23 (RMI) with Form I–94 or Form I– 

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1 ciation Between the United Sates and 

2 the FSM or RMI; or 

3 ‘‘(VI) other document designated 

4 by the Secretary of Homeland Secu5 rity, if the document— 

6 ‘‘(aa) contains a photograph 

7 of the individual and biometric 

8 identification data from the indi9 vidual and such other personal 

10 identifying information relating 

11 to the individual as the Secretary 

12 of Homeland Security finds, by 

13 regulation, sufficient for purposes 

14 of this clause; 

15 ‘‘(bb) is evidence of author16 ization of employment in the 

17 United States; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) contains security fea19 tures to make it resistant to tam20 pering, counterfeiting, and fraud21 ulent use. 

22 ‘‘(iii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM23 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document 

24 described in this subparagraph is an indi25 vidual’s social security account number 


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1 card (other than such a card which speci2 fies on the face that the issuance of the 

3 card does not authorize employment in the 

4 United States). 

5 ‘‘(iv) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING

6 IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUAL.—A document 

7 described in this subparagraph is— 

8 ‘‘(I) an individual’s unexpired 

9 State issued driver’s license or identi10 fication card if it contains a photo11 graph and information such as name, 

12 date of birth, gender, height, eye 

13 color, and address; 

14 ‘‘(II) an individual’s unexpired 

15 U.S. military identification card; 

16 ‘‘(III) an individual’s unexpired 

17 Native American tribal identification 

18 document; or 

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

20 under 18 years of age, a parent or 

21 legal guardian’s attestation under 

22 penalty of law as to the identity and 

23 age of the individual. 

24 ‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF

25 CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security finds, by regulation, 

2 that any document described in clause (i), 

3 (ii), or (iii) as establishing employment au4 thorization or identity does not reliably es5 tablish such authorization or identity or is 

6 being used fraudulently to an unacceptable 

7 degree, the Secretary may prohibit or place 

8 conditions on its use for purposes of this 

9 paragraph. 

10 ‘‘(vi) SIGNATURE.—Such attestation 

11 may be manifested by either a hand-writ12 ten or electronic signature. 

13 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EM14 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During the 

16 verification period (as defined in subpara17 graph (F)), the individual shall attest, 

18 under penalty of perjury on the form des19 ignated or established for purposes of sub20 paragraph (A), that the individual is a cit21 izen or national of the United States, an 

22 alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi23 dence, or an alien who is authorized under 

24 this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security to be hired, recruited, or referred 


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1 for such employment. Such attestation may 

2 be manifested by either a hand-written or 

3 electronic signature. The individual shall 

4 also provide that individual’s social secu5 rity account number (if the individual 

6 claims to have been issued such a number), 

7 and, if the individual does not attest to 

8 United States citizenship under this sub9 paragraph, such identification or author10 ization number established by the Depart11 ment of Homeland Security for the alien 

12 as the Secretary may specify. 

13 ‘‘(ii) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 

14 ‘‘(I) OFFENSES.—Any individual 

15 who, pursuant to clause (i), provides a 

16 social security account number or an 

17 identification or authorization number 

18 established by the Secretary of Home19 land Security that belongs to another 

20 person, knowing that the number does 

21 not belong to the individual providing 

22 the number, shall be fined under title 

23 18, United States Code, imprisoned 

24 not less than 1 year and not more 

25 than 15 years, or both. Any individual 


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1 who, pursuant to clause (i), provides, 

2 during and in relation to any felony 

3 violation enumerated in section 

4 1028A(c) of title 18, United States 

5 Code, a social security account num6 ber or an identification or authoriza7 tion number established by the Sec8 retary of Homeland Security that be9 longs to another person, knowing that 

10 the number does not belong to the in11 dividual providing the number, in ad12 dition to the punishment provided for 

13 such felony, shall be fined under title 

14 18, United States Code, imprisoned 

15 for a term of 2 years, or both. 

16 ‘‘(II) CONSECUTIVE SEN17 TENCE.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of law— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a court shall not place 

20 on probation any individual con21 victed of a violation of this 

22 clause; 

23 ‘‘(bb) except as provided in 

24 item (dd), no term of imprison25 ment imposed on an individual 


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1 under this section shall run con2 currently with any other term of 

3 imprisonment imposed on the in4 dividual under any other provi5 sion of law, including any term of 

6 imprisonment imposed for the 

7 felony enumerated in section 

8 1028A(c) of title 18, United 

9 States Code, during which the 

10 violation of this section occurred; 

11 ‘‘(cc) in determining any 

12 term of imprisonment to be im13 posed for the felony enumerated 

14 in section 1028A(c) of title 18, 

15 United States Code, during 

16 which the violation of this clause 

17 occurred, a court shall not in any 

18 way reduce the term to be im19 posed for such crime so as to 

20 compensate for, or otherwise take 

21 into account, any separate term 

22 of imprisonment imposed or to be 

23 imposed for a violation of this 

24 clause; and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) a term of imprison2 ment imposed on an individual 

3 for a violation of this clause may, 

4 in the discretion of the court, run 

5 concurrently, in whole or in part, 

6 only with another term of impris7 onment that is imposed by the 

8 court at the same time on that 

9 individual for an additional viola10 tion of this clause, except that 

11 such discretion shall be exercised 

12 in accordance with any applicable 

13 guidelines and policy statements 

14 issued by the United States Sen15 tencing Commission pursuant to 

16 section 994 of title 28, United 

17 States Code. 

18 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM

19 AND VERIFICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After completion 

21 of such form in accordance with subpara22 graphs (A) and (B), the person or entity 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(I) retain a paper, microfiche, 

25 microfilm, or electronic version of the 


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1 form and make it available for inspec2 tion by officers of the Department of 

3 Homeland Security, the Special Coun4 sel for Immigration-Related Unfair 

5 Employment Practices, or the Depart6 ment of Labor during a period begin7 ning on the date of the hiring, recruit8 ing, or referral of the individual and 

9 ending— 

10 ‘‘(aa) in the case of the re11 cruiting or referral of an indi12 vidual, 3 years after the date of 

13 the recruiting or referral; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) in the case of the hir15 ing of an individual, the later of 

16 3 years after the date of such 

17 hire or one year after the date 

18 the individual’s employment is 

19 terminated; and 

20 ‘‘(II) during the verification pe21 riod (as defined in subparagraph (F)), 

22 make an inquiry, as provided in sub23 section (d), using the verification sys24 tem to seek verification of the identity 


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1 and employment eligibility of an indi2 vidual. 

3 ‘‘(ii) VERIFICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(I) VERIFICATION RECEIVED.— 

5 If the person or other entity receives 

6 an appropriate verification of an indi7 vidual’s identity and work eligibility 

8 under the verification system within 

9 the time period specified, the person 

10 or entity shall record on the form an 

11 appropriate code that is provided 

12 under the system and that indicates a 

13 final verification of such identity and 

14 work eligibility of the individual. 

15 ‘‘(II) TENTATIVE

16 NONVERIFICATION RECEIVED.—If the 

17 person or other entity receives a ten18 tative nonverification of an individ19 ual’s identity or work eligibility under 

20 the verification system within the time 

21 period specified, the person or entity 

22 shall so inform the individual for 

23 whom the verification is sought. If the 

24 individual does not contest the 

25 nonverification within the time period 


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1 specified, the nonverification shall be 

2 considered final. The person or entity 

3 shall then record on the form an ap4 propriate code which has been pro5 vided under the system to indicate a 

6 tentative nonverification. If the indi7 vidual does contest the nonverifica8 tion, the individual shall utilize the 

9 process for secondary verification pro10 vided under subsection (d). The 

11 nonverification will remain tentative 

12 until a final verification or nonverifi13 cation is provided by the verification 

14 system within the time period speci15 fied. In no case shall an employer ter16 minate employment of an individual 

17 because of a failure of the individual 

18 to have identity and work eligibility 

19 confirmed under this section until a 

20 nonverification becomes final. Nothing 

21 in this clause shall apply to a termi22 nation of employment for any reason 

23 other than because of such a failure. 

24 In no case shall an employer rescind 

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1 vidual because of a failure of the indi2 vidual to have identity and work eligi3 bility confirmed under this subsection 

4 until a nonconfirmation becomes final. 

5 Nothing in this subclause shall apply 

6 to a recission of the offer of employ7 ment for any reason other than be8 cause of such a failure. 

9 ‘‘(III) FINAL VERIFICATION OR

10 NONVERIFICATION RECEIVED.—If a 

11 final verification or nonverification is 

12 provided by the verification system re13 garding an individual, the person or 

14 entity shall record on the form an ap15 propriate code that is provided under 

16 the system and that indicates a 

17 verification or nonverification of iden18 tity and work eligibility of the indi19 vidual. 

20 ‘‘(IV) EXTENSION OF TIME.—If 

21 the person or other entity in good 

22 faith attempts to make an inquiry 

23 during the time period specified and 

24 the verification system has registered 

25 that not all inquiries were received 


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1 during such time, the person or entity 

2 may make an inquiry in the first sub3 sequent working day in which the 

4 verification system registers that it 

5 has received all inquiries. If the 

6 verification system cannot receive in7 quiries at all times during a day, the 

8 person or entity merely has to assert 

9 that the entity attempted to make the 

10 inquiry on that day for the previous 

11 sentence to apply to such an inquiry, 

12 and does not have to provide any ad13 ditional proof concerning such inquiry. 

14 ‘‘(V) CONSEQUENCES OF

15 NONVERIFICATION.— 

16 ‘‘(aa) TERMINATION OR NO17 TIFICATION OF CONTINUED EM18 PLOYMENT.—If the person or 

19 other entity has received a final 

20 nonverification regarding an indi21 vidual, the person or entity may 

22 terminate employment of the in23 dividual (or decline to recruit or 

24 refer the individual). If the per25 son or entity does not terminate 


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1 employment of the individual or 

2 proceeds to recruit or refer the 

3 individual, the person or entity 

4 shall notify the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security of such fact 

6 through the verification system 

7 or in such other manner as the 

8 Secretary may specify. 

9 ‘‘(bb) FAILURE TO NO10 TIFY.—If the person or entity 

11 fails to provide notice with re12 spect to an individual as required 

13 under item (aa), the failure is 

14 deemed to constitute a violation 

15 of subsection (a)(1)(A) with re16 spect to that individual. 

17 ‘‘(VI) CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT

18 AFTER FINAL NONVERIFICATION.—If 

19 the person or other entity continues to 

20 employ (or to recruit or refer) an indi21 vidual after receiving final nonverifica22 tion, a rebuttable presumption is cre23 ated that the person or entity has vio24 lated subsection (a)(1)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(D) CONTINUATION OF SEASONAL AGRI2 CULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.—An individual shall 

3 not be considered a new hire subject to 

4 verification under this paragraph if the indi5 vidual is engaged in seasonal agricultural em6 ployment and is returning to work for an em7 ployer that previously employed the individual. 

8 ‘‘(E) EFFECTIVE DATES OF NEW PROCE9 DURES.— 

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

11 clause (iii), the provisions of this para12 graph shall apply to a person or other enti13 ty hiring an individual for employment in 

14 the United States as follows: 

15 ‘‘(I) With respect to employers 

16 having 10,000 or more employees in 

17 the United States on the date of the 

18 enactment of the Legal Workforce 

19 Act, on the date that is 6 months 

20 after the date of the enactment of 

21 such Act. 

22 ‘‘(II) With respect to employers 

23 having 500 or more employees in the 

24 United States, but less than 10,000 

25 employees in the United States, on 


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1 the date of the enactment of the 

2 Legal Workforce Act, on the date that 

3 is 12 months after the date of the en4 actment of such Act. 

5 ‘‘(III) With respect to employers 

6 having 20 or more employees in the 

7 United States, but less than 500 em8 ployees in the United States, on the 

9 date of the enactment of the Legal 

10 Workforce Act, on the date that is 18 

11 months after the date of the enact12 ment of such Act. 

13 ‘‘(IV) With respect to employers 

14 having 1 or more employees in the 

15 United States, but less than 20 em16 ployees in the United States, on the 

17 date of the enactment of the Legal 

18 Workforce Act, on the date that is 24 

19 months after the date of the enact20 ment of such Act. 

21 ‘‘(ii) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.— 

22 Except as provided in clause (iii), the pro23 visions of this paragraph shall apply to a 

24 person or other entity recruiting or refer25 ring an individual for employment in the 


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1 United States on the date that is 12 

2 months after the date of the enactment of 

3 the Legal Workforce Act. 

4 ‘‘(iii) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV5 ICES.—With respect to an employee per6 forming agricultural labor or services (as 

7 defined for purposes of section 

8 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), this paragraph shall 

9 not apply with respect to the verification of 

10 the employee until the date that is 36 

11 months after the date of the enactment of 

12 the Legal Workforce Act. An employee de13 scribed in this clause shall not be counted 

14 for purposes of clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(iv) TRANSITION RULE.—Subject to 

16 paragraph (4), the following shall apply to 

17 a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, 

18 or referring an individual for employment 

19 in the United States until the effective 

20 date or dates applicable under clauses (i) 

21 through (iii): 

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

23 before the enactment of the Legal 

24 Workforce Act. 


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

2 Illegal Immigration Reform and Im3 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

4 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be5 fore the effective date in section 7(c) 

6 of the Legal Workforce Act. 

7 ‘‘(III) Any other provision of 

8 Federal law requiring the person or 

9 entity to participate in the E-Verify 

10 Program described in section 403(a) 

11 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

12 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be14 fore the effective date in section 7(c) 

15 of the Legal Workforce Act, including 

16 Executive Order 13465 (8 U.S.C. 

17 1324a note; relating to Government 

18 procurement). 

19 ‘‘(F) VERIFICATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

21 this paragraph: 

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

23 referral, the term ‘verification period’ 

24 means the period ending on the date 

25 recruiting or referring commences. 


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1 ‘‘(II) In the case of hiring, the 

2 term ‘verification period’ means the 

3 period beginning on the date on which 

4 an offer of employment is extended 

5 and ending on the date that is 3 busi6 ness days after the date of hiring. The 

7 offer of employment may be condi8 tioned in accordance with clause (ii). 

9 ‘‘(ii) JOB OFFER MAY BE CONDI10 TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 

11 offer a prospective employee an employ12 ment position that is conditioned on final 

13 verification of the identity and employment 

14 eligibility of the employee using the proce15 dures established under this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

17 LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

19 subparagraph (B), a person or entity shall 

20 make an inquiry, as provided in subsection (d), 

21 using the verification system to seek reverifica22 tion of the identity and employment eligibility 

23 of all individuals with a limited period of work 

24 authorization employed by the person or entity 

25 during the 30-day period ending on the date the 


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1 employee’s work authorization expires as fol2 lows: 

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 

7 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

8 enactment of such Act. 

9 ‘‘(ii) With respect to employers having 

10 500 or more employees in the United 

11 States, but less than 10,000 employees in 

12 the United States, on the date of the en13 actment of the Legal Workforce Act, be14 ginning on the date that is 12 months 

15 after the date of the enactment of such 

16 Act. 

17 ‘‘(iii) With respect to employers hav18 ing 20 or more employees in the United 

19 States, but less than 500 employees in the 

20 United States, on the date of the enact21 ment of the Legal Workforce Act, begin22 ning on the date that is 18 months after 

23 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

24 ‘‘(iv) With respect to employers hav25 ing 1 or more employees in the United 


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1 States, but less than 20 employees in the 

2 United States, on the date of the enact3 ment of the Legal Workforce Act, begin4 ning on the date that is 24 months after 

5 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

6 ‘‘(B) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV7 ICES.—With respect to an employee performing 

8 agricultural labor or services (as defined for 

9 purposes of section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), sub10 paragraph (A) shall not apply with respect to 

11 the reverification of the employee until the date 

12 that is 36 months after the date of the enact13 ment of the Legal Workforce Act. An employee 

14 described in this subparagraph shall not be 

15 counted for purposes of subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(C) REVERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

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

18 to this paragraph on the same basis as it ap19 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

20 except that employers shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab22 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

23 purposes of this paragraph in lieu of the 

24 verification form under paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro2 film, or electronic version of the form and 

3 make it available for inspection by officers 

4 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

5 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re6 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

7 Department of Labor during the period be8 ginning on the date the reverification com9 mences and ending on the date that is the 

10 later of 3 years after the date of such 

11 reverification or 1 year after the date the 

12 individual’s employment is terminated. 

13 ‘‘(D) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Home14 land Security shall notify a person or entity em15 ploying a person with limited work authoriza16 tion of the date on which the limited work au17 thorization expires. 

18 ‘‘(3) PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER20 TAIN EMPLOYEES.— 

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

22 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

23 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, an 

24 employer shall make an inquiry, as pro25 vided in subsection (d), using the 


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1 verification system to seek verification of 

2 the identity and employment eligibility of 

3 any individual described in clause (ii) em4 ployed by the employer whose employment 

5 eligibility has not been verified under the 

6 E-Verify Program described in section 

7 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

8 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note). 

10 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An 

11 individual described in this clause is any of 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(I) An employee of any unit of 

14 a Federal, State, or local government. 

15 ‘‘(II) An employee who requires a 

16 Federal security clearance working in 

17 a Federal, State or local government 

18 building, a military base, a nuclear 

19 energy site, a weapons site, or an air20 port or other facility that requires 

21 workers to carry a Transportation 

22 Worker Identification Credential 

23 (TWIC). 

24 ‘‘(III) An employee assigned to 

25 perform work in the United States 


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1 under a Federal or State contract, ex2 cept that this subclause— 

3 ‘‘(aa) is not applicable to in4 dividuals who have a clearance 

5 under Homeland Security Presi6 dential Directive 12 (HSPD 12 

7 clearance), are administrative or 

8 overhead personnel, or are work9 ing solely on contracts that pro10 vide Commercial Off The Shelf 

11 goods or services as set forth by 

12 the Federal Acquisition Regu13 latory Council, unless they are 

14 subject to verification under sub15 clause (II); and 

16 ‘‘(bb) only applies to con17 tacts over the simple acquisition 

18 threshold. 

19 ‘‘(B) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR MUL20 TIPLE USERS OF SAME SOCIAL SECURITY AC21 COUNT NUMBER.—In the case of an employer 

22 who is required by this subsection to use the 

23 verification system described in subsection (d), 

24 or has elected voluntarily to use such system, 


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1 the employer shall make inquiries to the system 

2 in accordance with the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) The Commissioner of Social Secu4 rity shall notify annually employees (at the 

5 employee address listed on the Wage and 

6 Tax Statement) who submit a social secu7 rity account number to which more than 

8 one employer reports income and for which 

9 there is a pattern of unusual multiple use. 

10 The notification letter shall identify the 

11 number of employers to which, and the 

12 States in which, income is being reported 

13 as well as sufficient information notifying 

14 the employee of the process to contact the 

15 Social Security Administration Fraud Hot16 line if the employee believes the employee’s 

17 identity may have been stolen. The notice 

18 shall not share information protected as 

19 private, in order to avoid any recipient of 

20 the notice being in the position to further 

21 identity theft. 

22 ‘‘(ii) If the person to whom the social 

23 security account number was issued by the 

24 Social Security Administration has been 

25 identified and confirmed by Commissioner, 


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1 and indicates that the social security ac2 count number was used without their 

3 knowledge, the Secretary and the Commis4 sioner shall lock the social security account 

5 number for employment eligibility verifica6 tion purposes and shall notify the employ7 ers of the individuals who wrongfully sub8 mitted the social security account number 

9 that the employee may not be work eligi10 ble. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Each employer receiving such 

12 notification of invalid social security ac13 count number shall use the verification 

14 system described in subsection (d) to check 

15 the work eligibility status of the applicable 

16 employee within 10 business days of re17 ceipt of the notification of invalid social se18 curity account number under clause (ii). 

19 ‘‘(C) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER20 TAIN MISMATCHED WAGE AND TAX STATE21 MENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 

23 employer who is required by this sub24 section to use the verification system de25 scribed in subsection (d), or has elected 


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1 voluntarily to use such system, and who re2 ceives a notice described in clause (ii) iden3 tifying an individual employee, the em4 ployer shall, not later than 30 calendar 

5 days after receipt of such notice, use the 

6 verification system described in subsection 

7 (d) to verify the employment eligibility of 

8 the employee in accordance with the in9 structions in such notice if the individual is 

10 still on the payroll of the employer. 

11 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—The Commissioner of 

12 Social Security shall issue a notice to an 

13 employer submitting one or more mis14 matched wage and tax statements or cor15 rected wage and tax statements containing 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(I) A description of the mis18 matched information. 

19 ‘‘(II) An explanation of the steps 

20 that the employer is required to take 

21 to correct the mismatched informa22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(III) An explanation of the em24 ployment eligibility verification re25 quirement described in clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(D) ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS.—Subject to 

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

3 (C) of this paragraph, beginning on the date 

4 that is 30 days after the date of the enactment 

5 of the Legal Workforce Act, an employer may 

6 make an inquiry, as provided in subsection (d), 

7 using the verification system to seek verification 

8 of the identity and employment eligibility of any 

9 individual employed by the employer. If an em10 ployer chooses voluntarily to seek verification of 

11 any individual employed by the employer, the 

12 employer shall seek verification of all individ13 uals so employed. An employer’s decision about 

14 whether or not voluntarily to seek verification 

15 of its current workforce under this subpara16 graph may not be considered by any govern17 ment agency in any proceeding, investigation, 

18 or review provided for in this Act. 

19 ‘‘(E) VERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

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

21 to this paragraph on the same basis as it ap22 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

23 except that employers shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab25 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 


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1 purposes of this paragraph in lieu of the 

2 verification form under paragraph (1); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro4 film, or electronic version of the form and 

5 make it available for inspection by officers 

6 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

7 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re8 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

9 Department of Labor during the period be10 ginning on the date the verification com11 mences and ending on the date that is the 

12 later of 3 years after the date of such 

13 verification or 1 year after the date the in14 dividual’s employment is terminated. 

15 ‘‘(4) EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

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

17 INCLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Notwith18 standing the deadlines in paragraphs (1) and 

19 (2), beginning on the earlier of the date that is 

20 6 months after the date of the enactment of the 

21 Legal Workforce Act and the date on which the 

22 Secretary implements the system under sub23 section (d), the Secretary is authorized to com24 mence requiring employers required to partici25 pate in the E–Verify Program described in secVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 tion 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

2 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

3 U.S.C. 1324a note), including employers re4 quired to participate in such program by reason 

5 of Federal acquisition laws (and regulations 

6 promulgated under those laws, including the 

7 Federal Acquisition Regulation), to commence 

8 compliance with the requirements of this sub9 section (and any additional requirements of 

10 such Federal acquisition laws and regulation) in 

11 lieu of any requirement to participate in the E12 Verify Program. 

13 ‘‘(B) FORMER E-VERIFY VOLUNTARY

14 USERS AND OTHERS DESIRING EARLY COMPLI15 ANCE.—Notwithstanding the deadlines in para16 graphs (1) and (2), beginning 30 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of the Legal Workforce 

18 Act, the Secretary shall provide for the vol19 untary compliance with the requirements of this 

20 subsection by employers voluntarily electing to 

21 participate in the E–Verify Program described 

22 in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Re23 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

24 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) before such date, as well 


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1 as by other employers seeking voluntary early 

2 compliance. 

3 ‘‘(5) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER4 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

5 law, the person or entity may copy a document pre6 sented by an individual pursuant to this subsection 

7 and may retain the copy, but only (except as other8 wise permitted under law) for the purpose of com9 plying with the requirements of this subsection. 

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

11 designated or established by the Secretary of Home12 land Security under this subsection and any infor13 mation contained in or appended to such form, may 

14 not be used for purposes other than for enforcement 

15 of this Act and any other provision of Federal crimi16 nal law. 

17 ‘‘(7) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

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

19 provided in this subsection, a person or entity 

20 is considered to have complied with a require21 ment of this subsection notwithstanding a tech22 nical or procedural failure to meet such require23 ment if there was a good faith attempt to com24 ply with the requirement. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT

2 AFTER NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

3 apply if— 

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

5 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu6 rity has explained to the person or entity 

7 the basis for the failure and why it is not 

8 de minimus; 

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

10 provided a period of not less than 30 cal11 endar days (beginning after the date of the 

12 explanation) within which to correct the 

13 failure; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor15 rected the failure voluntarily within such 

16 period. 

17 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC18 TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

19 apply to a person or entity that has or is engag20 ing in a pattern or practice of violations of sub21 section (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2).’’. 

22 SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS2 TEM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Patterned on the employ4 ment eligibility confirmation system established 

5 under section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

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

7 1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

8 shall establish and administer a verification system 

9 through which the Secretary (or a designee of the 

10 Secretary, which may be a nongovernmental enti11 ty)— 

12 ‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by per13 sons at any time through a toll-free telephone 

14 line and other toll-free electronic media con15 cerning an individual’s identity and whether the 

16 individual is authorized to be employed; and 

17 ‘‘(B) maintains records of the inquiries 

18 that were made, of verifications provided (or 

19 not provided), and of the codes provided to in20 quirers as evidence of their compliance with 

21 their obligations under this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The verification sys23 tem shall provide verification or a tentative 

24 nonverification of an individual’s identity and em25 ployment eligibility within 3 working days of the iniVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 tial inquiry. If providing verification or tentative 

2 nonverification, the verification system shall provide 

3 an appropriate code indicating such verification or 

4 such nonverification. 

5 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY VERIFICATION PROCESS IN

6 CASE OF TENTATIVE NONVERIFICATION.—In cases 

7 of tentative nonverification, the Secretary shall 

8 specify, in consultation with the Commissioner of 

9 Social Security, an available secondary verification 

10 process to confirm the validity of information pro11 vided and to provide a final verification or 

12 nonverification within 10 working days after the 

13 date of the tentative nonverification. When final 

14 verification or nonverification is provided, the 

15 verification system shall provide an appropriate code 

16 indicating such verification or nonverification. 

17 ‘‘(4) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM.— 

18 The verification system shall be designed and oper19 ated— 

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

21 use by persons and other entities consistent 

22 with insulating and protecting the privacy and 

23 security of the underlying information; 

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

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1 uals are authorized to be employed and to reg2 ister all times when such inquiries are not re3 ceived; 

4 ‘‘(C) with appropriate administrative, tech5 nical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau6 thorized disclosure of personal information; 

7 ‘‘(D) to have reasonable safeguards against 

8 the system’s resulting in unlawful discrimina9 tory practices based on national origin or citi10 zenship status, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use 

12 of the system to verify eligibility; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the exclusion of certain individ14 uals from consideration for employment as 

15 a result of a perceived likelihood that addi16 tional verification will be required, beyond 

17 what is required for most job applicants; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(E) to limit the subjects of verification to 

20 the following individuals: 

21 ‘‘(i) Individuals hired, referred, or re22 cruited, in accordance with paragraph (1) 

23 or (4) of subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Employees and prospective em2 ployees, in accordance with paragraph (2), 

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

4 ‘‘(iii) Individuals seeking to confirm 

5 their own employment eligibility on a vol6 untary basis. 

7 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF

8 SOCIAL SECURITY.—As part of the verification sys9 tem, the Commissioner of Social Security, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 (and any designee of the Secretary selected to estab12 lish and administer the verification system), shall es13 tablish a reliable, secure method, which, within the 

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

15 compares the name and social security account num16 ber provided in an inquiry against such information 

17 maintained by the Commissioner in order to validate 

18 (or not validate) the information provided regarding 

19 an individual whose identity and employment eligi20 bility must be confirmed, the correspondence of the 

21 name and number, and whether the individual has 

22 presented a social security account number that is 

23 not valid for employment. The Commissioner shall 

24 not disclose or release social security information 

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1 cept as provided for in this section or section 

2 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act. 

3 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF

4 HOMELAND SECURITY.—As part of the verification 

5 system, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in con6 sultation with any designee of the Secretary selected 

7 to establish and administer the verification system), 

8 shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, with9 in the time periods specified under paragraphs (2) 

10 and (3), compares the name and alien identification 

11 or authorization number which are provided in an 

12 inquiry against such information maintained by the 

13 Secretary in order to validate (or not validate) the 

14 information provided, the correspondence of the 

15 name and number, and whether the alien is author16 ized to be employed in the United States. 

17 ‘‘(7) OFFENSES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person or entity 

19 that, in making an inquiry under subsection 

20 (b)(1)(C)(i)(II), provides to the verification sys21 tem a social security account number or an 

22 identification or authorization number estab23 lished by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 that belongs to a person other than the indi25 vidual whose identity and employment authorVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 ization are being verified, knowing that the 

2 number does not belong to the individual whose 

3 identity and employment authorization are 

4 being verified, shall be fined under title 18, 

5 United States Code, imprisoned not less than 1 

6 year and not more than 15 years, or both. If 

7 the person or entity, in making an inquiry 

8 under subsection (b)(1)(C)(i)(II), during and in 

9 relation to any felony violation enumerated in 

10 section 1028A(c) of title 18, United States 

11 Code, provides to the verification system a so12 cial security account number or an identifica13 tion or authorization number established by the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security that belongs to 

15 a person other than the individual whose iden16 tity and employment authorization are being 

17 verified, knowing that the number does not be18 long to the individual whose identity and work 

19 authorization are being verified, in addition to 

20 the punishment provided for such felony, shall 

21 be fined under title 18, United States Code, im22 prisoned for a term of 2 years, or both. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSECUTIVE SENTENCE.—Notwith24 standing any other provision of law— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a court shall not place on proba2 tion any person or entity convicted of a 

3 violation of this paragraph; 

4 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in clause (iv), 

5 no term of imprisonment imposed on a 

6 person or entity under this section shall 

7 run concurrently with any other term of 

8 imprisonment imposed on the person or en9 tity under any other provision of law, in10 cluding any term of imprisonment imposed 

11 for the felony enumerated in section 

12 1028A(c) of title 18, United States Code, 

13 during which the violation of this para14 graph occurred; 

15 ‘‘(iii) in determining any term of im16 prisonment to be imposed for the felony 

17 enumerated in section 1028A(c) of title 18, 

18 United States Code, during which the vio19 lation of this section occurred, a court 

20 shall not in any way reduce the term to be 

21 imposed for such crime so as to com22 pensate for, or otherwise take into account, 

23 any separate term of imprisonment im24 posed or to be imposed for a violation of 

25 this paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a term of imprisonment imposed 

2 on a person or entity for a violation of this 

3 paragraph may, in the discretion of the 

4 court, run concurrently, in whole or in 

5 part, only with another term of imprison6 ment that is imposed by the court at the 

7 same time on that person or entity for an 

8 additional violation of this paragraph, ex9 cept that such discretion shall be exercised 

10 in accordance with any applicable guide11 lines and policy statements issued by the 

12 United States Sentencing Commission pur13 suant to section 994 of title 28, United 

14 States Code. 

15 ‘‘(8) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis16 sioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Home17 land Security shall update their information in a 

18 manner that promotes the maximum accuracy and 

19 shall provide a process for the prompt correction of 

20 erroneous information, including instances in which 

21 it is brought to their attention in the secondary 

22 verification process described in paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(9) LIMITATION ON USE OF THE

24 VERIFICATION SYSTEM AND ANY RELATED SYS25 TEMS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, nothing in this section 

3 shall be construed to permit or allow any de4 partment, bureau, or other agency of the 

5 United States Government to utilize any infor6 mation, data base, or other records assembled 

7 under this subsection for any other purpose 

8 other than as provided for under this section. 

9 ‘‘(B) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION

10 CARD.—Nothing in this section shall be con11 strued to authorize, directly or indirectly, the 

12 issuance or use of national identification cards 

13 or the establishment of a national identification 

14 card. 

15 ‘‘(10) REMEDIES.—If an individual alleges that 

16 the individual would not have been dismissed from 

17 a job but for an error of the verification mechanism, 

18 the individual may seek compensation only through 

19 the mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and 

20 injunctive relief to correct such error. No class ac21 tion may be brought under this paragraph.’’. 

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

23 EMPLOYMENT. 

24 (a) ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO RULES FOR RECRUIT25 MENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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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).’’; 

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),’’; and 

14 (4) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘hiring,’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘hiring, employing,’’ each place it appears. 

16 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 274A(h) of the Immigra17 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF RECRUIT OR REFER.—As 

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

21 of sending or directing a person or transmitting doc22 umentation or information to another, directly or in23 directly, with the intent of obtaining employment in 

24 the United States for such person. Only persons or 

25 entities referring for remuneration (whether on a reVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 tainer or contingency basis) are included in the defi2 nition, except that union hiring halls that refer 

3 union members or nonunion individuals who pay 

4 union membership dues are included in the defini5 tion whether or not they receive remuneration, as 

6 are labor service entities or labor service agencies, 

7 whether public, private, for-profit, or nonprofit, that 

8 refer, dispatch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 

9 laborers for any period of time by a third party. As 

10 used in this section the term ‘recruit’ means the act 

11 of soliciting a person, directly or indirectly, and re12 ferring the person to another with the intent of ob13 taining employment for that person. Only persons or 

14 entities referring for remuneration (whether on a re15 tainer or contingency basis) are included in the defi16 nition, except that union hiring halls that refer 

17 union members or nonunion individuals who pay 

18 union membership dues are included in this defini19 tion whether or not they receive remuneration, as 

20 are labor service entities or labor service agencies, 

21 whether public, private, for-profit, or nonprofit that 

22 recruit, dispatch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 

23 laborers for any period of time by a third party.’’. 

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

25 this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 

2 the amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect 

3 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act inso4 far as such amendments relate to continuation of employ5 ment. 

6 SEC. 5. GOOD FAITH DEFENSE. 

7 Section 274A(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(3)) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(3) GOOD FAITH DEFENSE.— 

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

12 or entity that hires, employs, recruits or refers 

13 for fee, or is otherwise obligated to comply with 

14 this section) who establishes that it has com15 plied in good faith with the requirements of 

16 subsection (b)— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall not be liable to a job appli18 cant, an employee, the Federal Govern19 ment, or a State or local government, 

20 under Federal, State, or local criminal or 

21 civil law for any employment-related action 

22 taken with respect to a job applicant or 

23 employee in good-faith reliance on informa24 tion provided through the system estab25 lished under subsection (d); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) has established compliance with 

2 its obligations under subparagraphs (A) 

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

4 (b) absent a showing by the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security, by clear and con6 vincing evidence, that the employer had 

7 knowledge that an employee is an unau8 thorized alien. 

9 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO SEEK AND OBTAIN

10 VERIFICATION.—Subject to the effective dates 

11 and other deadlines applicable under subsection 

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

13 United States that hires, or continues to em14 ploy, an individual, or recruits or refers an indi15 vidual for employment, the following require16 ments apply: 

17 ‘‘(i) FAILURE TO SEEK

18 VERIFICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 

20 or entity has not made an inquiry, 

21 under the mechanism established 

22 under subsection (d) and in accord23 ance with the timeframes established 

24 under subsection (b), seeking 

25 verification of the identity and work 


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1 eligibility of the individual, the de2 fense under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 not be considered to apply with re4 spect to any employment, except as 

5 provided in subclause (II). 

6 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAIL7 URE OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.— 

8 If such a person or entity in good 

9 faith attempts to make an inquiry in 

10 order to qualify for the defense under 

11 subparagraph (A) and the verification 

12 mechanism has registered that not all 

13 inquiries were responded to during the 

14 relevant time, the person or entity can 

15 make an inquiry until the end of the 

16 first subsequent working day in which 

17 the verification mechanism registers 

18 no nonresponses and qualify for such 

19 defense. 

20 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO OBTAIN

21 VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity 

22 has made the inquiry described in clause 

23 (i)(I) but has not received an appropriate 

24 verification of such identity and work eligi25 bility under such mechanism within the 


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1 time period specified under subsection 

2 (d)(2) after the time the verification in3 quiry was received, the defense under sub4 paragraph (A) shall not be considered to 

5 apply with respect to any employment after 

6 the end of such time period.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. PREEMPTION. 

8 Section 274A(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(2)) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec12 tion preempt any State or local law, ordinance, pol13 icy, or rule, including any criminal or civil fine or 

14 penalty structure, insofar as they may now or here15 after relate to the hiring, continued employment, or 

16 status verification for employment eligibility pur17 poses, of unauthorized aliens. A State, locality, mu18 nicipality, or political subdivision may exercise its 

19 authority over business licensing and similar laws as 

20 a penalty for failure to use the verification system 

21 described in subsection (d) to verify employment eli22 gibility when and as required under subsection (b).’’. 


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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. 1234a note) is repealed. 

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

6 law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of au7 thority, or any document of, or pertaining to, the Depart8 ment of Homeland Security or the Social Security Admin9 istration, to the employment eligibility confirmation sys10 tem established under section 404 of the Illegal Immigra11 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

12 (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 enact18 ment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 8. PENALTIES. 

20 Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

21 (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (e)(4)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter be24 fore clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para25 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 


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

2 ‘‘not less than $250 and not more than 

3 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $2,500 

4 and not more than $5,000’’; 

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

6 ‘‘not less than $2,000 and not more than 

7 $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $5,000 

8 and not more than $10,000’’; 

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

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

11 $10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $10,000 

12 and not more than $25,000’’; and 

13 (E) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

14 as follows: 

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

16 take such other remedial action as is appro17 priate.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (e)(5)— 

19 (A) in the paragraph heading, strike ‘‘PA20 PERWORK’’; 

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

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

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

24 ‘‘$1,000’’; 


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

2 ‘‘$25,000’’; 

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

4 ‘‘Failure by a person or entity to utilize the em5 ployment eligibility verification system as re6 quired by law, or providing information to the 

7 system that the person or entity knows or rea8 sonably believes to be false, shall be treated as 

9 a violation of subsection (a)(1)(A).’’; 

10 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (e) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY FOR GOOD

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

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

15 a violation of subsection (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2) for hir16 ing or continuation of employment or recruitment or 

17 referral by person or entity and in the case of impo18 sition of a civil penalty under paragraph (5) for a 

19 violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring or re20 cruitment or referral by a person or entity, the pen21 alty otherwise imposed may be waived or reduced if 

22 the violator establishes that the violator acted in 

23 good faith. 

24 ‘‘(11) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

25 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 


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

2 is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity to be a repeat violator of paragraph 

4 (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a), or is convicted 

5 of a crime under this section, such person or 

6 entity may be considered for debarment from 

7 the receipt of Federal contracts, grants, or co8 operative agreements in accordance with the de9 barment standards and pursuant to the debar10 ment procedures set forth in the Federal Acqui11 sition Regulation. 

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

13 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security or the Attorney General wishes to have 

15 a person or entity considered for debarment in 

16 accordance with this paragraph, and such an 

17 person or entity does not hold a Federal con18 tract, grant or cooperative agreement, the Sec19 retary or Attorney General shall refer the mat20 ter to the Administrator of General Services to 

21 determine whether to list the person or entity 

22 on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal 

23 Procurement, and if so, for what duration and 

24 under what scope. 


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1 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE2 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 or the Attorney General wishes to have a per4 son or entity considered for debarment in ac5 cordance with this paragraph, and such person 

6 or entity holds a Federal contract, grant or co7 operative agreement, the Secretary or Attorney 

8 General shall advise all agencies or departments 

9 holding a contract, grant, or cooperative agree10 ment with the person or entity of the Govern11 ment’s interest in having the person or entity 

12 considered for debarment, and after soliciting 

13 and considering the views of all such agencies 

14 and departments, the Secretary or Attorney 

15 General may refer the matter to any appro16 priate lead agency to determine whether to list 

17 the person or entity on the List of Parties Ex18 cluded from Federal Procurement, and if so, for 

19 what duration and under what scope. 

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

21 person or entity under in accordance with this 

22 paragraph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 

23 9.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.’’; 

24 (4) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection (f) 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti2 ty which engages in a pattern or practice of viola3 tions of subsection (a)(1) or (2) shall be fined not 

4 more than $15,000 for each unauthorized alien with 

5 respect to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned 

6 for not less than one year and not more than 10 

7 years, or both, notwithstanding the provisions of any 

8 other Federal law relating to fine levels.’’; and 

9 (5) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘Attorney 

10 General’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Sec11 retary of Homeland Security’’. 

12 SEC. 9. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA13 TION PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for 

15 fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2012, the 

16 Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security shall enter into and maintain an 

18 agreement which shall— 

19 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

20 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

21 under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by 

23 section 3 of this Act, including (but not limited 

24 to)— 


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1 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

2 technological equipment and systems necessary 

3 for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the 

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

5 only that portion of such costs that are attrib6 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

7 (B) responding to individuals who contest 

8 a tentative nonconfirmation provided by the em9 ployment eligibility verification system estab10 lished under such section; 

11 (2) provide such funds quarterly in advance of 

12 the applicable quarter based on estimating method13 ology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec14 retary (except in such instances where the delayed 

15 enactment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

16 such quarterly payments); and 

17 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili18 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro19 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed 

20 by the Office of Inspector General of the Social Se21 curity Administration and the Department of Home22 land Security. 

23 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

24 IN ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.—In any case in 

25 which the agreement required under subsection (a) for any 


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1 fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2012, has not 

2 been reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, the latest 

3 agreement between the Commissioner and the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security providing for funding to cover the 

5 costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner under 

6 section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) shall be deemed in effect on an in8 terim basis for such fiscal year until such time as an 

9 agreement required under subsection (a) is subsequently 

10 reached, except that the terms of such interim agreement 

11 shall be modified by the Director of the Office of Manage12 ment and Budget to adjust for inflation and any increase 

13 or decrease in the volume of requests under the employ14 ment eligibility verification system. In any case in which 

15 an interim agreement applies for any fiscal year under this 

16 subsection, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not 

17 later than October 1 of such fiscal year, notify the Com18 mittee on Ways and Means, the Committee on the Judici19 ary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

20 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance, the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Ap22 propriations of the Senate of the failure to reach the 

23 agreement required under subsection (a) for such fiscal 

24 year. Until such time as the agreement required under 

25 subsection (a) has been reached for such fiscal year, the 


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1 Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not later than the 

2 end of each 90-day period after October 1 of such fiscal 

3 year, notify such Committees of the status of negotiations 

4 between the Commissioner and the Secretary in order to 

5 reach such an agreement. 

6 SEC. 10. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

7 (a) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT

8 NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

9 Commissioner of Social Security shall establish a program 

10 in which social security account numbers that have been 

11 identified to be subject to unusual multiple use in the em12 ployment eligibility verification system established under 

13 section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

14 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by section 3 of this Act, 

15 or that are otherwise suspected or determined to have been 

16 compromised by identity fraud or other misuse, shall be 

17 blocked from use for such system purposes unless the indi18 vidual using such number is able to establish, through se19 cure and fair additional security procedures, that the indi20 vidual is the legitimate holder of the number. 

21 (b) ALLOWING SUSPENSION OF USE OF CERTAIN SO22 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commis24 sioner of Social Security, shall establish a program which 

25 shall provide a reliable, secure method by which victims 


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1 of identity fraud and other individuals may suspend or 

2 limit the use of their social security account number or 

3 other identifying information for purposes of the employ4 ment eligibility verification system established under sec5 tion 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by section 3 of this Act. 

7 The Secretary may implement the program on a limited 

8 pilot program basis before making it fully available to all 

9 individuals. 

10 (c) BLOCKING USE OF CERTAIN SOCIAL SECURITY

11 ACCOUNT NUMBERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security shall establish a program in which the so14 cial security account numbers of an alien described 

15 in paragraph (2) shall be blocked from use for pur16 poses of the employment eligibility verification sys17 tem established under section 274A(d) of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as 

19 amended by section 3 of this Act, unless the alien 

20 is subsequently admitted lawfully to the United 

21 States in, or the Secretary has subsequently changed 

22 the alien’s status lawfully to, a status that permits 

23 employment as a condition of the alien’s admission 

24 or subsequent change of status, or the Secretary has 


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1 subsequently granted work authorization lawfully to 

2 the alien. 

3 (2) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described 

4 in this paragraph if the alien— 

5 (A) has a final order of removal from the 

6 United States; 

7 (B) voluntarily departs the United States; 

8 (C) is voluntarily returned; or 

9 (D) is a nonimmigrant described in section 

10 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) whose work author12 ization has expired and who is not the subject 

13 of an application or petition that would author14 ize the alien’s employment. 

15 SEC. 11. BIOMETRIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY 

16 VERIFICATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

18 the date of the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, 

19 the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation 

20 with the Commissioner of Social Security and the Director 

21 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

22 shall establish by regulation a Biometric Employment Eli23 gibility Verification pilot program (the ‘‘Biometric Pilot’’). 

24 The purpose of the Biometric Pilot shall be to provide for 

25 identity authentication and employment eligibility 


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1 verification with respect to enrolled new employees which 

2 shall be available to subject employers who elect to partici3 pate in the Biometric Pilot. Any subject employer may 

4 cancel the employer’s participation in the Biometric Pilot 

5 after one year after electing to participate without preju6 dice to future participation. 

7 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—In accordance with 

8 the regulations prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to 

9 subsection (a), the following shall apply: 

10 (1) IDENTITY AUTHENTICATION AND EMPLOY11 MENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION BY ENROLLMENT

12 PROVIDERS.—The Biometric Pilot shall utilize the 

13 services of private sector entities (‘‘enrollment pro14 viders’’), with appropriate expertise, which shall be 

15 subject to initial and periodic certification by the 

16 Secretary, to provide— 

17 (A) enrollment under the Biometric Pilot 

18 of new employees by means of identity authen19 tication in a manner that provides a high level 

20 of certainty as to their true identities, using im21 migration and identifying information main22 tained by the Social Security Administration 

23 and the Department of Homeland Security, re24 view of identity documents, and background 


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1 screening verification techniques using publicly 

2 available information; 

3 (B) protection of the authenticated infor4 mation through biometric technology; and 

5 (C) verification of employment eligibility of 

6 such new employees. 

7 (2) DATABASE MANAGEMENT.—The Biometric 

8 Pilot shall provide for databases of identifying infor9 mation which may be retained by the enrollment 

10 providers. Databases controlled by the Commissioner 

11 and Secretary of Homeland Security shall be main12 tained in a manner to capture new entries and new 

13 status information in a timely manner and to inter14 act with the private enrollment databases to keep 

15 employment authorization status and identifying in16 formation current on a daily basis. The information 

17 maintained in such databases shall be subject to the 

18 requirements established pursuant to subsection (e), 

19 except that— 

20 (A) use of the data shall be limited to ob21 taining employment eligibility verification only, 

22 unless the new employee consents to use the 

23 data for other purposes, as provided in regula24 tions prescribed by the Secretary; and 


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1 (B) other identifying traits of the new em2 ployees shall be stored through an encoding 

3 process that keeps their accurate names, dates 

4 of birth, social security numbers, and immigra5 tion identification numbers (if any) separate, 

6 except during electronic verification. 

7 (3) ACCESSIBILITY TO EMPLOYERS.—Avail8 ability of data maintained in the Biometric Pilot 

9 shall be managed so that any subject employer who 

10 participates in the Biometric Pilot can obtain 

11 verification with respect to any new employee en12 rolled with any enrollment provider serving in the 

13 Biometric Pilot. 

14 (4) LIMITATIONS RELATING TO BIOMETRIC

15 DATA.—Any biometric data maintained in the Bio16 metric Pilot relating to any new employee shall be— 

17 (A) encrypted and segregated from identi18 fying information relating to the new employee, 

19 and 

20 (B) maintained and linked to identifying 

21 information relating to the new employee only 

22 by consent of the new employee for the purpose 

23 of verifying employment eligibility or approved 

24 correction processes or for other purposes speVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 cifically authorized by the employee as provided 

2 in regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

3 (5) ACCURACY OF ASSOCIATION OF DATA WITH

4 ENROLLED NEW EMPLOYEES.—The enrollment proc5 ess under the Biometric Pilot shall be managed, in 

6 the case of each new employee enrolled in the Bio7 metric Pilot, so as to result in the accurate associa8 tion of data consisting of name, date of birth, social 

9 security number, and immigration identification 

10 number (if any) with the established identity of the 

11 new employee. 

12 (6) LIMITATIONS ON ACCESSIBILITY OF INFOR13 MATION.—Data stored in Biometric Pilot relating to 

14 any enrolled new employee shall not be accessible to 

15 any person other than those operating the Biometric 

16 Pilot and for the sole purpose of identity authentica17 tion and employment eligibility verification in con18 nection with the new employee, except— 

19 (A) by the written consent of the new em20 ployee given specifically for each instance or 

21 category of disclosure for any other purpose as 

22 provided in regulations prescribed by the Sec23 retary; or 


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1 (B) in response to a warrant issued by a 

2 judicial authority of competent jurisdiction in a 

3 criminal proceeding. 

4 (7) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 conduct a program of ongoing, comprehensive public 

6 education campaign relating to the Biometric Pilot. 

7 (c) EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES.—In accordance 

8 with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary pursuant 

9 to subsection (a), the following shall apply: 

10 (1) USE LIMITED TO ENROLLED NEW EMPLOY11 EES.—Use of the Biometric Pilot by subject employ12 ers participating in the Biometric Pilot shall be lim13 ited to use in connection with the hiring of new em14 ployees occurring after their enrollment in the Bio15 metric Pilot. 

16 (2) USE FOR LIMITED PERIOD.—Use of the Bi17 ometric Pilot by any subject employer participating 

18 in the Biometric Pilot in connection with any new 

19 employee may occur only during the period begin20 ning on the date of hire and ending at the end of 

21 the third business day after the employee has re22 ported for duty. Use of the Biometric Pilot with re23 spect to recruitment or referral for a fee may occur 

24 only until the first day of such recruitment or refer25 ral. 


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1 (3) RESPONSIBILITY OF EMPLOYERS TO EN2 ROLL NEW EMPLOYEES.—In connection with the hir3 ing by any subject employer of a new employee who 

4 has not been previously enrolled in the Biometric 

5 Pilot, enrollment of the new employee shall occur 

6 only upon application by the subject employer sub7 mitted to an enrollment provider, together with pay8 ment of any costs associated with the enrollment. 

9 (4) LIMITATIONS ON SELECTIVE USE.—No sub10 ject employer may use the Biometric Pilot selectively 

11 to verify any class, level, or category of new employ12 ees. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed 

13 to preclude subject employers from utilizing the Bio14 metric Pilot in connection with hiring at selected 

15 employment locations without implementing such 

16 usage at all locations of the employer. 

17 (d) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.—In accordance with 

18 the regulations prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to 

19 subsection (a), the following shall apply: 

20 (1) ACCESS FOR EMPLOYEES TO CORRECT AND

21 UPDATE INFORMATION.—Employees enrolled in the 

22 Biometric Pilot shall be provided access to the Bio23 metric Pilot to verify information relating to their 

24 employment authorization and readily available proc25 esses to correct and update their enrollment inforVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:50 Jun 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2164.IH H2164

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1 mation and information relating to employment au2 thorization. 

3 (2) RIGHT TO CANCEL ENROLLMENT.—Each 

4 employee enrolled in the Biometric Pilot shall have 

5 the right to cancel such employee’s enrollment at 

6 any time after the identity authentication and em7 ployment eligibility verification processes are com8 pleted by the subject employer described in sub9 section (c)(3). Such cancellation shall remove from 

10 the Biometric Pilot all identifying information and 

11 biometrics in connection with such employee without 

12 prejudice to future enrollments. 

13 (e) MAINTENANCE OF SECURITY AND CONFIDEN14 TIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Every person who is a sub16 ject employer participating in the Biometric Pilot or 

17 an officer or contractor of such a subject employer 

18 and who has access to any information obtained at 

19 any time from the Department of Homeland Secu20 rity shall maintain the security and confidentiality of 

21 such information. No such person may disclose any 

22 file, record, report, paper, or other item containing 

23 information so obtained at any time by any such 

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1 cept as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe 

2 or as otherwise provided by Federal law. 

3 (2) PENALTY FOR DISCLOSURE IN VIOLATION

4 OF SUBPARAGRAPH (A).—Any person described in 

5 paragraph (1) who knowingly violates paragraph (1) 

6 shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction 

7 thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding 

8 $10,000 for each occurrence of a violation, or by im9 prisonment not exceeding 5 years, or both. 

10 (3) PENALTY FOR KNOWING DISCLOSURE OF

11 FRAUDULENT INFORMATION.—Any person who will12 fully and knowingly accesses, discloses, or uses any 

13 information which such person purports to be infor14 mation obtained as described in paragraph (1) 

15 knowing such information to be false shall be guilty 

16 of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be 

17 punished by a fine not exceeding $10,000 for each 

18 occurrence of a violation, or by imprisonment not ex19 ceeding 5 years, or both. 

20 (4) RESTITUTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal court, 

22 when sentencing a defendant convicted of an of23 fense under this paragraph, may order, in addi24 tion to or in lieu of any other penalty author25 ized by law, that the defendant make restitution 


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1 to the victims of such offense specified in sub2 paragraph (B). Sections 3612, 3663, and 3664 

3 of title 18, United States Code, shall apply with 

4 respect to the issuance and enforcement of or5 ders of restitution to victims of such offense 

6 under this subparagraph. If the court does not 

7 order restitution, or orders only partial restitu8 tion, under this subsection, the court shall state 

9 on the record the reasons therefor. 

10 (B) VICTIMS SPECIFIED.—The victims 

11 specified in this clause are the following: 

12 (i) Any individual who suffers a finan13 cial loss as a result of the disclosure de14 scribed in paragraph (2) or (3). 

15 (ii) The Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity, to the extent that the disclosure de17 scribed in paragraph (2) or (3) results in 

18 the inappropriate payment of a benefit by 

19 the Commissioner of Social Security. 

20 (C) DEPOSIT IN THE TRUST FUNDS OF

21 AMOUNTS PAID AS RESTITUTION TO THE COM22 MISSIONER.—Funds paid to the Commissioner 

23 as restitution pursuant to a court order under 

24 this subparagraph shall be deposited in the 

25 Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 


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1 Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 

2 Fund, as appropriate. 

Æ 


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