I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 250 

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 

JANUARY 4, 2019 

Mr. CALVERT (for himself, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. HICE

of Georgia, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. COOK, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. 

MEADOWS, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. COLE, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. DAVID P. ROE

of Tennessee, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ROONEY

of Florida, Mr. BABIN, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) 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 

Labor, 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 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A(b) of the Immigra4 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)) is amended 

5 to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION

7 PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFER9 RAL.—The requirements referred to in paragraphs 

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

11 a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or refer12 ring an individual for employment in the United 

13 States, the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) ATTESTATION AFTER EXAMINATION

15 OF DOCUMENTATION.— 

16 ‘‘(i) ATTESTATION.—During the 

17 verification period (as defined in subpara18 graph (E)), the person or entity shall at19 test, under penalty of perjury and on a 

20 form, including electronic and telephonic 

21 formats, designated or established by the 

22 Secretary by regulation not later than 6 

23 months after the date of the enactment of 

24 the Legal Workforce Act, that it has 

25 verified that the individual is not an unau26 thorized alien by— 


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

3 account number or United States 

4 passport number and recording the 

5 number on the form (if the individual 

6 claims to have been issued such a 

7 number), and, if the individual does 

8 not attest to United States nationality 

9 under subparagraph (B), obtaining 

10 such identification or authorization 

11 number established by the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security for the 

13 alien as the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security may specify, and recording 

15 such number on the form; and 

16 ‘‘(II) examining— 

17 ‘‘(aa) a document relating to 

18 the individual presenting it de19 scribed in clause (ii); or 

20 ‘‘(bb) a document relating to 

21 the individual presenting it de22 scribed in clause (iii) and a docu23 ment relating to the individual 

24 presenting it described in clause 

25 (iv). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS EVIDENCING EM2 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION AND ESTAB3 LISHING IDENTITY.—A document de4 scribed in this subparagraph is an individ5 ual’s— 

6 ‘‘(I) unexpired United States 

7 passport or passport card; 

8 ‘‘(II) unexpired permanent resi9 dent card that contains a photograph; 

10 ‘‘(III) unexpired employment au11 thorization card that contains a pho12 tograph; 

13 ‘‘(IV) in the case of a non14 immigrant alien authorized to work 

15 for a specific employer incident to sta16 tus, a foreign passport with Form I– 

17 94 or Form I–94A, or other docu18 mentation as designated by the Sec19 retary specifying the alien’s non20 immigrant status as long as the pe21 riod of status has not yet expired and 

22 the proposed employment is not in 

23 conflict with any restrictions or limita24 tions identified in the documentation; 


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1 ‘‘(V) passport from the Fed2 erated States of Micronesia (FSM) or 

3 the Republic of the Marshall Islands 

4 (RMI) with Form I–94 or Form I– 

5 94A, or other documentation as des6 ignated by the Secretary, indicating 

7 nonimmigrant admission under the 

8 Compact of Free Association Between 

9 the United States and the FSM or 

10 RMI; or 

11 ‘‘(VI) other document designated 

12 by the Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity, if the document— 

14 ‘‘(aa) contains a photograph 

15 of the individual and biometric 

16 identification data from the indi17 vidual and such other personal 

18 identifying information relating 

19 to the individual as the Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security finds, by 

21 regulation, sufficient for purposes 

22 of this clause; 

23 ‘‘(bb) is evidence of author24 ization of employment in the 

25 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 speci10 fies on the face that the issuance of the 

11 card does not authorize employment in the 

12 United States). 

13 ‘‘(iv) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING

14 IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUAL.—A document 

15 described 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 

21 color, 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 

7 penalty of law as to the identity and 

8 age 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 handwritten 

22 or electronic signature. 

23 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EM24 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—During the veri25 fication period (as defined in subparagraph 


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1 (E)), the individual shall attest, under penalty 

2 of perjury on the form designated or established 

3 for purposes of subparagraph (A), that the indi4 vidual is a citizen or national of the United 

5 States, an alien lawfully admitted for perma6 nent residence, or an alien who is authorized 

7 under this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security to be hired, recruited, or referred for 

9 such employment. Such attestation may be 

10 manifested by either a handwritten or electronic 

11 signature. The individual shall also provide that 

12 individual’s social security account number or 

13 United States passport number (if the indi14 vidual claims to have been issued such a num15 ber), and, if the individual does not attest to 

16 United States nationality under this subpara17 graph, such identification or authorization num18 ber established by the Department of Homeland 

19 Security for the alien as the Secretary may 

20 specify. 

21 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM

22 AND VERIFICATION.— 

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

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1 graphs (A) and (B), the person or entity 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) retain a paper, microfiche, 

4 microfilm, or electronic version of the 

5 form and make it available for inspec6 tion by officers of the Department of 

7 Homeland Security, the Department 

8 of Justice, or the Department of 

9 Labor during a period beginning on 

10 the date of the recruiting or referral 

11 of the individual, or, in the case of the 

12 hiring of an individual, the date on 

13 which the verification is completed, 

14 and ending— 

15 ‘‘(aa) in the case of the re16 cruiting or referral of an indi17 vidual, 3 years after the date of 

18 the recruiting or referral; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) in the case of the hir20 ing of an individual, the later of 

21 3 years after the date the verifi22 cation is completed or one year 

23 after the date the individual’s 

24 employment is terminated; 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 RE10 CEIVED.—If the person or other entity 

11 receives an appropriate confirmation 

12 of an individual’s identity and work 

13 eligibility under the verification sys14 tem within the time period specified, 

15 the person or entity shall record on 

16 the form an appropriate code that is 

17 provided under the system and that 

18 indicates a final confirmation of such 

19 identity and work eligibility of the in20 dividual. 

21 ‘‘(II) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMA22 TION RECEIVED.—If the person or 

23 other entity receives a tentative non24 confirmation of an individual’s iden25 tity or work eligibility under the 


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1 verification system within the time pe2 riod specified, the person or entity 

3 shall so inform the individual for 

4 whom the verification is sought. If the 

5 individual does not contest the non6 confirmation within the time period 

7 specified, the nonconfirmation shall be 

8 considered final. The person or entity 

9 shall then record on the form an ap10 propriate code which has been pro11 vided under the system to indicate a 

12 final nonconfirmation. If the indi13 vidual does contest the nonconfirma14 tion, the individual shall utilize the 

15 process for secondary verification pro16 vided under subsection (d). The non17 confirmation will remain tentative 

18 until a final confirmation or noncon19 firmation is provided by the verifica20 tion system within the time period 

21 specified. In no case shall an employer 

22 terminate employment of an individual 

23 because of a failure of the individual 

24 to have identity and work eligibility 

25 confirmed under this section until a 


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1 nonconfirmation becomes final. Noth2 ing in this clause shall apply to a ter3 mination of employment for any rea4 son other than because of such a fail5 ure. In no case shall an employer re6 scind the offer of employment to an 

7 individual because of a failure of the 

8 individual to have identity and work 

9 eligibility confirmed under this sub10 section until a nonconfirmation be11 comes final. Nothing in this subclause 

12 shall apply to a recission of the offer 

13 of employment for any reason other 

14 than because of such a failure. 

15 ‘‘(III) FINAL CONFIRMATION OR

16 NONCONFIRMATION RECEIVED.—If a 

17 final confirmation or nonconfirmation 

18 is provided by the verification system 

19 regarding an individual, the person or 

20 entity shall record on the form an ap21 propriate code that is provided under 

22 the system and that indicates a con23 firmation or nonconfirmation of iden24 tity and work eligibility of the indi25 vidual. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) EXTENSION OF TIME.—If 

2 the person or other entity in good 

3 faith attempts to make an inquiry 

4 during the time period specified and 

5 the verification system has registered 

6 that not all inquiries were received 

7 during such time, the person or entity 

8 may make an inquiry in the first sub9 sequent working day in which the 

10 verification system registers that it 

11 has 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 ad19 ditional proof concerning such inquiry. 

20 ‘‘(V) CONSEQUENCES OF NON21 CONFIRMATION.— 

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 

3 may terminate employment of the 

4 individual (or decline to recruit 

5 or refer the individual). If the 

6 person or entity does not termi7 nate employment of the indi8 vidual or proceeds to recruit or 

9 refer the individual, the person or 

10 entity shall notify the Secretary 

11 of Homeland Security of such 

12 fact through the verification sys13 tem or in such other manner as 

14 the Secretary may specify. 

15 ‘‘(bb) FAILURE TO NO16 TIFY.—If the person or entity 

17 fails to provide notice with re18 spect to an individual as required 

19 under item (aa), the failure is 

20 deemed to constitute a violation 

21 of subsection (a)(1)(A) with re22 spect to that individual. 

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 para10 graph shall apply to a person or other enti11 ty hiring an individual for employment in 

12 the 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 

16 enactment of the Legal Workforce 

17 Act, on the date that is 6 months 

18 after the date of the enactment of 

19 such Act. 

20 ‘‘(II) With respect to employers 

21 having 500 or more employees in the 

22 United States, but less than 10,000 

23 employees in the United States, on 

24 the date of the enactment of the 

25 Legal Workforce Act, on the date that 


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1 is 12 months after the date of the en2 actment 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 enact10 ment 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 enact18 ment 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 


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1 months after the date of the enactment of 

2 the Legal 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 30 months after the date of 

9 the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act. 

10 For purposes of the preceding sentence, 

11 the term ‘agricultural labor or services’ has 

12 the meaning given such term by the Sec13 retary of Agriculture in regulations and in14 cludes agricultural labor as defined in sec15 tion 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code 

16 of 1986, agriculture as defined in section 

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

18 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)), the handling, 

19 planting, drying, packing, packaging, proc20 essing, freezing, or grading prior to deliv21 ery for storage of any agricultural or horti22 cultural commodity in its unmanufactured 

23 state, all activities required for the prepa24 ration, processing or manufacturing of a 

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1 fined in such section 3(f)) for further dis2 tribution, and activities similar to all the 

3 foregoing as they relate to fish or shellfish 

4 facilities. An employee described in this 

5 clause shall not be counted for purposes of 

6 clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(iv) EXTENSIONS.—Upon request by 

8 an employer having 50 or fewer employees, 

9 the Secretary shall allow a one-time 6- 

10 month extension of the effective date set 

11 out in this subparagraph applicable to such 

12 employer. Such request shall be made to 

13 the Secretary and shall be made prior to 

14 such effective date. 

15 ‘‘(v) 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 ‘‘(E) 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 three 

6 business days after the date of hire, 

7 except as provided in clause (iii). The 

8 offer of employment may be condi9 tioned in accordance with clause (ii). 

10 ‘‘(ii) JOB OFFER MAY BE CONDI11 TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 

12 offer a prospective employee an employ13 ment position that is conditioned on final 

14 verification of the identity and employment 

15 eligibility of the employee using the proce16 dures established under this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstand18 ing clause (i)(II), in the case of an alien 

19 who is authorized for employment and who 

20 provides evidence from the Social Security 

21 Administration that the alien has applied 

22 for a social security account number, the 

23 verification period ends three business days 

24 after the alien receives the social security 

25 account number. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

2 LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

4 subparagraph (B), a person or entity shall 

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

6 using the verification system to seek reverifica7 tion of the identity and employment eligibility 

8 of all individuals with a limited period of work 

9 authorization employed by the person or entity 

10 during the three business days after the date on 

11 which the employee’s work authorization expires 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) With respect to employers having 

14 10,000 or more employees in the United 

15 States on the date of the enactment of the 

16 Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the 

17 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

18 enactment of such Act. 

19 ‘‘(ii) With respect to employers having 

20 500 or more employees in the United 

21 States, but less than 10,000 employees in 

22 the United States, on the date of the en23 actment of the Legal Workforce Act, be24 ginning on the date that is 12 months 


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1 after the date of the enactment of such 

2 Act. 

3 ‘‘(iii) With respect to employers hav4 ing 20 or more employees in the United 

5 States, but less than 500 employees in the 

6 United States, on the date of the enact7 ment of the Legal Workforce Act, begin8 ning on the date that is 18 months after 

9 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

10 ‘‘(iv) With respect to employers hav11 ing 1 or more employees in the United 

12 States, but less than 20 employees in the 

13 United States, on the date of the enact14 ment of the Legal Workforce Act, begin15 ning on the date that is 24 months after 

16 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

17 ‘‘(B) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV18 ICES.—With respect to an employee performing 

19 agricultural labor or services, or an employee 

20 recruited or referred by a farm labor contractor 

21 (as defined in section 3 of the Migrant and Sea22 sonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 

23 U.S.C. 1801)), subparagraph (A) shall not 

24 apply with respect to the reverification of the 

25 employee until the date that is 30 months after 


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1 the date of the enactment of the Legal Work2 force Act. For purposes of the preceding sen3 tence, the term ‘agricultural labor or services’ 

4 has the meaning given such term by the Sec5 retary of Agriculture in regulations and in6 cludes agricultural labor as defined in section 

7 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

8 agriculture as defined in section 3(f) of the 

9 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

10 203(f)), the handling, planting, drying, packing, 

11 packaging, processing, freezing, or grading 

12 prior to delivery for storage of any agricultural 

13 or horticultural commodity in its unmanufac14 tured state, all activities required for the prepa15 ration, processing, or manufacturing of a prod16 uct of agriculture (as such term is defined in 

17 such section 3(f)) for further distribution, and 

18 activities similar to all the foregoing as they re19 late to fish or shellfish facilities. An employee 

20 described in this subparagraph shall not be 

21 counted for purposes of subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(C) REVERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

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

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1 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

2 except that employers shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab4 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

5 purposes of this paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro7 film, or electronic version of the form and 

8 make it available for inspection by officers 

9 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

10 the Department of Justice, or the Depart11 ment of Labor during the period beginning 

12 on the date the reverification commences 

13 and ending on the date that is the later of 

14 3 years after the date of such reverification 

15 or 1 year after the date the individual’s 

16 employment is terminated. 

17 ‘‘(3) PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER19 TAIN EMPLOYEES.— 

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

21 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

22 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, an 

23 employer shall make an inquiry, as pro24 vided in subsection (d), using the 

25 verification system to seek verification of 


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1 the identity and employment eligibility of 

2 any individual described in clause (ii) em3 ployed by the employer whose employment 

4 eligibility has not been verified under the 

5 E-Verify Program described in section 

6 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

7 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

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

9 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An 

10 individual described in this clause is any of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(I) An employee of any unit of 

13 a Federal, State, or local government. 

14 ‘‘(II) An employee who requires a 

15 Federal security clearance working in 

16 a Federal, State or local government 

17 building, a military base, a nuclear 

18 energy site, a weapons site, or an air19 port or other facility that requires 

20 workers to carry a Transportation 

21 Worker Identification Credential 

22 (TWIC). 

23 ‘‘(III) An employee assigned to 

24 perform work in the United States 


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1 under a Federal contract, except that 

2 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 tracts over the simple acquisition 

18 threshold as defined in section 

19 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations. 

21 ‘‘(B) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR MUL22 TIPLE USERS OF SAME SOCIAL SECURITY AC23 COUNT NUMBER.—In the case of an employer 

24 who is required by this subsection to use the 

25 verification system described in subsection (d), 


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1 or has elected voluntarily to use such system, 

2 the employer shall make inquiries to the system 

3 in accordance with the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) The Commissioner of Social Secu5 rity shall notify annually employees (at the 

6 employee address listed on the Wage and 

7 Tax Statement) who submit a social secu8 rity account number to which more than 

9 one employer reports income and for which 

10 there is a pattern of unusual multiple use. 

11 The notification letter shall identify the 

12 number of employers to which income is 

13 being reported as well as sufficient infor14 mation notifying the employee of the proc15 ess to contact the Social Security Adminis16 tration Fraud Hotline if the employee be17 lieves the employee’s identity may have 

18 been stolen. The notice shall not share in19 formation protected as private, in order to 

20 avoid any recipient of the notice from 

21 being in the position to further commit or 

22 begin committing identity theft. 

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

24 security account number was issued by the 

25 Social Security Administration has been 


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1 identified and confirmed by the Commis2 sioner, and indicates that the social secu3 rity account number was used without 

4 their knowledge, the Secretary and the 

5 Commissioner shall lock the social security 

6 account number for employment eligibility 

7 verification purposes and shall notify the 

8 employers of the individuals who wrong9 fully submitted the social security account 

10 number that the employee may not be 

11 work eligible. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Each employer receiving such 

13 notification of an incorrect social security 

14 account number under clause (ii) shall use 

15 the verification system described in sub16 section (d) to check the work eligibility sta17 tus of the applicable employee within 10 

18 business days of receipt of the notification. 

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

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

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

22 that is 30 days after the date of the enactment 

23 of the Legal Workforce Act, an employer may 

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

25 using the verification system to seek verification 


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1 of the identity and employment eligibility of any 

2 individual employed by the employer. If an em3 ployer chooses voluntarily to seek verification of 

4 any individual employed by the employer, the 

5 employer shall seek verification of all individ6 uals employed at the same geographic location 

7 or, at the option of the employer, all individuals 

8 employed within the same job category, as the 

9 employee with respect to whom the employer 

10 seeks voluntarily to use the verification system. 

11 An employer’s decision about whether or not 

12 voluntarily to seek verification of its current 

13 workforce under this subparagraph may not be 

14 considered by any government agency in any 

15 proceeding, investigation, or review provided for 

16 in this Act. 

17 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

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

19 to this paragraph on the same basis as it ap20 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

21 except that employers shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab23 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

24 purposes of this paragraph; 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 Department of Justice, or the Depart6 ment of Labor during the period beginning 

7 on the date the verification commences and 

8 ending on the date that is the later of 3 

9 years after the date of such verification or 

10 1 year after the date the individual’s em11 ployment is terminated. 

12 ‘‘(4) EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

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

14 INCLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Notwith15 standing the deadlines in paragraphs (1) and 

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

17 the Legal Workforce Act, the Secretary is au18 thorized to commence requiring employers re19 quired to participate in the E-Verify Program 

20 described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immi21 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

22 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), including 

23 employers required to participate in such pro24 gram by reason of Federal acquisition laws 

25 (and regulations promulgated under those laws, 


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1 including the Federal Acquisition Regulation), 

2 to commence compliance with the requirements 

3 of this subsection (and any additional require4 ments of such Federal acquisition laws and reg5 ulation) in lieu of any requirement to partici6 pate in the E-Verify Program. 

7 ‘‘(B) FORMER E-VERIFY VOLUNTARY

8 USERS AND OTHERS DESIRING EARLY COMPLI9 ANCE.—Notwithstanding the deadlines in para10 graphs (1) and (2), beginning on the date of 

11 the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, the 

12 Secretary shall provide for the voluntary com13 pliance with the requirements of this subsection 

14 by employers voluntarily electing to participate 

15 in the E-Verify Program described in section 

16 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

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

18 1324a note) before such date, as well as by 

19 other employers seeking voluntary early compli20 ance. 

21 ‘‘(5) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER22 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

23 law, the person or entity may copy a document pre24 sented by an individual pursuant to this subsection 

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1 wise permitted under law) for the purpose of com2 plying with the requirements of this subsection. 

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

4 designated or established by the Secretary of Home5 land Security under this subsection and any infor6 mation contained in or appended to such form, may 

7 not be used for purposes other than for enforcement 

8 of this Act and any other provision of Federal crimi9 nal law. 

10 ‘‘(7) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

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

12 provided in this subsection, a person or entity 

13 is considered to have complied with a require14 ment of this subsection notwithstanding a tech15 nical or procedural failure to meet such require16 ment if there was a good faith attempt to com17 ply with the requirement. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT

19 AFTER NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

20 apply if— 

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

22 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu23 rity has explained to the person or entity 

24 the basis for the failure and why it is not 

25 de minimus; 


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

2 provided a period of not less than 30 cal3 endar days (beginning after the date of the 

4 explanation) within which to correct the 

5 failure; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor7 rected the failure voluntarily within such 

8 period. 

9 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC10 TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

11 apply to a person or entity that has or is engag12 ing in a pattern or practice of violations of sub13 section (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2). 

14 ‘‘(8) SINGLE EXTENSION OF DEADLINES UPON

15 CERTIFICATION.—In a case in which the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security has certified to the Congress 

17 that the employment eligibility verification system 

18 required under subsection (d) will not be fully oper19 ational by the date that is 6 months after the date 

20 of the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, each 

21 deadline established under this section for an em22 ployer to make an inquiry using such system shall 

23 be extended by 6 months. No other extension of such 

24 a deadline shall be made except as authorized under 

25 paragraph (1)(D)(iv).’’. 


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1 (b) DATE OF HIRE.—Section 274A(h) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

5 in this section, the term ‘date of hire’ means the 

6 date of actual commencement of employment for 

7 wages or other remuneration, unless otherwise speci8 fied.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

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

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

12 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS13 TEM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Patterned on the employ15 ment eligibility confirmation system established 

16 under section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

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

18 1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

19 shall establish and administer a verification system 

20 through which the Secretary (or a designee of the 

21 Secretary, which may be a nongovernmental enti22 ty)— 

23 ‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by per24 sons at any time through a toll-free telephone 

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1 cerning an individual’s identity and whether the 

2 individual is authorized to be employed; and 

3 ‘‘(B) maintains records of the inquiries 

4 that were made, of verifications provided (or 

5 not provided), and of the codes provided to in6 quirers as evidence of their compliance with 

7 their obligations under this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The verification sys9 tem shall provide confirmation or a tentative non10 confirmation of an individual’s identity and employ11 ment eligibility within 3 working days of the initial 

12 inquiry. If providing confirmation or tentative non13 confirmation, the verification system shall provide an 

14 appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 

15 such nonconfirmation. 

16 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY CONFIRMATION PROCESS IN

17 CASE OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.—In cases 

18 of tentative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 

19 specify, in consultation with the Commissioner of 

20 Social Security, an available secondary verification 

21 process to confirm the validity of information pro22 vided and to provide a final confirmation or noncon23 firmation not later than 10 working days after the 

24 date on which the notice of the tentative noncon25 firmation is received by the employee. The Secretary, 


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1 in consultation with the Commissioner, may extend 

2 this deadline once on a case-by-case basis for a pe3 riod of 10 working days, and if the time is extended, 

4 shall document such extension within the verification 

5 system. The Secretary, in consultation with the 

6 Commissioner, shall notify the employee and em7 ployer of such extension. The Secretary, in consulta8 tion with the Commissioner, shall create a standard 

9 process of such extension and notification and shall 

10 make a description of such process available to the 

11 public. When final confirmation or nonconfirmation 

12 is provided, the verification system shall provide an 

13 appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 

14 nonconfirmation. 

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

16 The verification system shall be designed and oper17 ated— 

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

19 use by persons and other entities consistent 

20 with insulating and protecting the privacy and 

21 security of the underlying information; 

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

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1 ister all times when such inquiries are not re2 ceived; 

3 ‘‘(C) with appropriate administrative, tech4 nical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau5 thorized disclosure of personal information; 

6 ‘‘(D) to have reasonable safeguards against 

7 the system’s resulting in unlawful discrimina8 tory practices based on national origin or citi9 zenship status, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use 

11 of the system to verify eligibility; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the exclusion of certain individ13 uals from consideration for employment as 

14 a result of a perceived likelihood that addi15 tional verification will be required, beyond 

16 what is required for most job applicants; 

17 ‘‘(E) to maximize the prevention of iden18 tity theft use in the system; and 

19 ‘‘(F) 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 (1), 

3 (2), (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 

25 (other than such confirmation or nonconfirmation) 


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1 under the verification system except as provided for 

2 in this section or section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social 

3 Security Act. 

4 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF

5 HOMELAND SECURITY.—As part of the verification 

6 system, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in con7 sultation with any designee of the Secretary selected 

8 to establish and administer the verification system), 

9 shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, with10 in the time periods specified under paragraphs (2) 

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

12 or authorization number (or any other information 

13 as determined relevant by the Secretary) which are 

14 provided in an inquiry against such information 

15 maintained or accessed by the Secretary in order to 

16 validate (or not validate) the information provided, 

17 the correspondence of the name and number, wheth18 er the alien is authorized to be employed in the 

19 United States, or to the extent that the Secretary 

20 determines to be feasible and appropriate, whether 

21 the records available to the Secretary verify the 

22 identity or status of a national of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(7) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis24 sioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Home25 land Security shall update their information in a 


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1 manner that promotes the maximum accuracy and 

2 shall provide a process for the prompt correction of 

3 erroneous information, including instances in which 

4 it is brought to their attention in the secondary 

5 verification process described in paragraph (3). 

6 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON USE OF THE

7 VERIFICATION SYSTEM AND ANY RELATED SYS8 TEMS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) 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 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

16 Secretary may authorize or direct any person or 

17 entity responsible for granting access to, pro18 tecting, securing, operating, administering, or 

19 regulating part of the critical infrastructure (as 

20 defined in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infra21 structure Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 

22 5195c(e))) to use the verification system to the 

23 extent the Secretary determines that such use 

24 will assist in the protection of the critical infra25 structure. 


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

2 the individual would not have been dismissed from 

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

4 the individual may seek compensation only through 

5 the mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and 

6 injunctive relief to correct such error. No class ac7 tion may be brought under this paragraph.’’. 

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

9 EMPLOYMENT. 

10 (a) ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO RULES FOR RECRUIT11 MENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION OF EMPLOY12 MENT.—Section 274A(a) of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)) is amended— 

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

15 (2) in paragraph (1), by amending subpara16 graph (B) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) to hire, continue to employ, or to re18 cruit or refer for employment in the United 

19 States an individual without complying with the 

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

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

22 an alien for employment in accordance with para23 graph (1),’’ and inserting ‘‘after complying with 

24 paragraph (1),’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 274A(h) of the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)), as amended 

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

4 at the end the following: 

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

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

7 of sending or directing a person who is in the United 

8 States or transmitting documentation or information 

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

10 obtaining employment in the United States for such 

11 person. Only persons or entities referring for remu12 neration (whether on a retainer or contingency 

13 basis) are included in the definition, except that 

14 union hiring halls that refer union members or non15 union individuals who pay union membership dues 

16 are included in the definition whether or not they re17 ceive remuneration, as are labor service entities or 

18 labor service agencies, whether public, private, for19 profit, or nonprofit, that refer, dispatch, or other20 wise facilitate the hiring of laborers for any period 

21 of time by a third party. As used in this section, the 

22 term ‘recruit’ means the act of soliciting a person 

23 who is in the United States, directly or indirectly, 

24 and referring the person to another with the intent 

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1 sons or entities referring for remuneration (whether 

2 on a retainer or contingency basis) are included in 

3 the definition, except that union hiring halls that 

4 refer union members or nonunion individuals who 

5 pay union membership dues are included in this defi6 nition whether or not they receive remuneration, as 

7 are labor service entities or labor service agencies, 

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

9 recruit, dispatch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 

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

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

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

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

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

15 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act inso16 far as such amendments relate to continuation of employ17 ment. 

18 SEC. 5. GOOD FAITH DEFENSE. 

19 Section 274A(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(3)) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(3) GOOD FAITH DEFENSE.— 

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

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

25 (as defined in subsection (h)(5)), or is otherwise 


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1 obligated to comply with this section) who es2 tablishes that it has complied in good faith with 

3 the requirements of subsection (b)— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall not be liable to a job appli5 cant, an employee, the Federal Govern6 ment, or a State or local government, 

7 under Federal, State, or local criminal or 

8 civil law for any employment-related action 

9 taken with respect to a job applicant or 

10 employee in good-faith reliance on informa11 tion provided through the system estab12 lished under subsection (d); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) has established compliance with 

14 its obligations under subparagraphs (A) 

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

16 (b) absent a showing by the Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security, by clear and con18 vincing evidence, that the employer had 

19 knowledge that an employee is an unau20 thorized alien. 

21 ‘‘(B) MITIGATION ELEMENT.—For pur22 poses of subparagraph (A)(i), if an employer 

23 proves by a preponderance of the evidence that 

24 the employer uses a reasonable, secure, and es25 tablished technology to authenticate the identity 


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1 of the new employee, that fact shall be taken 

2 into account for purposes of determining good 

3 faith use of the system established under sub4 section (d). 

5 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO SEEK AND OBTAIN

6 VERIFICATION.—Subject to the effective dates 

7 and other deadlines applicable under subsection 

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

9 United States that hires, or continues to em10 ploy, an individual, or recruits or refers an indi11 vidual for employment, the following require12 ments 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 

18 under subsection (d) and in accord19 ance with the timeframes established 

20 under subsection (b), seeking 

21 verification of the identity and work 

22 eligibility of the individual, the de23 fense under subparagraph (A) shall 

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1 spect to any employment, except as 

2 provided in subclause (II). 

3 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAIL4 URE OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.— 

5 If such a person or entity in good 

6 faith attempts to make an inquiry in 

7 order to qualify for the defense under 

8 subparagraph (A) and the verification 

9 mechanism has registered that not all 

10 inquiries were responded to during the 

11 relevant time, the person or entity can 

12 make an inquiry until the end of the 

13 first subsequent working day in which 

14 the verification mechanism registers 

15 no nonresponses and qualify for such 

16 defense. 

17 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO OBTAIN

18 VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity 

19 has made the inquiry described in clause 

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

21 verification of such identity and work eligi22 bility under such mechanism within the 

23 time period specified under subsection 

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1 paragraph (A) shall not be considered to 

2 apply with respect to any employment after 

3 the end of such time period.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. PREEMPTION AND STATES’ RIGHTS. 

5 Section 274A(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(2)) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) SINGLE, NATIONAL POLICY.—The 

10 provisions of this section preempt any State or 

11 local law, ordinance, policy, or rule, including 

12 any criminal or civil fine or penalty structure, 

13 insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to 

14 the hiring, continued employment, or status 

15 verification for employment eligibility purposes, 

16 of unauthorized aliens. 

17 ‘‘(B) STATE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL

18 LAW.— 

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

20 locality, municipality, or political subdivi21 sion may exercise its authority over busi22 ness licensing and similar laws as a pen23 alty for failure to use the verification sys24 tem described in subsection (d) to verify 


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1 employment eligibility when and as re2 quired under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(ii) GENERAL RULES.—A State, at 

4 its own cost, may enforce the provisions of 

5 this section, but only insofar as such State 

6 follows the Federal regulations imple7 menting this section, applies the Federal 

8 penalty structure set out in this section, 

9 and complies with all Federal rules and 

10 guidance concerning implementation of this 

11 section. Such State may collect any fines 

12 assessed under this section. An employer 

13 may not be subject to enforcement, includ14 ing audit and investigation, by both a Fed15 eral agency and a State for the same viola16 tion under this section. Whichever entity, 

17 the Federal agency or the State, is first to 

18 initiate the enforcement action, has the 

19 right of first refusal to proceed with the 

20 enforcement action. The Secretary must 

21 provide copies of all guidance, training, 

22 and field instructions provided to Federal 

23 officials implementing the provisions of 

24 this section to 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 

6 law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of au7 thority, or any document of, or pertaining to, the Depart8 ment of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, or the 

9 Social Security Administration, to the employment eligi10 bility confirmation system established under section 404 

11 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon12 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is deemed to 

13 refer to the employment eligibility confirmation system es14 tablished under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and 

15 Nationality Act, as amended by section 3 of this Act. 

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

17 on the date that is 30 months after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act. 

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

20 in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im21 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is amended by strik22 ing 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 

13 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $2,500 

14 and not more than $5,000’’; 

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

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

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

18 and not 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) 

2 to 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 rea20 sonably believes to be false, shall be treated as 

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

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

23 following: 

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 hir3 ing or continuation of employment or recruitment or 

4 referral by person or entity and in the case of impo5 sition of a civil penalty under paragraph (5) for a 

6 violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring or re7 cruitment or referral by a person or entity, the pen8 alty otherwise imposed may be waived or reduced if 

9 the violator establishes that the violator acted in 

10 good faith. 

11 ‘‘(11) MITIGATION ELEMENT.—For purposes of 

12 paragraph (4), the size of the business shall be 

13 taken into account when assessing the level of civil 

14 money penalty. 

15 ‘‘(12) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

16 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

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

18 is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Se19 curity to be a repeat violator of paragraph 

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

21 of a crime under this section, such person or 

22 entity may be considered for debarment from 

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1 ment procedures set forth in the Federal Acqui2 sition Regulation. 

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

4 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security or the Attorney General wishes to have 

6 a person or entity considered for debarment in 

7 accordance with this paragraph, and such an 

8 person or entity does not hold a Federal con9 tract, grant or cooperative agreement, the Sec10 retary or Attorney General shall refer the mat11 ter to the Administrator of General Services to 

12 determine whether to list the person or entity 

13 on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal 

14 Procurement, and if so, for what duration and 

15 under what scope. 

16 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE17 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 or the Attorney General wishes to have a per19 son or entity considered for debarment in ac20 cordance with this paragraph, and such person 

21 or entity holds a Federal contract, grant or co22 operative agreement, the Secretary or Attorney 

23 General shall advise all agencies or departments 

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1 ment’s interest in having the person or entity 

2 considered for debarment, and after soliciting 

3 and considering the views of all such agencies 

4 and departments, the Secretary or Attorney 

5 General may refer the matter to any appro6 priate lead agency to determine whether to list 

7 the person or entity on the List of Parties Ex8 cluded from Federal Procurement, and if so, for 

9 what duration and under what scope. 

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

11 person or entity in accordance with this para12 graph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 

13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

14 ‘‘(13) OFFICE FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN15 MENT COMPLAINTS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security shall establish an office— 

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

18 agencies may submit information indicating po19 tential violations of subsection (a), (b), or 

20 (g)(1) that were generated in the normal course 

21 of law enforcement or the normal course of 

22 other official activities in the State or locality; 

23 ‘‘(B) that is required to indicate to the 

24 complaining State or local agency within five 

25 business days of the filing of such a complaint 


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1 by identifying whether the Secretary will fur2 ther investigate the information provided; 

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

4 complaints filed by State or local government 

5 agencies that, on their face, have a substantial 

6 probability of validity; 

7 ‘‘(D) that is required to notify the com8 plaining State or local agency of the results of 

9 any such investigation conducted; and 

10 ‘‘(E) that is required to report to the Con11 gress annually the number of complaints re12 ceived under this paragraph, the States and lo13 calities that filed such complaints, and the reso14 lution of the complaints investigated by the Sec15 retary.’’; and 

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

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti19 ty which engages in a pattern or practice of viola20 tions of subsection (a) (1) or (2) shall be fined not 

21 more than $5,000 for each unauthorized alien with 

22 respect to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned 

23 for not more than 18 months, or both, notwith24 standing the provisions of any other Federal law re25 lating to fine levels.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

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

3 amended— 

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

5 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document 

6 or document meant to establish work authorization 

7 (including the documents described in section 

8 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act),’’; 

9 and 

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

11 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

12 document meant to establish work authorization (in13 cluding the documents described in section 274A(b) 

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act),’’. 

15 SEC. 10. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA16 TION PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for 

18 fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2020, the 

19 Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security shall enter into and maintain an 

21 agreement which shall— 

22 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

23 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

24 under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by 


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

2 to)— 

3 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

4 technological equipment and systems necessary 

5 for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the 

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

7 only that portion of such costs that are attrib8 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

9 (B) responding to individuals who contest 

10 a tentative nonconfirmation provided by the em11 ployment eligibility verification system estab12 lished under such section; 

13 (2) provide such funds annually in advance of 

14 the applicable quarter based on estimating method15 ology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec16 retary (except in such instances where the delayed 

17 enactment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

18 such quarterly payments); and 

19 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili20 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro21 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed 

22 by the Inspectors General of the Social Security Ad23 ministration and the Department of Homeland Secu24 rity. 


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1 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

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

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

4 fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2020, has not 

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

6 agreement between the Commissioner and the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security providing for funding to cover the 

8 costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner under 

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

10 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) shall be deemed in effect on an in11 terim basis for such fiscal year until such time as an 

12 agreement required under subsection (a) is subsequently 

13 reached, except that the terms of such interim agreement 

14 shall be modified by the Director of the Office of Manage15 ment and Budget to adjust for inflation and any increase 

16 or decrease in the volume of requests under the employ17 ment eligibility verification system. In any case in which 

18 an interim agreement applies for any fiscal year under this 

19 subsection, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not 

20 later than October 1 of such fiscal year, notify the Com21 mittee on Ways and Means, the Committee on the Judici22 ary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance, the 

24 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Ap25 propriations of the Senate of the failure to reach the 


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1 agreement required under subsection (a) for such fiscal 

2 year. Until such time as the agreement required under 

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

4 Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not later than the 

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

6 year, notify such Committees of the status of negotiations 

7 between the Commissioner and the Secretary in order to 

8 reach such an agreement. 

9 SEC. 11. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

10 (a) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT

11 NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con12 sultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall 

13 establish a program in which social security account num14 bers that have been identified to be subject to unusual 

15 multiple use in the employment eligibility verification sys16 tem established under section 274A(d) of the Immigration 

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

18 section 3 of this Act, or that are otherwise suspected or 

19 determined to have been compromised by identity fraud 

20 or other misuse, shall be blocked from use for such system 

21 purposes unless the individual using such number is able 

22 to establish, through secure and fair additional security 

23 procedures, that the individual is the legitimate holder of 

24 the number. 


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

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

5 shall provide a reliable, secure method by which victims 

6 of identity fraud and other individuals may suspend or 

7 limit the use of their social security account number or 

8 other identifying information for purposes of the employ9 ment eligibility verification system established under sec10 tion 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

12 The Secretary may implement the program on a limited 

13 pilot program basis before making it fully available to all 

14 individuals. 

15 (c) ALLOWING PARENTS TO PREVENT THEFT OF

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

17 Security, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 

18 Security, shall establish a program which shall provide a 

19 reliable, secure method by which parents or legal guard20 ians may suspend or limit the use of the social security 

21 account number or other identifying information of a 

22 minor under their care for the purposes of the employment 

23 eligibility verification system established under 274A(d) of 

24 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), 

25 as amended by section 3 of this Act. The Secretary may 


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1 implement the program on a limited pilot program basis 

2 before making it fully available to all individuals. 

3 SEC. 12. USE OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION 

4 PHOTO TOOL. 

5 An employer who uses the photo matching tool used 

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

7 photograph to both the photograph on the identity or em8 ployment eligibility document provided by the employee 

9 and to the face of the employee submitting the document 

10 for employment verification purposes. 

11 SEC. 13. IDENTITY AUTHENTICATION EMPLOYMENT ELIGI12 BILITY VERIFICATION PILOT PROGRAMS. 

13 Not later than 24 months after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

15 after consultation with the Commissioner of Social Secu16 rity and the Director of the National Institute of Stand17 ards and Technology, shall establish by regulation not less 

18 than 2 Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility 

19 Verification pilot programs, each using a separate and dis20 tinct technology (the ‘‘Authentication Pilots’’). The pur21 pose of the Authentication Pilots shall be to provide for 

22 identity authentication and employment eligibility verifica23 tion with respect to enrolled new employees which shall 

24 be available to any employer that elects to participate in 

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1 ployer may cancel the employer’s participation in the Au2 thentication Pilot after one year after electing to partici3 pate without prejudice to future participation. The Sec4 retary shall report to the Committee on the Judiciary of 

5 the House of Representatives and the Committee on the 

6 Judiciary of the Senate the Secretary’s findings on the 

7 Authentication Pilots, including the authentication tech8 nologies chosen, not later than 12 months after com9 mencement of the Authentication Pilots. 

10 SEC. 14. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDITS. 

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

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

13 of the Social Security Administration shall complete audits 

14 of the following categories in order to uncover evidence 

15 of individuals who are not authorized to work in the 

16 United States: 

17 (1) Workers who dispute wages reported on 

18 their social security account number when they be19 lieve someone else has used such number and name 

20 to report wages. 

21 (2) Children’s social security account numbers 

22 used for work purposes. 

23 (3) Employers whose workers present signifi24 cant numbers of mismatched social security account 

25 numbers or names for wage reporting. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION.—The Inspector General of the So2 cial Security Administration shall submit the audits com3 pleted under subsection (a) to the Committee on Ways and 

4 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

5 on Finance of the Senate for review of the evidence of 

6 individuals who are not authorized to work in the United 

7 States. The Chairmen of those Committees shall then de8 termine information to be shared with the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security so that such Secretary can investigate 

10 the unauthorized employment demonstrated by such evi11 dence. 

Æ 


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