I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2885 

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 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 

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

of Florida, Mr. TERRY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. 

WESTMORELAND, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. ROSS of Florida, Mr. BURGESS, 

Mr. LATHAM, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, and Mrs. MYRICK) 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 (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.—On the date of 

17 hire (as defined in subsection (h)(4)), the 

18 person or entity shall attest, under penalty 

19 of perjury and on a form, including elec20 tronic and telephonic formats, designated 

21 or established by the Secretary by regula22 tion not later than 6 months after the date 

23 of the enactment of the Legal Workforce 

24 Act, that it has verified that the individual 

25 is not an unauthorized 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 nationality 

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 relating to 

17 the individual presenting it de18 scribed in clause (ii); or 

19 ‘‘(bb) a document relating to 

20 the individual presenting it de21 scribed in clause (iii) and a docu22 ment relating to the individual 

23 presenting it described in clause 

24 (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 hand-writ22 ten or electronic signature. 

23 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EM24 PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During the 

2 verification period (as defined in subpara3 graph (F)), the individual shall attest, 

4 under penalty of perjury on the form des5 ignated or established for purposes of sub6 paragraph (A), that the individual is a cit7 izen or national of the United States, an 

8 alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi9 dence, or an alien who is authorized under 

10 this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security to be hired, recruited, or referred 

12 for such employment. Such attestation may 

13 be manifested by either a hand-written or 

14 electronic signature. The individual shall 

15 also provide that individual’s social secu16 rity account number (if the individual 

17 claims to have been issued such a number), 

18 and, if the individual does not attest to 

19 United States nationality under this sub20 paragraph, such identification or author21 ization number established by the Depart22 ment of Homeland Security for the alien 

23 as the Secretary may specify. 

24 ‘‘(ii) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) OFFENSES.—Any individual 

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

3 social security account number or an 

4 identification or authorization number 

5 established by the Secretary of Home6 land Security that belongs to another 

7 person, knowing that the number does 

8 not belong to the individual providing 

9 the number, shall be fined under title 

10 18, United States Code, imprisoned 

11 not less than 1 year and not more 

12 than 15 years, or both. Any individual 

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

14 during and in relation to any felony 

15 violation enumerated in section 

16 1028A(c) of title 18, United States 

17 Code, a social security account num18 ber or an identification or authoriza19 tion number established by the Sec20 retary of Homeland Security that be21 longs to another person, knowing that 

22 the number does not belong to the in23 dividual providing the number, in ad24 dition to the punishment provided for 

25 such felony, shall be fined under title 


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1 18, United States Code, imprisoned 

2 for a term of 2 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(II) CONSECUTIVE SEN4 TENCE.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law— 

6 ‘‘(aa) a court shall not place 

7 on probation any individual con8 victed of a violation of this 

9 clause; 

10 ‘‘(bb) except as provided in 

11 item (dd), no term of imprison12 ment imposed on an individual 

13 under this section shall run con14 currently with any other term of 

15 imprisonment imposed on the in16 dividual under any other provi17 sion of law, including any term of 

18 imprisonment imposed for the 

19 felony enumerated in section 

20 1028A(c) of title 18, United 

21 States Code, during which the 

22 violation of this section occurred; 

23 ‘‘(cc) in determining any 

24 term of imprisonment to be im25 posed for the felony enumerated 


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

2 United States Code, during 

3 which the violation of this clause 

4 occurred, a court shall not in any 

5 way reduce the term to be im6 posed for such crime so as to 

7 compensate for, or otherwise take 

8 into account, any separate term 

9 of imprisonment imposed or to be 

10 imposed for a violation of this 

11 clause; and 

12 ‘‘(dd) a term of imprison13 ment imposed on an individual 

14 for a violation of this clause may, 

15 in the discretion of the court, run 

16 concurrently, in whole or in part, 

17 only with another term of impris18 onment that is imposed by the 

19 court at the same time on that 

20 individual for an additional viola21 tion of this clause, except that 

22 such discretion shall be exercised 

23 in accordance with any applicable 

24 guidelines and policy statements 

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1 tencing Commission pursuant to 

2 section 994 of title 28, United 

3 States Code. 

4 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM

5 AND VERIFICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After completion 

7 of such form in accordance with subpara8 graphs (A) and (B), the person or entity 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) retain a paper, microfiche, 

11 microfilm, or electronic version of the 

12 form and make it available for inspec13 tion by officers of the Department of 

14 Homeland Security, the Special Coun15 sel for Immigration-Related Unfair 

16 Employment Practices, or the Depart17 ment of Labor during a period begin18 ning on the date of the recruiting or 

19 referral of the individual, or, in the 

20 case of the hiring of an individual, the 

21 date on which the verification is com22 pleted, and ending— 

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1 vidual, 3 years after the date of 

2 the recruiting or referral; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) in the case of the hir4 ing of an individual, the later of 

5 3 years after the date the 

6 verification is completed or one 

7 year after the date the individ8 ual’s employment is terminated; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) during the verification pe11 riod (as defined in subparagraph (F)), 

12 make an inquiry, as provided in sub13 section (d), using the verification sys14 tem to seek verification of the identity 

15 and employment eligibility of an indi16 vidual. 

17 ‘‘(ii) CONFIRMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(I) CONFIRMATION RE19 CEIVED.—If the person or other entity 

20 receives an appropriate confirmation 

21 of an individual’s identity and work 

22 eligibility under the verification sys23 tem within the time period specified, 

24 the person or entity shall record on 

25 the form an appropriate code that is 


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1 provided under the system and that 

2 indicates a final confirmation of such 

3 identity and work eligibility of the in4 dividual. 

5 ‘‘(II) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMA6 TION RECEIVED.—If the person or 

7 other entity receives a tentative non8 confirmation of an individual’s iden9 tity or work eligibility under the 

10 verification system within the time pe11 riod specified, the person or entity 

12 shall so inform the individual for 

13 whom the verification is sought. If the 

14 individual does not contest the non15 confirmation within the time period 

16 specified, the nonconfirmation shall be 

17 considered final. The person or entity 

18 shall then record on the form an ap19 propriate code which has been pro20 vided under the system to indicate a 

21 final nonconfirmation. If the indi22 vidual does contest the nonconfirma23 tion, the individual shall utilize the 

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1 confirmation will remain tentative 

2 until a final confirmation or noncon3 firmation is provided by the 

4 verification system within the time pe5 riod specified. In no case shall an em6 ployer terminate employment of an in7 dividual because of a failure of the in8 dividual to have identity and work eli9 gibility confirmed under this section 

10 until a nonconfirmation becomes final. 

11 Nothing in this clause shall apply to a 

12 termination of employment for any 

13 reason other than because of such a 

14 failure. In no case shall an employer 

15 rescind the offer of employment to an 

16 individual because of a failure of the 

17 individual to have identity and work 

18 eligibility confirmed under this sub19 section until a nonconfirmation be20 comes final. Nothing in this subclause 

21 shall apply to a recission of the offer 

22 of employment for any reason other 

23 than because of such a failure. 

24 ‘‘(III) FINAL CONFIRMATION OR

25 NONCONFIRMATION RECEIVED.—If a 


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1 final confirmation or nonconfirmation 

2 is provided by the verification system 

3 regarding an individual, the person or 

4 entity shall record on the form an ap5 propriate code that is provided under 

6 the system and that indicates a con7 firmation or nonconfirmation of iden8 tity and work eligibility of the indi9 vidual. 

10 ‘‘(IV) EXTENSION OF TIME.—If 

11 the person or other entity in good 

12 faith attempts to make an inquiry 

13 during the time period specified and 

14 the verification system has registered 

15 that not all inquiries were received 

16 during such time, the person or entity 

17 may make an inquiry in the first sub18 sequent working day in which the 

19 verification system registers that it 

20 has received all inquiries. If the 

21 verification system cannot receive in22 quiries at all times during a day, the 

23 person or entity merely has to assert 

24 that the entity attempted to make the 

25 inquiry on that day for the previous 


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1 sentence to apply to such an inquiry, 

2 and does not have to provide any ad3 ditional proof concerning such inquiry. 

4 ‘‘(V) CONSEQUENCES OF NON5 CONFIRMATION.— 

6 ‘‘(aa) TERMINATION OR NO7 TIFICATION OF CONTINUED EM8 PLOYMENT.—If the person or 

9 other entity has received a final 

10 nonconfirmation regarding an in11 dividual, the person or entity 

12 may terminate employment of the 

13 individual (or decline to recruit 

14 or refer the individual). If the 

15 person or entity does not termi16 nate employment of the indi17 vidual or proceeds to recruit or 

18 refer the individual, the person or 

19 entity shall notify the Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security of such 

21 fact through the verification sys22 tem or in such other manner as 

23 the Secretary may specify. 

24 ‘‘(bb) FAILURE TO NO25 TIFY.—If the person or entity 


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1 fails to provide notice with re2 spect to an individual as required 

3 under item (aa), the failure is 

4 deemed to constitute a violation 

5 of subsection (a)(1)(A) with re6 spect to that individual. 

7 ‘‘(VI) CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT

8 AFTER FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.—If 

9 the person or other entity continues to 

10 employ (or to recruit or refer) an indi11 vidual after receiving final noncon12 firmation, a rebuttable presumption is 

13 created that the person or entity has 

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

15 ‘‘(D) CONTINUATION OF SEASONAL AGRI16 CULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.—An individual shall 

17 not be considered a new hire subject to 

18 verification under this paragraph if the indi19 vidual is engaged in seasonal agricultural em20 ployment and is returning to work for an em21 ployer that previously employed the individual. 

22 ‘‘(E) EFFECTIVE DATES OF NEW PROCE23 DURES.— 

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

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1 graph shall apply to a person or other enti2 ty hiring an individual for employment in 

3 the United States as follows: 

4 ‘‘(I) With respect to employers 

5 having 10,000 or more employees in 

6 the United States on the date of the 

7 enactment of the Legal Workforce 

8 Act, on the date that is 6 months 

9 after the date of the enactment of 

10 such Act. 

11 ‘‘(II) With respect to employers 

12 having 500 or more employees in the 

13 United States, but less than 10,000 

14 employees in the United States, on 

15 the date of the enactment of the 

16 Legal Workforce Act, on the date that 

17 is 12 months after the date of the en18 actment of such Act. 

19 ‘‘(III) With respect to employers 

20 having 20 or more employees in the 

21 United States, but less than 500 em22 ployees in the United States, on the 

23 date of the enactment of the Legal 

24 Workforce Act, on the date that is 18 


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1 months after the date of the enact2 ment of such Act. 

3 ‘‘(IV) With respect to employers 

4 having 1 or more employees in the 

5 United States, but less than 20 em6 ployees in the United States, on the 

7 date of the enactment of the Legal 

8 Workforce Act, on the date that is 24 

9 months after the date of the enact10 ment of such Act. 

11 ‘‘(ii) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.— 

12 Except as provided in clause (iii), the pro13 visions of this paragraph shall apply to a 

14 person or other entity recruiting or refer15 ring an individual for employment in the 

16 United States on the date that is 12 

17 months after the date of the enactment of 

18 the Legal Workforce Act. 

19 ‘‘(iii) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV20 ICES.—With respect to an employee per21 forming agricultural labor or services (as 

22 defined for purposes of section 

23 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), this paragraph shall 

24 not apply with respect to the verification of 

25 the employee until the date that is 36 


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1 months after the date of the enactment of 

2 the Legal Workforce Act. An employee de3 scribed in this clause shall not be counted 

4 for purposes of clause (i). 

5 ‘‘(iv) TRANSITION RULE.—Subject to 

6 paragraph (4), the following shall apply to 

7 a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, 

8 or referring an individual for employment 

9 in the United States until the effective 

10 date or dates applicable under clauses (i) 

11 through (iii): 

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

13 before the enactment of the Legal 

14 Workforce Act. 

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

16 Illegal Immigration Reform and Im17 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

18 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be19 fore the effective date in section 7(c) 

20 of the Legal Workforce Act. 

21 ‘‘(III) Any other provision of 

22 Federal law requiring the person or 

23 entity to participate in the E-Verify 

24 Program described in section 403(a) 

25 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 


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1 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

2 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be3 fore the effective date in section 7(c) 

4 of the Legal Workforce Act, including 

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

6 1324a note; relating to Government 

7 procurement). 

8 ‘‘(F) VERIFICATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

10 this paragraph: 

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

12 referral, the term ‘verification period’ 

13 means the period ending on the date 

14 recruiting or referring commences. 

15 ‘‘(II) In the case of hiring, the 

16 term ‘verification period’ means the 

17 period beginning on the date on which 

18 an offer of employment is extended 

19 and ending on the date that is 3 busi20 ness days after the date of hire, ex21 cept as provided in clause (iii). The 

22 offer of employment may be condi23 tioned in accordance with clause (ii). 

24 ‘‘(ii) JOB OFFER MAY BE CONDI25 TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 


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1 offer a prospective employee an employ2 ment position that is conditioned on final 

3 verification of the identity and employment 

4 eligibility of the employee using the proce5 dures established under this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwith7 standing clause (i)(II), in the case of an 

8 alien who is authorized for employment 

9 and who provides evidence from the Social 

10 Security Administration that the alien has 

11 applied for a social security account num12 ber, the verification period ends three busi13 ness days after the alien receives the social 

14 security account number. 

15 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

16 LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

18 subparagraph (B), a person or entity shall 

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

20 using the verification system to seek 

21 reverification of the identity and employment 

22 eligibility of all individuals with a limited period 

23 of work authorization employed by the person 

24 or entity during the 3 business days before the 


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1 date on which the employee’s work authoriza2 tion expires as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) With respect to employers having 

4 10,000 or more employees in the United 

5 States on the date of the enactment of the 

6 Legal Workforce Act, beginning on the 

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)), or an 

10 employee recruited or referred by a farm labor 

11 contractor (as defined in section 3 of the Mi12 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec13 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1801)), subparagraph (A) 

14 shall not apply with respect to the reverification 

15 of the employee until the date that is 36 

16 months after the date of the enactment of the 

17 Legal Workforce Act. An employee described in 

18 this subparagraph shall not be counted for pur19 poses of subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(C) REVERIFICATION.—Paragraph 

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

22 to this paragraph on the same basis as it ap23 plies to verifications pursuant to paragraph (1), 

24 except that employers shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab2 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

3 purposes of this paragraph; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro5 film, or electronic version of the form and 

6 make it available for inspection by officers 

7 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

8 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re9 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

10 Department of Labor during the period be11 ginning on the date the reverification com12 mences and ending on the date that is the 

13 later of 3 years after the date of such 

14 reverification or 1 year after the date the 

15 individual’s employment is terminated. 

16 ‘‘(3) PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER18 TAIN EMPLOYEES.— 

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

20 date that is 6 months after the date of the 

21 enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, an 

22 employer shall make an inquiry, as pro23 vided in subsection (d), using the 

24 verification system to seek verification of 

25 the identity and employment eligibility of 


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1 any individual described in clause (ii) em2 ployed by the employer whose employment 

3 eligibility has not been verified under the 

4 E-Verify Program described in section 

5 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

6 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note). 

8 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An 

9 individual described in this clause is any of 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(I) An employee of any unit of 

12 a Federal, State, or local government. 

13 ‘‘(II) An employee who requires a 

14 Federal security clearance working in 

15 a Federal, State or local government 

16 building, a military base, a nuclear 

17 energy site, a weapons site, or an air18 port or other facility that requires 

19 workers to carry a Transportation 

20 Worker Identification Credential 

21 (TWIC). 

22 ‘‘(III) An employee assigned to 

23 perform work in the United States 

24 under a Federal contract, except that 

25 this subclause— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) is not applicable to in2 dividuals who have a clearance 

3 under Homeland Security Presi4 dential Directive 12 (HSPD 12 

5 clearance), are administrative or 

6 overhead personnel, or are work7 ing solely on contracts that pro8 vide Commercial Off The Shelf 

9 goods or services as set forth by 

10 the Federal Acquisition Regu11 latory Council, unless they are 

12 subject to verification under sub13 clause (II); and 

14 ‘‘(bb) only applies to con15 tracts over the simple acquisition 

16 threshold as defined in section 

17 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations. 

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 income is 

12 being reported as well as sufficient infor13 mation notifying the employee of the proc14 ess to contact the Social Security Adminis15 tration Fraud Hotline if the employee be16 lieves the employee’s identity may have 

17 been stolen. The notice shall not share in18 formation protected as private, in order to 

19 avoid any recipient of the notice from 

20 being in the position to further commit or 

21 begin committing 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 

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1 sioner, and indicates that the social secu2 rity account number was used without 

3 their knowledge, the Secretary and the 

4 Commissioner shall lock the social security 

5 account number for employment eligibility 

6 verification purposes and shall notify the 

7 employers of the individuals who wrong8 fully submitted the social security account 

9 number that the employee may not be 

10 work eligible. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Each employer receiving such 

12 notification of an incorrect social security 

13 account number under clause (ii) shall use 

14 the verification system described in sub15 section (d) to check the work eligibility sta16 tus of the applicable employee within 10 

17 business days of receipt of the notification. 

18 ‘‘(C) ON A MANDATORY BASIS FOR CER19 TAIN MISMATCHED WAGE AND TAX STATE20 MENTS.— 

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

22 employer who is required by this sub23 section to use the verification system de24 scribed in subsection (d), or has elected 

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1 ceives a notice described in clause (ii) iden2 tifying an individual employee, the em3 ployer shall, not later than 30 calendar 

4 days after receipt of such notice, use the 

5 verification system described in subsection 

6 (d) to verify the employment eligibility of 

7 the employee in accordance with the in8 structions in such notice if the individual is 

9 still on the payroll of the employer. 

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

11 Social Security shall issue a notice to an 

12 employer submitting one or more mis13 matched wage and tax statements or cor14 rected wage and tax statements containing 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(I) A description of the mis17 matched information. 

18 ‘‘(II) An explanation of the steps 

19 that the employer is required to take 

20 to correct the mismatched informa21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(III) An explanation of the em23 ployment eligibility verification re24 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— 


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1 ‘‘(i) use a form designated or estab2 lished by the Secretary by regulation for 

3 purposes of this paragraph; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) retain a paper, microfiche, micro5 film, or electronic version of the form and 

6 make it available for inspection by officers 

7 of the Department of Homeland Security, 

8 the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re9 lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 

10 Department of Labor during the period be11 ginning on the date the verification com12 mences and ending on the date that is the 

13 later of 3 years after the date of such 

14 verification or 1 year after the date the in15 dividual’s employment is terminated. 

16 ‘‘(4) EARLY COMPLIANCE.— 

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

18 INCLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Notwith19 standing the deadlines in paragraphs (1) and 

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

21 the Legal Workforce Act, the Secretary is au22 thorized to commence requiring employers re23 quired to participate in the E–Verify Program 

24 described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immi25 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 


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

2 employers required to participate in such pro3 gram by reason of Federal acquisition laws 

4 (and regulations promulgated under those laws, 

5 including the Federal Acquisition Regulation), 

6 to commence compliance with the requirements 

7 of this subsection (and any additional require8 ments of such Federal acquisition laws and reg9 ulation) in lieu of any requirement to partici10 pate in the E-Verify Program. 

11 ‘‘(B) FORMER E-VERIFY VOLUNTARY

12 USERS AND OTHERS DESIRING EARLY COMPLI13 ANCE.—Notwithstanding the deadlines in para14 graphs (1) and (2), beginning on the date of 

15 the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, the 

16 Secretary shall provide for the voluntary com17 pliance with the requirements of this subsection 

18 by employers voluntarily electing to participate 

19 in the E–Verify Program described in section 

20 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

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

22 1324a note) before such date, as well as by 

23 other employers seeking voluntary early compli24 ance. 


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1 ‘‘(5) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER2 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

3 law, the person or entity may copy a document pre4 sented by an individual pursuant to this subsection 

5 and may retain the copy, but only (except as other6 wise permitted under law) for the purpose of com7 plying with the requirements of this subsection. 

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

9 designated or established by the Secretary of Home10 land Security under this subsection and any infor11 mation contained in or appended to such form, may 

12 not be used for purposes other than for enforcement 

13 of this Act and any other provision of Federal crimi14 nal law. 

15 ‘‘(7) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

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

17 provided in this subsection, a person or entity 

18 is considered to have complied with a require19 ment of this subsection notwithstanding a tech20 nical or procedural failure to meet such require21 ment if there was a good faith attempt to com22 ply with the requirement. 

23 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT

24 AFTER NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

25 apply if— 


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

2 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu3 rity has explained to the person or entity 

4 the basis for the failure and why it is not 

5 de minimus; 

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

7 provided a period of not less than 30 cal8 endar days (beginning after the date of the 

9 explanation) within which to correct the 

10 failure; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor12 rected the failure voluntarily within such 

13 period. 

14 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC15 TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

16 apply to a person or entity that has or is engag17 ing in a pattern or practice of violations of sub18 section (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2). 

19 ‘‘(8) SINGLE EXTENSION OF DEADLINES UPON

20 CERTIFICATION.—In a case in which the Secretary 

21 of Homeland Security has certified to the Congress 

22 that the employment eligibility verification system 

23 required under subsection (d) will not be fully oper24 ational by the date that is 6 months after the date 

25 of the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, each 


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1 deadline established under this section for an em2 ployer to make an inquiry using such system shall 

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

4 a deadline shall be made.’’. 

5 (b) DATE OF HIRE.—Section 274A(h) of the Immi6 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

10 date of actual commencement of employment for 

11 wages or other remuneration, unless otherwise speci12 fied.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

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

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

16 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS17 TEM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Patterned on the employ19 ment eligibility confirmation system established 

20 under section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

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

22 1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 shall establish and administer a verification system 

24 through which the Secretary (or a designee of the 


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1 Secretary, which may be a nongovernmental enti2 ty)— 

3 ‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by per4 sons at any time through a toll-free telephone 

5 line and other toll-free electronic media con6 cerning an individual’s identity and whether the 

7 individual is authorized to be employed; and 

8 ‘‘(B) maintains records of the inquiries 

9 that were made, of verifications provided (or 

10 not provided), and of the codes provided to in11 quirers as evidence of their compliance with 

12 their obligations under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The verification sys14 tem shall provide confirmation or a tentative non15 confirmation of an individual’s identity and employ16 ment eligibility within 3 working days of the initial 

17 inquiry. If providing confirmation or tentative non18 confirmation, the verification system shall provide an 

19 appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 

20 such nonconfirmation. 

21 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY CONFIRMATION PROCESS IN

22 CASE OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.—In cases 

23 of tentative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 

24 specify, in consultation with the Commissioner of 

25 Social Security, an available secondary verification 


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1 process to confirm the validity of information pro2 vided and to provide a final confirmation or noncon3 firmation not later than 10 working days after the 

4 date on which the notice of the tentative noncon5 firmation is received by the employee. The Secretary, 

6 in consultation with the Commissioner, may extend 

7 this deadline on a case-by-case basis, and if the time 

8 is extended, shall document such extension within 

9 the verification system. When final confirmation or 

10 nonconfirmation is provided, the verification system 

11 shall provide an appropriate code indicating such 

12 confirmation or nonconfirmation. 

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

14 The verification system shall be designed and oper15 ated— 

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

17 use by persons and other entities consistent 

18 with insulating and protecting the privacy and 

19 security of the underlying information; 

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

21 such persons and entities on whether individ22 uals are authorized to be employed and to reg23 ister all times when such inquiries are not re24 ceived; 


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1 ‘‘(C) with appropriate administrative, tech2 nical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau3 thorized disclosure of personal information; 

4 ‘‘(D) to have reasonable safeguards against 

5 the system’s resulting in unlawful discrimina6 tory practices based on national origin or citi7 zenship status, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use 

9 of the system to verify eligibility; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the exclusion of certain individ11 uals from consideration for employment as 

12 a result of a perceived likelihood that addi13 tional verification will be required, beyond 

14 what is required for most job applicants; 

15 and 

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

17 the following individuals: 

18 ‘‘(i) Individuals hired, referred, or re19 cruited, in accordance with paragraph (1) 

20 or (4) of subsection (b). 

21 ‘‘(ii) Employees and prospective em22 ployees, in accordance with paragraph (1), 

23 (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Individuals seeking to confirm 

2 their own employment eligibility on a vol3 untary basis. 

4 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF

5 SOCIAL SECURITY.—As part of the verification sys6 tem, the Commissioner of Social Security, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

8 (and any designee of the Secretary selected to estab9 lish and administer the verification system), shall es10 tablish a reliable, secure method, which, within the 

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

12 compares the name and social security account num13 ber provided in an inquiry against such information 

14 maintained by the Commissioner in order to validate 

15 (or not validate) the information provided regarding 

16 an individual whose identity and employment eligi17 bility must be confirmed, the correspondence of the 

18 name and number, and whether the individual has 

19 presented a social security account number that is 

20 not valid for employment. The Commissioner shall 

21 not disclose or release social security information 

22 (other than such confirmation or nonconfirmation) 

23 under the verification system except as provided for 

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

25 Security Act. 


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1 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF

2 HOMELAND SECURITY.—As part of the verification 

3 system, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in con4 sultation with any designee of the Secretary selected 

5 to establish and administer the verification system), 

6 shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, with7 in the time periods specified under paragraphs (2) 

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

9 or authorization number (or any other information 

10 as determined relevant by the Secretary) which are 

11 provided in an inquiry against such information 

12 maintained or accessed by the Secretary in order to 

13 validate (or not validate) the information provided, 

14 the correspondence of the name and number, wheth15 er the alien is authorized to be employed in the 

16 United States, or to the extent that the Secretary 

17 determines to be feasible and appropriate, whether 

18 the records available to the Secretary verify the 

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

20 ‘‘(7) OFFENSES.— 

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

22 that, in making an inquiry under subsection 

23 (b)(1)(C)(i)(II), provides to the verification sys24 tem a social security account number or an 

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1 lished by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 that belongs to a person other than the indi3 vidual whose identity and employment author4 ization are being verified, knowing that the 

5 number does not belong to the individual whose 

6 identity and employment authorization are 

7 being verified, shall be fined under title 18, 

8 United States Code, imprisoned not less than 1 

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

10 the person or entity, in making an inquiry 

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

12 relation to any felony violation enumerated in 

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

14 Code, provides to the verification system a so15 cial security account number or an identifica16 tion or authorization number established by the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security that belongs to 

18 a person other than the individual whose iden19 tity and employment authorization are being 

20 verified, knowing that the number does not be21 long to the individual whose identity and work 

22 authorization are being verified, in addition to 

23 the punishment provided for such felony, shall 

24 be fined under title 18, United States Code, im25 prisoned for a term of 2 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSECUTIVE SENTENCE.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of law— 

3 ‘‘(i) a court shall not place on proba4 tion any person or entity convicted of a 

5 violation of this paragraph; 

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

7 no term of imprisonment imposed on a 

8 person or entity under this section shall 

9 run concurrently with any other term of 

10 imprisonment imposed on the person or en11 tity under any other provision of law, in12 cluding any term of imprisonment imposed 

13 for the felony enumerated in section 

14 1028A(c) of title 18, United States Code, 

15 during which the violation of this para16 graph occurred; 

17 ‘‘(iii) in determining any term of im18 prisonment to be imposed for the felony 

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

20 United States Code, during which the vio21 lation of this section occurred, a court 

22 shall not in any way reduce the term to be 

23 imposed for such crime so as to com24 pensate for, or otherwise take into account, 

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1 posed or to be imposed for a violation of 

2 this paragraph; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) a term of imprisonment imposed 

4 on a person or entity for a violation of this 

5 paragraph may, in the discretion of the 

6 court, run concurrently, in whole or in 

7 part, only with another term of imprison8 ment that is imposed by the court at the 

9 same time on that person or entity for an 

10 additional violation of this paragraph, ex11 cept that such discretion shall be exercised 

12 in accordance with any applicable guide13 lines and policy statements issued by the 

14 United States Sentencing Commission pur15 suant to section 994 of title 28, United 

16 States Code. 

17 ‘‘(8) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis18 sioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Home19 land Security shall update their information in a 

20 manner that promotes the maximum accuracy and 

21 shall provide a process for the prompt correction of 

22 erroneous information, including instances in which 

23 it is brought to their attention in the secondary 

24 verification process described in paragraph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(9) LIMITATION ON USE OF THE

2 VERIFICATION SYSTEM AND ANY RELATED SYS3 TEMS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION

5 CARD.—Nothing in this section shall be con6 strued to authorize, directly or indirectly, the 

7 issuance or use of national identification cards 

8 or the establishment of a national identification 

9 card. 

10 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

11 Secretary may authorize or direct any person or 

12 entity responsible for granting access to, pro13 tecting, securing, operating, administering, or 

14 regulating part of the critical infrastructure (as 

15 defined in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infra16 structure Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 

17 5195c(e))) to use the verification system to the 

18 extent the Secretary determines that such use 

19 will assist in the protection of the critical infra20 structure. 

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

22 the individual would not have been dismissed from 

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

24 the individual may seek compensation only through 

25 the mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and 


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1 injunctive relief to correct such error. No class ac2 tion may be brought under this paragraph.’’. 

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

4 EMPLOYMENT. 

5 (a) ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO RULES FOR RECRUIT6 MENT, REFERRAL, AND CONTINUATION OF EMPLOY7 MENT.—Section 274A(a) of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)) is amended— 

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

10 (2) in paragraph (1), by amending subpara11 graph (B) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) to hire, continue to employ, or to re13 cruit or refer for employment in the United 

14 States an individual without complying with the 

15 requirements of subsection (b).’’; 

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

17 an alien for employment in accordance with para18 graph (1),’’ and inserting ‘‘after complying with 

19 paragraph (1),’’; and 

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

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

22 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 274A(h) of the Immigra23 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)), as amended 

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

25 at the end the following: 


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

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

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

4 States or transmitting documentation or information 

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

6 obtaining employment in the United States for such 

7 person. Only persons or entities referring for remu8 neration (whether on a retainer or contingency 

9 basis) are included in the definition, except that 

10 union hiring halls that refer union members or non11 union individuals who pay union membership dues 

12 are included in the definition whether or not they re13 ceive remuneration, as are labor service entities or 

14 labor service agencies, whether public, private, for15 profit, or nonprofit, that refer, dispatch, or other16 wise facilitate the hiring of laborers for any period 

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

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

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

20 and referring the person to another with the intent 

21 of obtaining employment for that person. Only per22 sons or entities referring for remuneration (whether 

23 on a retainer or contingency basis) are included in 

24 the definition, except that union hiring halls that 

25 refer union members or nonunion individuals who 


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1 pay union membership dues are included in this defi2 nition whether or not they receive remuneration, as 

3 are labor service entities or labor service agencies, 

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

5 recruit, dispatch, or otherwise facilitate the hiring of 

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

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

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

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

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

11 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act inso12 far as such amendments relate to continuation of employ13 ment. 

14 SEC. 5. GOOD FAITH DEFENSE. 

15 Section 274A(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation16 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(3)) is amended to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(3) GOOD FAITH DEFENSE.— 

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

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

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

22 obligated to comply with this section) who es23 tablishes that it has complied in good faith with 

24 the requirements of subsection (b)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall not be liable to a job appli2 cant, an employee, the Federal Govern3 ment, or a State or local government, 

4 under Federal, State, or local criminal or 

5 civil law for any employment-related action 

6 taken with respect to a job applicant or 

7 employee in good-faith reliance on informa8 tion provided through the system estab9 lished under subsection (d); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) has established compliance with 

11 its obligations under subparagraphs (A) 

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

13 (b) absent a showing by the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security, by clear and con15 vincing evidence, that the employer had 

16 knowledge that an employee is an unau17 thorized alien. 

18 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO SEEK AND OBTAIN

19 VERIFICATION.—Subject to the effective dates 

20 and other deadlines applicable under subsection 

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

22 United States that hires, or continues to em23 ploy, an individual, or recruits or refers an indi24 vidual for employment, the following require25 ments apply: 


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1 ‘‘(i) FAILURE TO SEEK

2 VERIFICATION.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 

4 or entity has not made an inquiry, 

5 under the mechanism established 

6 under subsection (d) and in accord7 ance with the timeframes established 

8 under subsection (b), seeking 

9 verification of the identity and work 

10 eligibility of the individual, the de11 fense under subparagraph (A) shall 

12 not be considered to apply with re13 spect to any employment, except as 

14 provided in subclause (II). 

15 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAIL16 URE OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.— 

17 If such a person or entity in good 

18 faith attempts to make an inquiry in 

19 order to qualify for the defense under 

20 subparagraph (A) and the verification 

21 mechanism has registered that not all 

22 inquiries were responded to during the 

23 relevant time, the person or entity can 

24 make an inquiry until the end of the 

25 first subsequent working day in which 


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1 the verification mechanism registers 

2 no nonresponses and qualify for such 

3 defense. 

4 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO OBTAIN

5 VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity 

6 has made the inquiry described in clause 

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

8 verification of such identity and work eligi9 bility under such mechanism within the 

10 time period specified under subsection 

11 (d)(2) after the time the verification in12 quiry was received, the defense under sub13 paragraph (A) shall not be considered to 

14 apply with respect to any employment after 

15 the end of such time period.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. PREEMPTION. 

17 Section 274A(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(2)) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec21 tion preempt any State or local law, ordinance, pol22 icy, or rule, including any criminal or civil fine or 

23 penalty structure, insofar as they may now or here24 after relate to the hiring, continued employment, or 

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1 poses, of unauthorized aliens. A State, locality, mu2 nicipality, or political subdivision may exercise its 

3 authority over business licensing and similar laws as 

4 a penalty for failure to use the verification system 

5 described in subsection (d) to verify employment eli6 gibility when and as required under subsection (b).’’. 

7 SEC. 7. REPEAL. 

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

9 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

10 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1234a note) is repealed. 

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

12 law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of au13 thority, or any document of, or pertaining to, the Depart14 ment of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, or the 

15 Social Security Administration, to the employment eligi16 bility confirmation system established under section 404 

17 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon18 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is deemed to 

19 refer to the employment eligibility confirmation system es20 tablished under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and 

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

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

23 on the date that is 36 months after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. PENALTIES. 

2 Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (e)(1)— 

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

6 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec7 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Service’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘Department of Homeland Security’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (e)(4)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter be12 fore clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para13 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 

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

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

16 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $2,500 

17 and not more than $5,000’’; 

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

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

20 $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $5,000 

21 and not more than $10,000’’; 

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

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

24 $10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $10,000 

25 and not more than $25,000’’; and 


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

2 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’’; 

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) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

12 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

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

14 is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Se15 curity to be a repeat violator of paragraph 

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

17 of a crime under this section, such person or 

18 entity may be considered for debarment from 

19 the receipt of Federal contracts, grants, or co20 operative agreements in accordance with the de21 barment standards and pursuant to the debar22 ment procedures set forth in the Federal Acqui23 sition Regulation. 

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

25 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security or the Attorney General wishes to have 

2 a person or entity considered for debarment in 

3 accordance with this paragraph, and such an 

4 person or entity does not hold a Federal con5 tract, grant or cooperative agreement, the Sec6 retary or Attorney General shall refer the mat7 ter to the Administrator of General Services to 

8 determine whether to list the person or entity 

9 on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal 

10 Procurement, and if so, for what duration and 

11 under what scope. 

12 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE13 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 or the Attorney General wishes to have a per15 son or entity considered for debarment in ac16 cordance with this paragraph, and such person 

17 or entity holds a Federal contract, grant or co18 operative agreement, the Secretary or Attorney 

19 General shall advise all agencies or departments 

20 holding a contract, grant, or cooperative agree21 ment with the person or entity of the Govern22 ment’s interest in having the person or entity 

23 considered for debarment, and after soliciting 

24 and considering the views of all such agencies 

25 and departments, the Secretary or Attorney 


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1 General may refer the matter to any appro2 priate lead agency to determine whether to list 

3 the person or entity on the List of Parties Ex4 cluded from Federal Procurement, and if so, for 

5 what duration and under what scope. 

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

7 person or entity in accordance with this para8 graph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 

9 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

10 ‘‘(12) OFFICE FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN11 MENT COMPLAINTS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security shall establish an office— 

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

14 agencies may submit information indicating po15 tential violations of subsection (a), (b), or 

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

17 of law enforcement or the normal course of 

18 other official activities in the State or locality; 

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

20 complaining State or local agency within 5 busi21 ness days of the filing of such a complaint by 

22 identifying whether the Secretary will further 

23 investigate the information provided; 

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

25 complaints filed by State or local government 


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1 agencies that, on their face, have a substantial 

2 probability of validity; 

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

5 any such investigation conducted; and 

6 ‘‘(E) that is required to report to the Con7 gress annually the number of complaints re8 ceived under this paragraph, the States and lo9 calities that filed such complaints, and the reso10 lution of the complaints investigated by the Sec11 retary.’’; and 

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

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti15 ty which engages in a pattern or practice of viola16 tions of subsection (a) (1) or (2) shall be fined not 

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

18 respect to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned 

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

20 years, or both, notwithstanding the provisions of any 

21 other Federal law relating to fine levels.’’. 

22 SEC. 9. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA23 TION PROGRAMS. 

24 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for 

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


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1 Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security shall enter into and maintain an 

3 agreement which shall— 

4 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

5 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

6 under section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Na7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by 

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

9 to)— 

10 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

11 technological equipment and systems necessary 

12 for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the 

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

14 only that portion of such costs that are attrib15 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

16 (B) responding to individuals who contest 

17 a tentative nonconfirmation provided by the em18 ployment eligibility verification system estab19 lished under such section; 

20 (2) provide such funds annually in advance of 

21 the applicable quarter based on estimating method22 ology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec23 retary (except in such instances where the delayed 

24 enactment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

25 such quarterly payments); and 


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1 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili2 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro3 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed 

4 by the Inspectors General of the Social Security Ad5 ministration and the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity. 

7 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

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

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

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

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

12 agreement between the Commissioner and the Secretary 

13 of Homeland Security providing for funding to cover the 

14 costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner under 

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

16 (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) shall be deemed in effect on an in17 terim basis for such fiscal year until such time as an 

18 agreement required under subsection (a) is subsequently 

19 reached, except that the terms of such interim agreement 

20 shall be modified by the Director of the Office of Manage21 ment and Budget to adjust for inflation and any increase 

22 or decrease in the volume of requests under the employ23 ment eligibility verification system. In any case in which 

24 an interim agreement applies for any fiscal year under this 

25 subsection, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not 


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1 later than October 1 of such fiscal year, notify the Com2 mittee on Ways and Means, the Committee on the Judici3 ary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

4 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance, the 

5 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Ap6 propriations of the Senate of the failure to reach the 

7 agreement required under subsection (a) for such fiscal 

8 year. Until such time as the agreement required under 

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

10 Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not later than the 

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

12 year, notify such Committees of the status of negotiations 

13 between the Commissioner and the Secretary in order to 

14 reach such an agreement. 

15 SEC. 10. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

16 (a) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT

17 NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con18 sultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall 

19 establish a program in which social security account num20 bers that have been identified to be subject to unusual 

21 multiple use in the employment eligibility verification sys22 tem established under section 274A(d) of the Immigration 

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

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

25 determined to have been compromised by identity fraud 


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

2 purposes unless the individual using such number is able 

3 to establish, through secure and fair additional security 

4 procedures, that the individual is the legitimate holder of 

5 the number. 

6 (b) ALLOWING SUSPENSION OF USE OF CERTAIN SO7 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—The Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commis9 sioner of Social Security, shall establish a program which 

10 shall provide a reliable, secure method by which victims 

11 of identity fraud and other individuals may suspend or 

12 limit the use of their social security account number or 

13 other identifying information for purposes of the employ14 ment eligibility verification system established under sec15 tion 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

17 The Secretary may implement the program on a limited 

18 pilot program basis before making it fully available to all 

19 individuals. 

20 SEC. 11. BIOMETRIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY 

21 VERIFICATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

22 Not later than 48 months after the date of the enact23 ment of the Legal Workforce Act, the Secretary of Home24 land Security, after consultation with the Commissioner 

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1 tute of Standards and Technology, shall establish by regu2 lation a Biometric Employment Eligibility Verification 

3 pilot program (the ‘‘Biometric Pilot’’). The purpose of the 

4 Biometric Pilot shall be to provide for identity authentica5 tion and employment eligibility verification with respect to 

6 enrolled new employees which shall be available to subject 

7 employers who elect to participate in the Biometric Pilot. 

8 Any subject employer may cancel the employer’s participa9 tion in the Biometric Pilot after one year after electing 

10 to participate without prejudice to future participation. 

Æ 


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