E-Verify Data Privacy and Wrongful Unemployment Act of 2023

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for improved data privacy in the operation of the employment verification system. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the E-Verify Data Privacy and Wrongful Unemployment Act of 2023 2. Data privacy Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1324a (D) Privacy of information (i) In general Any verification system established by this Section or Section 401 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ( 8 U.S.C. 1324a (I) protect the privacy and security of personal information and identifiers utilized in the system; and (II) not include data pertaining to— (aa) race; (bb) religious, political or philosophical beliefs; (cc) genetic data; (dd) biometric information; or (ee) health information or vaccination status. (ii) Inspector general report The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct an annual study, and publicly make available on its website a report thereon, determining if any verification system system established by this section or section 401 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ( 8 U.S.C. 1324a . 3. Correcting wrongful unemployment (a) Temporary employment on good faith basis If an employer reasonably believes that any verification system established by section 401 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ( 8 U.S.C. 1324a (b) Remedies If an individual alleges that the individual would not have been dismissed from a job or would have been hired for a job but for an error of any verification mechanism established by section 401 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ( 8 U.S.C. 1324a chapter 171

Summary: E-Verify Data Privacy and Wrongful Unemployment Act of 2023 This bill establishes certain privacy requirements for employment eligibility verification systems established under the immigration laws, including the E-Verify system. The bill also addresses issues relating to incorrect information in E-Verify. Under this bill, such a system may not include data about (1) race; (2) religious, political, or philosophical beliefs; (3) genetic data; (4) biometric information; or (5) health information, including vaccination status. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must annually report to Congress on whether such systems are complying with all applicable laws. The report must specify instances where such a system violated requirements to protect the privacy and security of personal information, including the requirements imposed by this bill. The bill also authorizes an employer to temporarily employ an individual even if E-Verify fails to confirm the individual's employment eligibility if the employer reasonably believes that the result is incorrect. Specifically, the employer (1) may hire the individual for up to 180 days, and (2) must immediately notify DHS of the supposed incorrect result. If DHS determines that the original result from E-Verify was correct, the employer must immediately terminate the individual's employment. If an individual claims to have lost a job or job offer due to an error in E-Verify, that individual may only sue for injunctive relief to correct the error and only through the Federal Tort Claims Act. Such a claim may not be brought as a class action.