279 
the United States, the Secretary shall per-
mit the employer to correct such paper-
work error within 30 days of receiving no-
tice from the Secretary of such violation. 
‘‘(C) 
OTHER
PENALTIES.—Notwith-
standing subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Sec-
retary may impose additional penalties for vio-
lations, including cease and desist orders, spe-
cially designed compliance plans to prevent fur-
ther violations, suspended fines to take effect in 
the event of a further violation, and in appro-
priate cases, the civil penalty described in sub-
section (f)(2). 
‘‘(D) REDUCTION
OF
PENALTIES.—Not-
withstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), 
the Secretary is authorized to reduce or miti-
gate penalties imposed upon employers, based 
upon factors including the employer’s hiring 
volume, compliance history, good-faith imple-
mentation of a compliance program, participa-
tion in a temporary worker program, and vol-
untary disclosure of violations of this subsection 
to the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
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280 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employer adversely 
affected by a final determination may, within 
45 days after the date the final determination 
is issued, obtain judicial review of such deter-
mination. 
‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the STRIVE Act 
of 2007, the Director of the Federal Judicial 
Center shall submit to Congress a report on ju-
dicial review of a final determination. The re-
port shall contain recommendations on jurisdic-
tion and procedures that shall be instituted to 
seek adequate and timely review of such deci-
sion. 
‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS.—If an em-
ployer fails to comply with a final determination 
issued against that employer under this subsection, 
and the final determination is not subject to review 
as provided in paragraph (5), the Attorney General 
may file suit to enforce compliance with the final de-
termination, not earlier than 46 days and not later 
than 90 days, after the date the final determination 
is issued, in any appropriate district court of the 
United States. The burden shall remain on the em-
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281 
ployer to show that the final determination was not 
supported by a preponderance of the evidence. 
‘‘(7) RECOVERY
OF
COSTS
AND
ATTORNEYS’ 
FEES.—In any appeal brought under paragraph (5) 
or suit brought under paragraph (6), the employer 
shall be entitled to recover from the Secretary rea-
sonable costs and attorneys’ fees if such employer 
prevails on the merits of the case. The award of at-
torneys’ fees shall not exceed $50,000. Such amount 
shall be subject to annual inflation adjustments per 
the United States Consumer Price Index - All Urban 
Consumers (CPI-U) compiled by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics. Any costs and attorneys’ fees as-
sessed against the Secretary shall be charged against 
the operating expenses of the Department of Home-
land Security for the fiscal year in which the assess-
ment is made, and shall not be reimbursed from any 
other source. 
‘‘(e) CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND INJUNCTIONS FOR 
PATTERN OR PRACTICE VIOLATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CRIMINAL
PENALTY.—An employer that 
engages in a pattern or practice of knowing viola-
tions of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a) 
shall be fined not more than $20,000 for each unau-
thorized alien with respect to whom such a violation 
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282 
occurs, imprisoned for not more than 3 years for the 
entire pattern or practice, or both. 
‘‘(2) ENJOINING
OF
PATTERN
OR
PRACTICE 
VIOLATIONS.—If the Secretary or the Attorney Gen-
eral has reasonable cause to believe that an employer 
is engaged in a pattern or practice of employment in 
violation of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection 
(a), the Attorney General may bring a civil action in 
the appropriate district court of the United States 
requesting such relief, including a permanent or 
temporary injunction, restraining order, or other 
order against the employer, as the Secretary deems 
necessary. 
‘‘(f) ADJUSTMENT
FOR INFLATION.—All penalties 
and limitations on the recovery of costs and attorney’s fees 
in this section shall be increased every 4 years beginning 
January 2010 to reflect the percentage increase in the 
consumer price index for all urban consumers (all items; 
United States city average) for the 48 month period end-
ing with September of the year preceding the year such 
adjustment is made. Any adjustment under this subpara-
graph shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. 
‘‘(g) PROHIBITION OF INDEMNITY BONDS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It is unlawful for an em-
ployer, in the hiring of an individual, to require the 
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283 
individual to post a bond or security, to pay or agree 
to pay an amount, or otherwise to provide a finan-
cial guaranty or indemnity, against any potential li-
ability arising under this section relating to such hir-
ing of the individual. 
‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any employer which is 
determined, after notice and opportunity for mitiga-
tion of the monetary penalty under subsection (d), 
to have violated paragraph (1) shall be subject to a 
civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation and to an 
administrative order requiring the return of any 
amounts received in violation of such paragraph to 
the individual. 
‘‘(h) PROHIBITION
ON AWARD
OF GOVERNMENT 
CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) 
EMPLOYERS
WITH
NO
CONTRACTS, 
GRANTS, OR AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an employer who 
does not hold a Federal contract, grant, or co-
operative agreement is determined by the Sec-
retary to be a repeat violator of this section the 
employer shall be debarred from the receipt of 
a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative agree-
ment for a period of 5 years. The Secretary or 
the Attorney General shall advise the Adminis-
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284 
trator of General Services of such a debarment, 
and the Administrator of General Services shall 
list the employer on the List of Parties Ex-
cluded from Federal Procurement and Non-
procurement Programs for a period of 5 years. 
‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator of Gen-
eral Services, in consultation with the Secretary 
and the Attorney General, may waive operation 
of this subsection or may limit the duration or 
scope of the debarment. 
‘‘(2) EMPLOYERS
WITH
CONTRACTS, GRANTS, 
OR AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An employer who 
holds a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative 
agreement and is determined by the Secretary 
to be a repeat violator of this section or is con-
victed of a crime under this section, shall be 
debarred from the receipt of new Federal con-
tracts, grants, or cooperative agreements for a 
period of 5 years. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE TO AGENCIES.—Prior to de-
barring the employer under subparagraph (A), 
the Secretary, in cooperation with the Adminis-
trator of General Services, shall advise any 
agency or department holding a contract, grant, 
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285 
or cooperative agreement with the employer of 
the Government’s intention to debar the em-
ployer from the receipt of new Federal con-
tracts, grants, or cooperative agreements for a 
period of 5 years. 
‘‘(C) WAIVER.—After consideration of the 
views of any agency or department that holds 
a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement 
with the employer, the Secretary may, in lieu of 
debarring the employer from the receipt of new 
Federal contracts, grants, or cooperative agree-
ments for a period of 5 years, waive operation 
of this subsection, limit the duration or scope of 
the debarment, or may refer to an appropriate 
lead agency the decision of whether to debar the 
employer, for what duration, and under what 
scope in accordance with the procedures and 
standards prescribed by the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation. However, any proposed debarment 
predicated on an administrative determination 
of liability for civil penalty by the Secretary or 
the Attorney General shall not be reviewable in 
any debarment proceeding. 
‘‘(D) REVIEW.—The decision of whether to 
debar or take alternate action under this para-
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286 
graph shall be reviewable pursuant to section 9, 
Federal Acquisition Regulation. 
‘‘(3) SUSPENSION.—Indictments for violations 
of this section or adequate evidence of actions that 
could form the basis for debarment under this sub-
section shall be considered a cause for suspension 
under the procedures and standards for suspension 
prescribed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 
‘‘(4) REPEAT
VIOLATOR
DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘repeat violator’ means, with re-
spect to an employer, that the employer has violated 
paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), or (2) of subsection (a) 
more than 1 time and that such violations were dis-
covered as a result of more than 1 separate inves-
tigation of the employer. A violation of such para-
graph (1)(B) that is inadvertent and unrelated to a 
violation of subsection (a)(1)(A) and (a)(2) may not 
be considered to be a violation of such paragraph 
(1)(B) for the purposes of this paragraph. 
‘‘(i) MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 
‘‘(1) DOCUMENTATION.—In providing docu-
mentation or endorsement of authorization of aliens 
(other than aliens lawfully admitted for permanent 
residence) eligible to be employed in the United 
States, the Secretary shall provide that any limita-
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287 
tions with respect to the period or type of employ-
ment or employer shall be conspicuously stated on 
the documentation or endorsement. 
‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec-
tion preempt any State or local law from— 
‘‘(A) imposing civil or criminal sanctions 
upon employers who employ or otherwise do 
business with unauthorized aliens; 
‘‘(B) requiring, authorizing, or permitting 
the use of a federally mandated employment 
verification system for any other purpose other 
than the one mandated in Federal law, includ-
ing verifying status of renters, determining eli-
gibility for receipt of benefits, enrollment in 
school, obtaining or retaining a business license 
or other license provided by the unit of govern-
ment, or conducting a background check; and 
‘‘(C) requiring employers to use an em-
ployment verification system, unless otherwise 
mandated by Federal law, for purposes such 
as— 
‘‘(i) as a condition of receiving a gov-
ernment contract; 
‘‘(ii) as a condition of receiving a 
business license; or 
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‘‘(iii) as a penalty. 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ means 
any person or entity, including any entity of the 
Government of the United States, hiring an indi-
vidual for employment in the United States. 
‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTOR.—The term 
‘independent contractor’ includes a person who car-
ries on independent business, contracts to do a piece 
of work according to the person’s own means and 
methods, and are subject to control only as to re-
sults. Whether a person is an independent con-
tractor, regardless of any self-designation, will be de-
termined on a case-by-case basis. Factors to be con-
sidered in that determination include whether the 
person— 
‘‘(A) supplies the tools or materials; 
‘‘(B) makes services available to the gen-
eral public; 
‘‘(C) works for a number of clients at the 
same time; 
‘‘(D) has an opportunity for profit or loss 
as a result of labor or services provided; 
‘‘(E) invests in facilities to carry out the 
work; 
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‘‘(F) directs the order or sequence in which 
the work is to be done; and 
‘‘(G) determines the hours during which 
the work is to be done. 
‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided, the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. 
‘‘(4) UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN.—The term ‘unau-
thorized alien’ means, with respect to the employ-
ment of an alien at a particular time, that the alien 
is not at that time either— 
‘‘(A) an alien lawfully admitted for perma-
nent residence; or 
‘‘(B) authorized to be so employed by this 
Act or by the Secretary.’’. 
(b) ANTIFRAUD MEASURES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY 
CARDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(G) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(G)) is 
amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(G)’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘banknote paper’’ and in-
serting ‘‘durable plastic or similar material’’; 
and 
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290 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
clauses: 
‘‘(ii) Each social security card issued 
under this subparagraph shall include an 
encrypted 
machine-readable 
electronic 
identification strip which shall be unique to 
the individual to whom the card is issued. 
The Commissioner shall develop such elec-
tronic identification strip in consultation 
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
so as to enable employers to use such strip 
in accordance with section 274A(a)(1)(B) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1324a(a)(1)(B)) to obtain access to 
the Electronic Employment Verification 
System established by subsection (c) of 
this title. 
‘‘(iii) Each social security card issued 
under this subparagraph shall— 
‘‘(I) contain physical security fea-
tures designed to prevent tampering, 
counterfeiting, or duplication of the 
card for fraudulent purposes; 
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