An Act To Ensure Fair Employment Opportunity for Maine Citizens and Legal Residents by Requiring the Use of the Federal Immigration Verification System
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1077
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: DeVEAU, CYRWAY, AUSTIN, FAULKINGHAM, HANINGTON, HANLEY, JOHANSEN, LOCKMAN, ORDWAY, STETKIS
Amends: 26 MRSA §871

Legislative Document
No. 1077
H.P. 800
House of Representatives, March 5, 2019
An Act To Ensure Fair Employment Opportunity for Maine 
Citizens and Legal Residents by Requiring the Use of the Federal 
Immigration Verification System
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DeVEAU of Caribou.
Cosponsored by Senator CYRWAY of Kennebec and
Representatives: AUSTIN of Gray, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, HANINGTON of 
Lincoln, HANLEY of Pittston, JOHANSEN of Monticello, LOCKMAN of Bradley, 
ORDWAY of Standish, STETKIS of Canaan.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §871, sub-§1-B is enacted to read:
1-B.  Verification required.  An employer shall register with and use the federal 
immigration verification system to determine the work eligibility status of new 
employees physically performing services in the State.
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §871, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 637, §2, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Penalty.  Violation of subsection 1 or 1-A is a Class E crime.  It is an affirmative 
defense to prosecution under subsection 1 that the employer, before employing a person 
or referring a person for employment, made a good faith inquiry as to whether that person 
was a United States citizen or an alien, and if the inquiry reasonably indicated that the 
person was an alien, the employer made a further good faith inquiry that reasonably 
indicated used the federal immigration verification system to verify that the alien was 
lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or that the United States 
Immigration and Naturalization Service had authorized the alien to accept employment in 
the United States.
A.  A good faith inquiry under this subsection must be in writing.  An employment 
application form that requests citizenship data, or an alien registration number if the 
applicant is an alien, meets the requirement of a good faith inquiry in writing.
B.  A social security account number card is not considered evidence of the United 
States Immigration and Naturalization Service's authorization for an alien to accept 
employment in the United States.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §871, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.  Definition.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
"federal immigration verification system" means the electronic verification of the work 
authorization program of the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996, 8 United States Code, Section 1324a, known as the E-Verify 
program, or an equivalent federal program designated by the United States Department of 
Homeland Security or other federal agency authorized to verify the work eligibility status 
of a newly hired employee pursuant to the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act 
of 1986.
SUMMARY
This bill requires an employer to register with and use the federal immigration 
verification system, currently known as the E-Verify program, to determine the work 
eligibility status of new employees physically performing services within the State.