97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB1879

 

Introduced , by Rep. Bill Mitchell - Adam Brown

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 55/12

    Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Requires every employer, after hiring an employee, to verify the employment eligibility of the employee through the E-Verify program. Provides that, in addition to any other requirement for an employer to receive a grant, loan, or performance-based incentive from any government entity, the employer shall register with and participate in the E-Verify program. Provides that before receiving the economic development incentive, the employer shall provide proof to the government entity that the employer is registered with and is participating in the E-Verify program. Provides that the State, its political subdivisions, and units of local government, including home rule units, shall require each employer to use an Employment Eligibility Verification System as a condition of receiving a government contract or a business license.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is
5amended by changing Section 12 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 55/12)
7    Sec. 12. Use of Employment Eligibility Verification
8Systems required.
9    (a) On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act
10of the 97th General Assembly, every employer, after hiring an
11employee, shall verify the employment eligibility of the
12employee through the E-Verify program. In addition to any other
13requirement for an employer to receive an economic development
14incentive from a government entity, the employer shall register
15with and participate in the E-Verify program. Before receiving
16the economic development incentive, the employer shall provide
17proof to the government entity that the employer is registered
18with and is participating in the E-Verify program. If the
19government entity determines that the employer is not complying
20with this subsection (a), the government entity shall notify
21the employer by certified mail of the government entity's
22determination of noncompliance and the employer's right to
23appeal the determination to the Department of Labor. On a final

 

 

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1determination of noncompliance by the Department of Labor or
2court, if the decision of the Department of Labor is appealed
3under the Administrative Review Law, the employer shall repay
4all moneys received as an economic development incentive to the
5government entity within 30 days of the final determination.
6For the purposes of this subsection (a):
7        "Economic development incentive" means any grant,
8    loan, or performance-based incentive from any government
9    entity that is awarded on or after the effective date of
10    this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.
11        "Employee" means a person who is employed by an
12    employer in consideration for direct or indirect monetary
13    wages or profits or a person who volunteers his or her
14    services for a non-profit entity.
15        "Employer" means a person, business, partnership,
16    association, or corporation, including the State, unit of
17    local government, or school district, trust, or non-profit
18    entity, that employs the services of one or more individual
19    persons.
20        "Government entity" means this State and any political
21    subdivision of this State, including a home rule unit.
22    Every 3 months the Department of Labor shall request from
23the United States Department of Homeland Security a list of
24employers from this State that are registered with the E-Verify
25program. On receipt of the list of employers, the Department of
26Labor shall make the list available on the Department's

 

 

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1website. Prior to choosing to voluntarily enroll in any
2Electronic Employment Verification System, including the
3E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program, as authorized by
48 U.S.C. 1324a, Notes, Pilot Programs for Employment
5Eligibility Confirmation (enacted by P.L. 104-208, div. C,
6title IV, subtitle A), employers are urged to consult the
7Illinois Department of Labor's website for current information
8on the accuracy of E-Verify and to review and understand an
9employer's legal responsibilities relating to the use of the
10voluntary E-Verify program.
11    (a-1) The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) shall post on
12its website information or links to information from the United
13States Government Accountability Office, Westat, or a similar
14reliable source independent of the Department of Homeland
15Security regarding: (1) the accuracy of the E-Verify databases;
16(2) the approximate financial burden and expenditure of time
17that use of E-Verify requires from employers; and (3) an
18overview of an employer's responsibilities under federal and
19state law relating to the use of E-Verify.
20    (b) Upon initial enrollment in an Employment Eligibility
21Verification System or within 30 days after the effective date
22of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, an
23employer enrolled in E-Verify or any other Employment
24Eligibility Verification System must attest, under penalty of
25perjury, on a form prescribed by the IDOL available on the IDOL
26website:

 

 

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1        (1) that the employer has received the Basic Pilot or
2    E-Verify training materials from the Department of
3    Homeland Security (DHS), and that all employees who will
4    administer the program have completed the Basic Pilot or
5    E-Verify Computer Based Tutorial (CBT); and
6        (2) that the employer has posted the notice from DHS
7    indicating that the employer is enrolled in the Basic Pilot
8    or E-Verify program and the anti-discrimination notice
9    issued by the Office of Special Counsel for
10    Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC),
11    Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice in a
12    prominent place that is clearly visible to both prospective
13    and current employees. The employer must maintain the
14    signed original of the attestation form prescribed by the
15    IDOL, as well as all CBT certificates of completion and
16    make them available for inspection or copying by the IDOL
17    at any reasonable time.
18    (c) It is a violation of this Act for an employer enrolled
19in an Employment Eligibility Verification System, including
20the E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program:
21        (1) to fail to display the notices supplied by DHS and
22    OSC in a prominent place that is clearly visible to both
23    prospective and current employees;
24        (2) to allow any employee to use an Employment
25    Eligibility Verification System prior to having completed
26    CBT;

 

 

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1        (3) to fail to take reasonable steps to prevent an
2    employee from circumventing the requirement to complete
3    the CBT by assuming another employee's E-Verify or Basic
4    Pilot user identification or password;
5        (4) to use the Employment Eligibility Verification
6    System to verify the employment eligibility of job
7    applicants prior to hiring or to otherwise use the
8    Employment Eligibility Verification System to screen
9    individuals prior to hiring and prior to the completion of
10    a Form I-9;
11        (5) to terminate an employee or take any other adverse
12    employment action against an individual prior to receiving
13    a final nonconfirmation notice from the Social Security
14    Administration or the Department of Homeland Security;
15        (6) to fail to notify an individual, in writing, of the
16    employer's receipt of a tentative nonconfirmation notice,
17    of the individual's right to contest the tentative
18    nonconfirmation notice, and of the contact information for
19    the relevant government agency or agencies that the
20    individual must contact to resolve the tentative
21    nonconfirmation notice;
22        (7) to fail to safeguard the information contained in
23    the Employment Eligibility Verification System, and the
24    means of access to the system (such as passwords and other
25    privacy protections). An employer shall ensure that the
26    System is not used for any purpose other than employment

 

 

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1    verification of newly hired employees and shall ensure that
2    the information contained in the System and the means of
3    access to the System are not disseminated to any person
4    other than employees who need such information and access
5    to perform the employer's employment verification
6    responsibilities.
7    (c-1) Any claim that an employer refused to hire,
8segregated, or acted with respect to recruitment, hiring,
9promotion, renewal or employment, selection for training or
10apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms,
11privileges, or conditions of employment without following the
12procedures of the Employment Eligibility Verification System,
13including the Basic Pilot and E-Verify programs, may be brought
14under paragraph (G)(2) of Section 2-102 of the Illinois Human
15Rights Act.
16    (c-2) It is a violation of this Section for an individual
17to falsely pose as an employer in order to enroll in an
18Employment Eligibility Verification System or for an employer
19to use an Employment Eligibility Verification System to access
20information regarding an individual who is not an employee of
21the employer.
22    (d) Preemption. The Neither the State, nor any of its
23political subdivisions, and units nor any unit of local
24government, including a home rule units unit, shall may require
25each any employer to use an Employment Eligibility Verification
26System, including under the following circumstances:

 

 

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1        (1) as a condition of receiving a government contract;
2    or
3        (2) as a condition of receiving a business license; or
4        (3) as penalty for violating licensing or other similar
5    laws.
6    This subsection (d) is a denial and limitation of home rule
7powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
8Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
9(Source: P.A. 95-138, eff. 1-1-08; 96-623, eff. 1-1-10;
1096-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)