SB1515 EngrossedLRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b

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 and adding Section 13 as
6follows:
 
7    (820 ILCS 55/12)
8    Sec. 12. Use of Employment Eligibility Verification
9Systems.
10    (a) Prior to enrolling choosing to voluntarily enroll in
11any Electronic Employment Verification System, including the
12E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program, as authorized by
138 U.S.C. 1324a, Notes, Pilot Programs for Employment
14Eligibility Confirmation (enacted by P.L. 104-208, div. C,
15title IV, subtitle A), employers are urged to consult the
16Illinois Department of Labor's website for current information
17on the accuracy of E-Verify and to review and understand an
18employer's legal responsibilities relating to the use of the
19voluntary E-Verify program.
20    (a-1) The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) shall post
21on its website information or links to information from the
22United States Government Accountability Office, Westat, or a
23similar reliable source independent of the Department of

 

 

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1Homeland Security regarding: (1) the accuracy of the E-Verify
2databases; (2) the approximate financial burden and
3expenditure of time that use of E-Verify requires from
4employers; and (3) an overview of an employer's
5responsibilities under federal and state law relating to the
6use of E-Verify.
7    (b) Upon initial enrollment in an Employment Eligibility
8Verification System or within 30 days after the effective date
9of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, an
10employer enrolled in E-Verify or any other Employment
11Eligibility Verification System must attest, under penalty of
12perjury, on a form prescribed by the IDOL available on the IDOL
13website:
14        (1) that the employer has received the Basic Pilot or
15    E-Verify training materials from the Department of
16    Homeland Security (DHS), and that all employees who will
17    administer the program have completed the Basic Pilot or
18    E-Verify Computer Based Tutorial (CBT); and
19        (2) that the employer has posted the notice from DHS
20    indicating that the employer is enrolled in the Basic
21    Pilot or E-Verify program and the anti-discrimination
22    notice issued by the Office of Special Counsel for
23    Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC),
24    Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice in a
25    prominent place that is clearly visible to both
26    prospective and current employees. The employer must

 

 

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1    maintain the signed original of the attestation form
2    prescribed by the IDOL, as well as all CBT certificates of
3    completion and make them available for inspection or
4    copying by the IDOL at any reasonable time.
5    (c) It is a violation of this Act for an employer enrolled
6in an Employment Eligibility Verification System, including
7the E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program:
8        (1) to fail to display the notices supplied by DHS and
9    OSC in a prominent place that is clearly visible to both
10    prospective and current employees;
11        (2) to allow any employee to use an Employment
12    Eligibility Verification System prior to having completed
13    CBT;
14        (3) to fail to take reasonable steps to prevent an
15    employee from circumventing the requirement to complete
16    the CBT by assuming another employee's E-Verify or Basic
17    Pilot user identification or password;
18        (4) to use the Employment Eligibility Verification
19    System to verify the employment eligibility of job
20    applicants prior to hiring or to otherwise use the
21    Employment Eligibility Verification System to screen
22    individuals prior to hiring and prior to the completion of
23    a Form I-9;
24        (5) to terminate an employee or take any other adverse
25    employment action against an individual prior to receiving
26    a final nonconfirmation notice from the Social Security

 

 

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1    Administration or the Department of Homeland Security;
2        (6) to fail to notify an individual, in writing, of
3    the employer's receipt of a tentative nonconfirmation
4    notice, of the individual's right to contest the tentative
5    nonconfirmation notice, and of the contact information for
6    the relevant government agency or agencies that the
7    individual must contact to resolve the tentative
8    nonconfirmation notice;
9        (7) to fail to safeguard the information contained in
10    the Employment Eligibility Verification System, and the
11    means of access to the system (such as passwords and other
12    privacy protections). An employer shall ensure that the
13    System is not used for any purpose other than employment
14    verification of newly hired employees and shall ensure
15    that the information contained in the System and the means
16    of access to the System are not disseminated to any person
17    other than employees who need such information and access
18    to perform the employer's employment verification
19    responsibilities.
20    (c-1) Any claim that an employer refused to hire,
21segregated, or acted with respect to recruitment, hiring,
22promotion, renewal or employment, selection for training or
23apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms,
24privileges, or conditions of employment without following the
25procedures of the Employment Eligibility Verification System,
26including the Basic Pilot and E-Verify programs, may be

 

 

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1brought under paragraph (G)(2) of Section 2-102 of the
2Illinois Human Rights Act.
3    (c-2) It is a violation of this Section for an individual
4to falsely pose as an employer in order to enroll in an
5Employment Eligibility Verification System or for an employer
6to use an Employment Eligibility Verification System to access
7information regarding an individual who is not an employee of
8the employer.
9    (d) Preemption. Neither the State nor any of its political
10subdivisions, nor any unit of local government, including a
11home rule unit, may require any employer to use an Employment
12Eligibility Verification System, including under the following
13circumstances:
14        (1) as a condition of receiving a government contract;
15        (2) as a condition of receiving a business license; or
16        (3) as penalty for violating licensing or other
17    similar laws.
18    This subsection (d) is a denial and limitation of home
19rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
20Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
21(Source: P.A. 95-138, eff. 1-1-08; 96-623, eff. 1-1-10;
2296-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
 
23    (820 ILCS 55/13 new)
24    Sec. 13. Restrictions on the use of Employment Eligibility
25Verification Systems.

 

 

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1    (a) If an employer receives notification from the Social
2Security Administration of a discrepancy between an employee's
3name or social security number and the Social Security
4Administration's records, and the employer takes any adverse
5action against the employee, an employer must:
6        (1) provide the employee with:
7            (A) the specific document or documents that are
8        deemed to be deficient and the reason why the document
9        or documents are deemed to be deficient;
10            (B) instructions on how the employee can correct
11        the deficient documents;
12            (C) an explanation of the employee's right to have
13        representation present during the verification or
14        re-verification process; and
15            (D) an explanation of any other rights that the
16        employee may have in connection with the verification
17        or re-verification process; and
18        (2) grant the employee no less than 30 days of unpaid
19    leave to correct any verification discrepancy. If the
20    unpaid leave period has expired and the employee can
21    reasonably demonstrate an ability to remedy the
22    discrepancy, the employer and employee may agree to extend
23    the leave period for an additional 30 days. Only if no
24    agreement is reached or the additional 30 day period has
25    expired, can the employer terminate the employee's
26    employment.

 

 

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1    (b) When an employer receives notification from any
2federal or State agency, including, but not limited to, the
3Social Security Administration or Internal Revenue Service, of
4a discrepancy, the following rights and protections are
5granted to the employee:
6        (1) to choose which work authorization documents to
7    present to the employer during the verification or
8    re-verification process; and
9        (2) to choose to be represented by counsel or
10    represent his of herself in any meetings, discussions, or
11    proceedings with the employer.
12    (c) If an employer receives notification from any federal
13or State agency, including, but not limited to, the Social
14Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service, of a
15discrepancy and the discrepancy has been remedied, the
16employer must:
17        (1) return the employee to his or her former position,
18    without loss of seniority, compensation rate or salary, or
19    benefits; and
20        (2) not consider the discrepancy in future promotion
21    decisions or continued employment considerations.