95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB1744

 

Introduced 2/23/2007, by Rep. Cynthia Soto

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 55/12 new

    Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Provides that employers are prohibited from enrolling in any Employment Eligibility Verification System, including the Basic Pilot program, as authorized by federal law, until the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases are able to make a determination on 99% of the tentative nonconfirmation notices issued to employers within 3 days, unless otherwise required by federal law. Provides that an employer who enrolls in the Basic Pilot program is prohibited from the Employment Eligibility Verification Systems, to confirm the employment authorization of new hires unless the employer attests, under penalty of perjury, on a form prescribed by the Department of Labor, to certain specified information. Preempts the exercise of home rule powers. Provides that the Department of Human Rights shall establish a statewide advisory council to study the effects of Employment Eligibility Verification Systems, including the Basic Pilot program, on employers and employees in Illinois. Provides that the advisory council shall, 18 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act, submit a report to the Department of Human Rights and the Department of Labor.


LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1744 LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

1     AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is
5 amended by adding Section 12 as follows:
 
6     (820 ILCS 55/12 new)
7     Sec. 12. Restrictions on use of Employment Eligibility
8 Verification Systems.
9     (a) Employers are prohibited from enrolling in any
10 Employment Eligibility Verification System, including the
11 Basic Pilot program, as authorized by 8 U.S.C. 1324a, Notes,
12 Pilot Programs for Employment Eligibility Confirmation
13 (enacted by PL 104-208, div. C, title IV, subtitle A), until
14 the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of
15 Homeland Security (DHS) databases are able to make a
16 determination on 99% of the tentative nonconfirmation notices
17 issued to employers within 3 days, unless otherwise required by
18 federal law.
19     (b) An employer who enrolls in the Basic Pilot program is
20 prohibited from the Employment Eligibility Verification
21 Systems, to confirm the employment authorization of new hires
22 unless the employer attests, under penalty of perjury, on a
23 form prescribed by the Department of Labor:

 

 

HB1744 - 2 - LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

1         (1) that the employer has received the Basic Pilot
2     training materials from DHS, and that personnel who will
3     administer the program have completed the Basic Pilot
4     Computer Based Tutorial (CBT); and
5         (2) that the employer has posted the notice from DHS
6     indicating that the employer is enrolled in the Basic Pilot
7     program, the anti-discrimination notice issued by the
8     Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair
9     Employment Practices (OSC), Civil Rights Division, U.S.
10     Department of Justice, and the anti-discrimination notice
11     issued by the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR).
12     (c) Responsibilities of employer using Employment
13 Eligibility Verification Systems.
14         (1) The employer shall display the notices supplied by
15     DHS, OSC, and IDHR in a prominent place that is clearly
16     visible to prospective employees.
17         (2) The employer shall require that all employer
18     representatives performing employment verification queries
19     complete the CBT. The employer shall attest, under penalty
20     of perjury, on a form prescribed by the Department of
21     Labor, that the employer representatives completed the
22     CBT.
23         (3) The employer shall become familiar with and comply
24     with the Basic Pilot Manual.
25         (4) The employer shall notify all prospective
26     employees at the time of application that such employment

 

 

HB1744 - 3 - LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

1     verification system may be used for immigration
2     enforcement purposes.
3         (5) The employer shall provide all employees who
4     receive a tentative nonconfirmation with a referral letter
5     and instruct the employee how to resolve the discrepancy
6     with SSA, DHS, or the appropriate federal agency.
7         (6) The employer shall comply with the Illinois Human
8     Rights Act and any applicable federal anti-discrimination
9     laws.
10         (7) The employer shall use the information it receives
11     from SSA or DHS only to confirm the employment eligibility
12     of newly-hired employees after completion of the Form I-9.
13     The employer shall safeguard this information, and means of
14     access to it (such as passwords and other privacy
15     protections), to ensure that it is not used for any other
16     purpose and as necessary to protect its confidentiality,
17     including ensuring that it is not disseminated to any
18     person other than employees of the employer who need it to
19     perform the employer's responsibilities.
20     (d) Privacy requirement. It shall be unlawful for any
21 employer to collect and maintain data that is not required by
22 the Basic Pilot program.
23     (e) Preemption. No unit of local government, including a
24 home rule unit, may require any employer to use an Employment
25 Eligibility Verification System, including under the following
26 circumstances:

 

 

HB1744 - 4 - LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

1         (1) as a condition of receiving a government contract;
2         (2) as a condition of receiving a business license; or
3         (3) as penalty for violating licensing or other similar
4     laws.
5     This subsection (e) is a denial and limitation of home rule
6 powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
7 Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
8     (f) Advisory Council; report and audit.
9         (1) Formation and representation. The Department of
10     Human Rights shall establish a statewide advisory council,
11     as authorized by Section 7-107 of the Illinois Human Rights
12     Act, to study the effects of Employment Eligibility
13     Verification Systems, including the Basic Pilot program,
14     on employers and employees in Illinois. The council shall
15     be composed of representatives from the Department of Human
16     Rights and the Department of Labor as well as an equal
17     number of representatives from each of the following
18     constituencies: the business community; labor unions;
19     civil rights organizations; immigrant rights
20     organizations; and privacy rights organizations.
21         (2) Purpose of the advisory council. The advisory
22     council shall, 18 months after the effective date of this
23     amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, submit a
24     report to the Department of Human Rights and the Department
25     of Labor that includes the following: (a) an assessment of
26     the impact of the Basic Pilot program on the employment of

 

 

HB1744 - 5 - LRB095 03625 RLC 25185 b

1     unauthorized workers, including whether it has resulted in
2     an increase in exploitation of unauthorized workers; (b) an
3     assessment of the accuracy of the Basic Pilot program's
4     databases in approving employment-authorized individuals;
5     (c) an assessment of the timeliness of the Basic Pilot
6     program responses to employers; (d) an assessment of
7     whether the Basic Pilot program is being implemented in a
8     nondiscriminatory and non-retaliatory manner; (e) an
9     assessment of the privacy and confidentiality of the Basic
10     Pilot program and of its overall security with respect to
11     cyber-theft and theft or misuse of private data; and (f) an
12     assessment of the costs of the Basic Pilot program to
13     employers and employees.
14     (3) Appropriation of funds. The advisory council shall
15 receive technical and clerical assistance and reimbursement of
16 its actual expenses from the Department of Human Rights,
17 including sufficient funds to retain an independent researcher
18 or academic institution to carry out the assessments and
19 produce the report required by this Section.
 
20     Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
21 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.