BILL REQ. #:  H-3972.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/31/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to maintaining voluntary use of electronic employment verification systems; and adding a new chapter to Title 49 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) An electronic employment verification system, originally known as the basic pilot program, enacted by P.L. 104-208 and renamed in 2007 as the e-verify program, was established as an experimental and temporary system available to employers on a voluntary basis;
     (b) A recent study by the United States government accountability office found that significant challenges remain for the e-verify program, including the persistence of erroneous tentative nonconfirmations, the risks of identity theft and employer fraud, the difficulties in correcting personal information, and the need for reliable cost estimates and sufficient resources;
     (c) Another recent study concluded that, if use of the e-verify program had been made mandatory for all employers in 2010, it would have cost businesses two billion seven hundred million dollars, two billion six hundred million dollars of which would have been borne by small businesses;
     (d) The costs, technological demands, and staff time required to use and implement the e-verify program come at a time when many employers are struggling and many workers remain unemployed;
     (e) The state must pursue all avenues in facilitating and incubating economic growth and job development;
     (f) It is too expensive to mandate the use of the e-verify program, especially in fragile economic times; and
     (g) Our state's diverse economy relies on increased certainty and stability for the present and future needs of our industries and workforce, and immigration reform by congress is critical to accomplish the needed certainty and stability.
     (2) For these reasons, the legislature intends that the state maintain the intent of federal law by ensuring that private employers retain the ability to choose whether to participate in an electronic employment verification program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Electronic employment verification system" means an employment verification system that allows employers to electronically verify workers' employment authorization with the federal government. The term "electronic employment verification system" includes the basic pilot program, enacted by P.L. 104-208 and renamed in 2007 as the e-verify program, and other pilot programs for electronic employment eligibility confirmation. The term "electronic employment verification system" does not include the I-9 employment eligibility verification form or any other employment eligibility systems that are required by federal law.
     (2) "Employer" means an employer other than the state, or a county, city, town, or other political subdivision thereof.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Except as required by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds, neither the state nor any county, city, town, or other political subdivision thereof shall require an employer to use an electronic employment verification system, including under the following circumstances:
     (1) As a condition of receiving a government contract;
     (2) As a condition of applying for or maintaining a business license; or
     (3) As a penalty for violating licensing or other similar laws.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Sections 1 through 3 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.