Lowe E-Verify Bill Covers One-Employee Businesses And Their Hiring Staff

The text as introduced · 849 words

89R12130 RDS-D

By: Lowe
H.B. No. 3681

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring certain public and private employers in this

state to participate in the federal electronic verification of

employment authorization program, or E-verify, and notice

regarding certain persons whose eligibility to work in the United

States cannot be verified; creating a criminal offense.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 673, Government Code, is transferred to

Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, redesignated as Chapter 621,

Government Code, and amended to read as follows:

CHAPTER 621 [ 673 ]. VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

Sec. 621.001 [ 673.001 ]. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Department" means the Department of Public

Safety.

(2) "E-verify program" means the electronic

verification of employment authorization program of the federal

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

(Pub. L. No. 104-208, reprinted in note, 8 U.S.C. Section 1324a),

operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, or a

successor employment authorization program designated by the

United States Department of Homeland Security or other federal

agency authorized to verify the employment authorization status of

newly hired employees under the federal Immigration Reform and

Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).

(3) "Governmental entity" means a state agency or

political subdivision of this state.

(4) "Person not lawfully present" has the meaning

assigned by Section 53.001, Labor Code.

[ (2) "State agency" has the meaning assigned by

Section 659.101. ]

Sec. 621.002 [ 673.002 ]. VERIFICATION. A governmental

entity [ state agency ] shall register and participate in the

E-verify program to verify information of all new employees.

Sec. 621.003 [ 673.003 ]. RULES. The Texas Workforce

Commission shall adopt rules and prescribe forms to implement this

chapter.

Sec. 621.004. NOTICE. (a) A governmental entity that

receives notice from a federal agency authorized to operate the

E-verify program that the agency attempted but was not able to

verify that a person seeking employment with the entity is not a

person not lawfully present shall, not later than the fifth day

after the date of receiving the notice, forward the contents of the

notice to the department.

(b) On receipt of a notice forwarded by a governmental

entity under Subsection (a), the department shall determine whether

the person who is the subject of the notice may be a person not

lawfully present. If the department determines that the person may

be a person not lawfully present, the department shall notify the

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement of its

determination.

(c) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement

this section.

SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by

adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 53. EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT

Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Department" means the Department of Public

Safety.

(2) "Employee" means an individual who is employed by

an employer for compensation. The term includes an individual

employed on a part-time basis.

(3) "Employer" means a person, other than a

governmental entity, who:

(A) employs at least one employee; or

(B) acts directly or indirectly in the interests

of an employer in relation to an employee.

(4) "E-verify program" has the meaning assigned by

Section 673.001, Government Code.

(5) "Person not lawfully present" means a person who,

at the time of employment, is not:

(A) a citizen or national of the United States;

or

(B) an alien who is lawfully admitted for

permanent residence in the United States under the federal

Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.) or

authorized to be employed by that Act or by the United States

attorney general.

Sec. 53.002. VERIFICATION. An employer shall register and

participate in the E-verify program to verify information of all

new employees.

Sec. 53.003. NOTICE. (a) An employer that receives notice

from a federal agency authorized to operate the E-verify program

that the agency attempted but was not able to verify that a person

seeking employment with the employer is not a person not lawfully

present shall, not later than the fifth day after the date of

receiving the notice, forward the contents of the notice to the

department.

(b) On receipt of a notice forwarded by an employer under

Subsection (a), the department shall determine whether the person

who is the subject of the notice may be a person not lawfully

present. If the department determines that the person may be a

person not lawfully present, the department shall notify the United

States Immigration and Customs Enforcement of its determination.

(c) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement

this section.

Sec. 53.004. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) An employer commits an

offense if the employer violates this chapter.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(c) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section

that the employer classified the person not lawfully present as an

independent contractor if the person was not properly classified in

accordance with Chapter 201.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.