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Skriven 2007-05-30 23:31:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0705307) for Wed, 2007 May 30
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Fact Sheet: Holding Employers Accountable for the Workers They Hire
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary May 30, 2007

Fact Sheet: Holding Employers Accountable for the Workers They Hire

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Immigration

Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Has Strong New Safeguards Against Hiring
Illegal Workers

Three Key Points On The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill's Worksite
Enforcement Provisions
 1. To Meet Its Promise To Crack Down On The Hiring Of Illegal Workers, The
    Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Sets Up A Sophisticated Electronic
    Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) To Help Employers
    Verify The Status Of Workers They Hire.
 2. Employers Will Be Required To Verify The Work Eligibility Of All
    Employees Using EEVS, And All Workers Will Be Required To Present
    Stronger And More Readily Verifiable Identification Documents.
 3. The Bill Imposes Stiff New Criminal And Civil Penalties On Employers
    Who Hire Illegal Workers.

EEVS Will Help Honest Employers Follow The Law And Hold Employers Who Hire
Illegal Workers Accountable

Under The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill, A Reliable Employment
Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) Must Be Established And In Use
Before Any Temporary Worker Or Z Visas Are Issued.
  þ All U.S. Employers Will Be Required To Use EEVS To Verify Their
    Employees' Work Eligibility.
  þ EEVS Will Be Founded On Unprecedented Sharing Of Information Across
    Numerous Electronic Databases. These include:
      þ Social Security Administration records;
      þ State Department passport and visa records (including photographs);
      þ Birth and death records maintained by State vital statistics
        agencies; and
      þ State driver's license information.
  þ For The First Time, EEVS Will Allow Employers To Verify The
    Authenticity Of Documents By Providing Access To Identification
    Photographs In Government Databases.

EEVS Will Build Upon The Current Basic Pilot Model

Under The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill, All U.S. Employers Will Be
Required To Use EEVS To Verify Their Employees' Work Eligibility. Under the
current system, only a small percentage of U.S. employers participate in
Basic Pilot, the voluntary program established to help employers determine
the legal status of new hires. Under the bill, all U.S. employers will be
required to check new hires using EEVS after an initial 18-month phase-in.
Within three years, employers must use EEVS to verify the work eligibility
of all employees not previously verified through the system.

EEVS Will Require Workers To Present A Limited Range Of Secure
Government-Issued Or Government-Authorized IDs, Which Will Be Checked
Electronically Against Federal And State Databases. EEVS allows for only a
limited range of stronger and more readily verifiable identification
documents including:
  þ U.S. Passport issued by the State Department (for U.S. citizens only).
  þ Document issued by DHS or the State Department containing photo,
    biometrics, other such personal identifying info needed to ensure
    identity (for non-citizens).
  þ State-issued, REAL ID Act-compliant license presented along with a
    Social Security card.
  þ For a limited period before implementation of the REAL ID Act, a
    State-issued license with a photograph that can be verified by DHS,
    presented along with a birth certificate and Social Security card.

EEVS Will Allow Employers To Access Identification Photographs In
Government Databases To Verify The Authenticity Of Workers' Documents. In
addition to the checks against Social Security Administration (SSA) and
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases now performed under Basic
Pilot, EEVS will link to the U.S. Department of State and Departments of
Motor Vehicles in individuals States to confirm issuance of identity
documents and provide employers with the digital photograph associated with
these documents.

EEVS Will Also Have Audit Features To Flag Multiple Uses Of The Same Names
And Social Security Numbers As Well As Potential Misuse By Employers.

The Bill Will Increase Penalties For Employers Who Hire Illegal Workers

Employers Who Hire Illegal Workers Will Face Stiff New Criminal And Civil
Penalties.
  þ The maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of hiring
    illegal workers will increase 25-fold, from $3,000 per alien to $75,000
    per alien.
  þ The maximum civil fine for first offenders will rise from $2,000 to
    $5,000.
  þ The maximum civil fine for three-time offenders will jump from $10,000
    to $25,000.
  þ The bill imposes tougher legal standards on employers, making it easier
    to prosecute businesses that hire and continue to employ illegal
    aliens.

The Bill Will Help The Government And Business Community Work Together To
Uphold The Law

The Bill Will Provide Employers With The Tools They Need To Verify The
Status Of The Workers They Hire. The bill does not put the sole
responsibility for legal hiring practices on the private sector; rather,
the bill facilitates cooperation between employers and government officials
so honest employers can more easily follow the law and violators can be
held accountable for hiring illegal workers.

EEVS Will Function Quickly, Reliably, And Accurately. Under the current
Basic Pilot system, over 92 percent of workers checked by employers are
verified as eligible for employment within three seconds. Almost all others
are not eligible for work. DHS is working with SSA to increase the
percentage of employees quickly verified as eligible for employment by
incorporating additional data sources on immigrants and nonimmigrants into
the program and implementing a new capability to query by DHS card number.
This will reduce the number of DHS and SSA mismatches.

DHS Is Upgrading Basic Pilot System Capacity To Handle Use By All Employers
And Streamlining The Enrollment Process For Employers By Making It
Completely Electronic.

For Employees Not Immediately Confirmed Through EEVS, The Bill Provides A
Streamlined Process To Resolve The Situation. Employees must contest the
nonconfirmation within 10 business days, or it is considered final and the
employee must be terminated. Employees who contest the nonconfirmation will
work with the appropriate Federal or State agency to resolve the
discrepancy in the records. The bill anticipates discrepancies should be
resolved no more than 10 business days after the employee contests the
nonconfirmation, but this time is extended by the Secretary of Homeland
Security if the employee is taking all actions required to resolve the
problem.

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