Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 664
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì569026/Î569026                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/13/2020           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Simmons) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 287.137, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         287.137Verification of work authorization status; public
    8  employers.—
    9         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   10         (a)“Contractor” means a person or an entity that has more
   11  than 10 employees and has entered into, or is attempting to
   12  enter into, a contract with a public employer to provide labor,
   13  supplies, or services to such employer.
   14         (b)“Employee” has the same meaning as provided in s.
   15  448.093.
   16         (c)“Employment verification system” has the same meaning
   17  as provided in s. 448.093.
   18         (d)“Public employer” means a department, an agency, or a
   19  political subdivision of this state which enters into, or
   20  attempts to enter into, a contract with a contractor for an
   21  amount that will, or is expected to, exceed the CATEGORY FOUR
   22  threshold amount provided in s. 287.017.
   23         (e)“Subcontractor” means a person or an entity that has
   24  more than 10 employees and provides labor, supplies, or services
   25  to or for a contractor or another subcontractor pursuant to a
   26  contract that will, or is expected to, exceed the CATEGORY THREE
   27  threshold amount provided in s. 287.017.
   28         (f)“Unauthorized alien” means a person who is not
   29  authorized under federal law to be employed in the United
   30  States, as described in 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a(h)(3). The term shall
   31  be interpreted consistently with that section and any applicable
   32  federal rules or regulations.
   33         (2) On or after July 1, 2022:
   34         (a)Every public employer, contractor, and subcontractor
   35  shall register with and use an employment verification system to
   36  verify the work authorization status of all new employees and
   37  identify whether an employee is an unauthorized alien.
   38         (b)A public employer or a contractor or subcontractor in
   39  this state may not enter into a contract under this section
   40  unless each party to the contract registers with and uses an
   41  employment verification system.
   42         Section 2. Section 448.093, Florida Statutes, is created to
   43  read:
   44         448.093 Definitions; use of employment verification system
   45  required for private employers; business licensing enforcement.—
   46         (1)DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   47         (a)“Agency” means an agency, a department, a board, or a
   48  commission of this state or a county, municipality, or town
   49  issuing a license to operate a business in this state.
   50         (b)“Department” means the Department of Economic
   51  Opportunity.
   52         (c)“Employee” means an individual whose work is performed
   53  under the direction and supervision of the employer and whose
   54  employer withholds tax pursuant to the Federal Insurance
   55  Contributions Act (FICA) or federal income tax from the
   56  individual’s compensation, or whose employer issues an Internal
   57  Revenue Service W-2 form, but not an Internal Revenue Service
   58  Form 1099, to an individual for purposes of documenting
   59  compensation. The term does not include a licensed independent
   60  contractor as defined in federal laws or regulations.
   61         (d)“Employer” means a person or an entity in this state
   62  which employs an employee. The term does not include:
   63         1.A government employer.
   64         2.The occupant or owner of a private residence who hires:
   65         a.Casual labor, as defined in s. 443.036, to be performed
   66  entirely within the private residence;
   67         b.A licensed independent contractor, as defined in federal
   68  laws or regulations, to perform a specified portion of labor or
   69  services; or
   70         c. An agricultural employer, which includes any person who
   71  owns or operates a farm, ranch, processing establishment,
   72  cannery, gin, packing shed, or nursery, or who produces or
   73  conditions seed, and who either recruits, solicits, hires,
   74  employs, furnishes, or transports any migrant or seasonal
   75  agricultural worker. This sub-subparagraph is repealed 90 days
   76  after the effective date of any federal law, rule, regulation,
   77  or program that authorizes this state or a federal agency to
   78  grant temporary legal status to an unauthorized alien who can
   79  demonstrate that he or she has performed agricultural work in
   80  the United States for not fewer than 575 hours or 100 work days
   81  during a 2-year period and has maintained a continuous presence
   82  in the United States, except for brief absences, during that
   83  period.
   84         3.An employee leasing company licensed pursuant to part XI
   85  of chapter 468 which enters into a written agreement or
   86  understanding with a client company which places the primary
   87  obligation for compliance with this section upon the client
   88  company. In the absence of a written agreement or understanding,
   89  the term includes an employee leasing company.
   90         (e)Employment verification system” means:
   91         1.An Internet-based system operated by the United States
   92  Department of Homeland Security which allows participating
   93  employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of
   94  newly hired employees; or
   95         2. A substantially equivalent electronic employment
   96  verification system that is permissible under department rule.
   97         (f)“Knowingly employ an unauthorized alien” has the same
   98  meaning as in 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a. The term shall be interpreted
   99  consistently with 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a and any applicable federal
  100  rules or regulations.
  101         (g)“License” means a franchise, a permit, a certificate,
  102  an approval, a registration, a charter, or any similar form of
  103  authorization required by state law and issued by an agency for
  104  the purpose of operating a business in this state. The term
  105  includes, but is not limited to:
  106         1.An article of incorporation.
  107         2.A certificate of partnership, partnership registration,
  108  or article of organization.
  109         3.A grant of authority issued pursuant to state or federal
  110  law.
  111         4.A transaction privilege tax license.
  112         (h)“Unauthorized alien” means a person who is not
  113  authorized under federal law to be employed in the United
  114  States, as described in 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a(h)(3). The term shall
  115  be interpreted consistently with that section and any applicable
  116  federal rules or regulations.
  117         (2)VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY; FINE FOR
  118  VIOLATION; SUSPENSION OF BUSINESS LICENSE.—
  119         (a)An employer shall, after making an offer of employment
  120  which has been accepted by a person, use an employment
  121  verification system to verify such person’s employment
  122  eligibility. Verification must occur within the period
  123  stipulated by applicable federal rules or regulations. However,
  124  an employer is not required to verify the employment eligibility
  125  of a continuing employee hired before the date of the employer’s
  126  registration with an employment verification system.
  127         (b) The requirement to use an employment verification
  128  system shall be phased in as follows:
  129         1. Employers having at least 500 employees must use an
  130  employment verification system beginning January 1, 2021.
  131         2. Employers having at least 250 employees must use an
  132  employment verification system beginning July 1, 2021.
  133         3. Employers having at least 150 employees must use an
  134  employment verification system beginning January 1, 2022.
  135         4. Employers having more than 10 employees must use an
  136  employment verification system 90 days after the effective date
  137  of any federal law, rule, regulation, or program that authorizes
  138  this state to issue a work permit, whether temporary or
  139  permanent, to a qualifying undocumented alien.
  140         (c)If an employer does not register with an employment
  141  verification system, the department may impose a fine of up to
  142  $500 on the employer, who must then register with an employment
  143  verification system and provide an affidavit of stating such
  144  fact to the department within 30 days. If the employer does not
  145  register with and provide the required affidavit within 30 days
  146  after the imposition of the fine becomes final, the department
  147  must order the appropriate agency to suspend all applicable
  148  licenses held by the employer until the employer registers with
  149  an employment verification system and provides the department
  150  with the required affidavit.
  151         (3)EMPLOYMENT OF UNAUTHORIZED ALIENS; IMMUNITY.—
  152         (a)1.An employer registered with and using an employment
  153  verification system may not be held civilly liable in a cause of
  154  action for the employer’s:
  155         a.Hiring of an unauthorized alien if the information
  156  obtained from the employment verification system indicated that
  157  the person’s work authorization status was not that of an
  158  unauthorized alien; or
  159         b.Refusal to hire a person if the information obtained
  160  from the employment verification system indicated that the
  161  person’s work authorization status was that of an unauthorized
  162  alien.
  163         2.An employer who in good faith registers with and uses an
  164  employment verification system is considered to have complied
  165  with the requirements of 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a(b) and may not be
  166  held liable for any damages and is immune from any legal cause
  167  of action brought by any person or entity, including former
  168  employees, for the use of and reliance upon any incorrect
  169  information obtained from the employment verification system,
  170  including any incorrect information obtained as a result of an
  171  isolated, sporadic, or accidental technical or procedural
  172  failure, when determining final action on a person’s work
  173  authorization status.
  174         (b)For purposes of this subsection, compliance with
  175  subsection (2) creates a rebuttable presumption that an employer
  176  did not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien in violation of
  177  s. 448.09.
  178         (4)RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules to define
  179  an employment verification system, if any, that is substantially
  180  equivalent to or more effective than the E-Verify system with
  181  respect to identifying unauthorized aliens and those persons
  182  eligible to work in the United States. The rules must identify
  183  the types of databases, methodologies, and evidence of identity
  184  and employment eligibility that qualify an employment
  185  verification system as substantially equivalent to or more
  186  effective than the E-Verify system.
  187         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
  188  
  189  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  190  And the title is amended as follows:
  191         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  192  and insert:
  193                        A bill to be entitled                      
  194         An act relating to the verification of employment
  195         eligibility; creating s. 287.137, F.S.; defining
  196         terms; requiring public employers and certain
  197         contractors and subcontractors to register with and
  198         use an employment verification system by a specified
  199         date; prohibiting public employers, contractors, and
  200         subcontractors from entering into a contract unless
  201         each party to the contract registers with and uses an
  202         employment verification system; creating s. 448.093,
  203         F.S.; defining terms; requiring employers who meet
  204         specified criteria to register with and use an
  205         employment verification system to verify the
  206         employment eligibility of new employees; prescribing
  207         an implementation schedule for the employment
  208         verification requirement; authorizing the imposition
  209         of fines for violations of the act; requiring a
  210         violating employer to submit certain affidavits to the
  211         Department of Economic Opportunity; requiring the
  212         department to order the appropriate licensing agency
  213         to suspend an employer’s license under certain
  214         circumstances; providing civil immunity for an
  215         employer registered with and using an employment
  216         verification system; providing specified immunity and
  217         nonliability for an employer who complies in good
  218         faith with the requirements of the act; creating a
  219         rebuttable presumption for certain employers that the
  220         employer did not knowingly employ an unauthorized
  221         alien; requiring the department to define by rule
  222         employment verification systems substantially
  223         equivalent to the E-Verify system; providing
  224         requirements for such rules; providing an effective
  225         date.