82R25379 KSD-F
By: Chisum, Pena, Harless, Keffer, et al. H.B. No. 3252
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3252:
By: Harless C.S.H.B. No. 3252
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a prohibition against the knowing employment of
unauthorized foreign nationals and to a biennial report regarding
reported violations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to provide for the
execution of the policies of the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.), identify
employment practices that violate Sections 1324(a)(1) and (a)(2) of
that Act, and make available to this state the full productive
employment capacities of United States citizens, lawful permanent
residents, and employment-authorized foreign-born nationals in
this state.
SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 53. EMPLOYMENT OF UNAUTHORIZED FOREIGN NATIONALS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(2) "Employee" means an individual who is employed by
an employer for compensation.
(3) "Employer" means a person who:
(A) employs one or more employees; or
(B) acts directly or indirectly in the interests
of an employer in relation to an employee.
(4) "E-Verify program" means the electronic
verification of work 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 work authorization program designated by the United
States Department of Homeland Security or another federal agency
authorized to verify the work authorization status of newly hired
employees under the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986 (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(5) "Knowingly" means, with respect to employing,
recruiting, or referring an unauthorized foreign national, having
actual knowledge that a person is an unauthorized foreign national
or failing to perform a legal duty to determine the employment
eligibility status of an unauthorized foreign national.
(6) "Lawful resident alien" means a person who is
entitled to lawful residence in the United States under the federal
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(7) "Lawful resident verification information" means
the documentation required by the United States Department of
Homeland Security for completing the employment eligibility
verification form commonly referred to as the I-9. Documentation
that satisfies the requirements of the Form I-9 at the time of
employment is lawful resident verification information.
(8) "Unauthorized foreign national" means a person who
at the time of employment is neither 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.) nor authorized to be employed by that Act or the United States
attorney general.
Sec. 53.002. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules for
the administration of this chapter.
[Sections 53.003-53.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. PROHIBITION AGAINST KNOWING EMPLOYMENT OF
UNAUTHORIZED FOREIGN NATIONAL
Sec. 53.051. PROHIBITION AGAINST KNOWING EMPLOYMENT OF
UNAUTHORIZED FOREIGN NATIONAL. (a) An employer may not knowingly
employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, an
unauthorized foreign national.
(b) An employer has not violated Subsection (a) in regard to
a particular employee if:
(1) the employer, at least four calendar days after
the commencement of the employee's employment, requested from the
employee and received and documented in the employee's employment
record lawful resident verification information consistent with
employer requirements under the federal Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.); and
(2) the lawful resident verification information
provided by the employee later was determined to be false.
(c) An employer has not violated Subsection (a) in regard to
a particular employee if the employer verified the immigrant status
of the person at least four calendar days after the commencement of
the employee's employment through the E-Verify program.
[Sections 53.052-53.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. FILING COMPLAINTS
Sec. 53.101. FILING COMPLAINT. (a) A person who has reason
to believe that an employer has violated Section 53.051(a) may file
a complaint with the commission.
(b) A complaint must:
(1) be in writing on a form prescribed by the
commission; and
(2) be verified by the person making the complaint.
(c) A person may file a complaint under this section:
(1) in person at an office of the commission; or
(2) by mailing the complaint to an address designated
by the commission.
[Sections 53.102-53.150 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER D. BIENNIAL REPORT TO LEGISLATURE
Sec. 53.151. BIENNIAL REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. (a) Not later
than November 1 of each even-numbered year, the commission shall
prepare and submit to the governor and the legislature a written
report based on nonidentifiable, summary data compiled by the
commission from complaints filed under Subchapter C during the two
preceding state fiscal years.
(b) The report must include any relevant information and
analysis the commission determines would assist the legislature in
making informed decisions regarding the issue of illegal
immigration as it relates to employment in this state.
(c) The report may not include any information that could
reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a particular
employer or employee or of a person who files a complaint with the
commission under Subchapter C.
SECTION 3. Chapter 53, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.