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Federal Legislative Alerts

On May 1 we announced our May HR Voice Advocacy Program to encourage HR professionals to play a part in the Legislative Process. Here is your opportunity to participate in this program and become eligible for a fun incentive.

YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED!  On May 6, SHRM CEO Sue Meisinger will appear before the House Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Social Security to testify in support of H.R. 5515, "New Employee Verification Act" (NEVA).

This important bipartisan piece of legislation, sponsored by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and cosponsored by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) provides a comprehensive approach to electronic employment verification.  The SHRM-led HR Initiative for a Legal Workforce strongly supports NEVA, as it would replace the current ineffective federal government's employee verification process with a new electronic verification system. 

Many of you have previously written your Representative on this issue; but, now is the time for us to make a big push. Please contact your Member of Congress today and urge him or her to sign-up as a cosponsor H.R. 5515!

Background

HR professionals are responsible for verifying employment eligibility for all new hires within their organization. Existing work-site verification systems call for complex documentation and record maintenance, requiring employers to determine the authenticity of more than 25 different types of documents. Considerable resources are devoted to paperwork completion, auditing records and verifying employment eligibility. 

Employers may also elect to participate in an employment eligibility verification system, known as E-Verify. Participants in the program electronically verify employment authorization of new hires through Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases. Currently, only 52,000 out of 7 million U.S. employers participate in E-Verify, which is scheduled to expire in November 2008.

SHRM recognizes the critical need to improve the federal employment verification system, and endorses the creation of a secure, efficient and reliable electronic system that will help prevent unauthorized employment. However, the current verification system is an inherently subjective and ultimately insecure process, as fraudulent documents are easily acquired, allowing an unauthorized worker to obtain employment.

Finally, E-Verify relies on paper documentation.  The program’s accuracy is therefore undermined by fraudulent IDs, as it cannot verify the authenticity of the identity documents, only that a given name matches information in the SSA and DHS databases.

Legislation

Under H.R. 5515, the New Employee Verification Act, employers would use the state "new hire" reporting process, which is currently used for child support enforcement, to access the Electronic Employment Verification System. This would allow employers to confirm the work eligibility of U.S. citizens through the SSA database and that of non-citizens through the DHS database.

In addition, the bill also would create a voluntary biometrics option that employers could choose to use in the verification process. This system would include a standard background check and the collection of a "biometric" characteristic - such as a thumbprint - to secure an employee's identity and prevent the illegal use of a Social Security number, stolen or fraudulently-obtained drivers' license, or altered identification documents. Other key aspects include:

• Electronic Attestation - Allows the entire attestation requirements to be done electronically and eliminates the current Form I-9.

• New Hires - Applies only to employers’ newly hired employees and would not require employers to re-verify all existing employees as is required by other bills.

• Post Offer and Acceptance, Pre-Start - Allows employers to check the employee’s work eligibility through the electronic system beginning on the date of hire and ending on the third day after the employee has reported to work.

• Federal Law Preemption - Provides that federal immigration law preempts any state law with regard to employer fines for immigration-related issues or in requiring employers to verify identity or work authorization of employees.

• Employer Responsibility - Requires employers to be responsible only for the hiring decisions of their own employees, not those of their subcontractors.

SHRM’s Position

To ensure effective enforcement of immigration laws, SHRM believes the federal government must provide U.S. employers with a fast and reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States.

The current I-9 verification system and E-Verify are unreliable and susceptible to identity fraud. As a result, SHRM supports passage of H.R. 5515. SHRM believes NEVA will create an electronic verification process for an employer that is far more efficient and accurate than E-Verify. The legislation also will prevent identity fraud, a major problem in the employment verification process. 

Joining SHRM in supporting NEVA are the: American Council on International Personnel, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, the Food Marketing Institute, HR Policy Association, International Public Management Association for Human Resources, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Franchisee Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers.   

Action Needed 

Write or call your elected officials in Washington today!  Your legislators need to know your views on this important matter to ensure that effective electronic employment verification provisions are implemented that will help restore integrity to our immigration system.  To write your elected official using HRVoice, follow these steps:

Congressman Patrick Kennedy at      patrick.kennedy@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C.                  (202)-225-4911

Pawtucket, RI                          (401)-729-5600

Congressman James Langevin at       james.langevin@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C.                  (202) 225-2735

Warwick, RI                        (401) 732-9400

If you are a SHRM member you may write your elected official using HRVoice, follow these steps:

Please attach a message regarding RI SHRM’s position on the Statewide E-Verify Legislation, H. 7107 SUB A and S 2091 such as this:

Congressman, The RI House has passed statewide legislation, H. 7107 and the RI Senate will be hearing the companion bill S 2091 on Wednesday May 7th which would require employers to participate in the federal E-Verify Program and it provides for penalties for non compliance.  RI SHRM is opposed to immigration reform being regulated at the state level.  Immigration enforcement should be decided by the federal government and should not be legislated by the states.

1)       Log onto HR Voice by CLICKING HERE.

2)      Sign in using your member number and last name at the upper-right corner.

3)      Choose “Write your elected officials.” 

4)      Click on “Urge Your Representative to Cosponsor H.R. 5515, the New Employee Verification Act” under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues.”

 If you are not a SHRM member contact your elected official today, please feel free to adapt this sample letter:

 Sample letter to email your elected official

Dear Congressman __________________,

As your constituent, a human resource professional and one of more than 225,000 members of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), I am writing to encourage you to sign-on as a cosponsor of H.R. 5515, the "New Employment Verification Act" (NEVA), recently introduced by Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX).

NEVA would replace the federal government's current employer verification process with a new, entirely electronic verification system, named the "Electronic Employment Verification System (EEVS)."  Employers would be required to use the state "new hire" reporting process, which is currently used for child support enforcement, to access EEVS.  This would allow employers to confirm the work eligibility of U.S. citizens through the Social Security Administration database and that of non-citizens through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) database. 

In addition, the bill would also create a voluntary biometrics option that employers could choose to use in the verification process.  This system would include a standard background check and the collection of a "biometric" characteristic - such as a thumbprint - to secure an employee's identity and prevent the illegal use of a Social Security number, stolen or fraudulently-obtained drivers' license, or altered identification documents in the future. 

Other key NEVA provisions include:

* Allows the entire attestation requirements to be done electronically and eliminates the current Form I-9.

* Applies only to employer's newly hired employees and would not require employers to re-verify all existing employees as is required by other bills.

* Provides that federal immigration law preempts any state law in regard to employer fines or sanctions for immigration-related issues or in requiring employers to verify work status or identity for work authorization purposes.

* Requires employers to be responsible only for the hiring decisions of their own employees, not those of their subcontractors.

As an HR professional, I work with the current employment verification system on a daily basis. I believe the existing document-based employment eligibility verification system falls far short of serving our national interests, as employers cannot know for certain whether such documents are real or fake.  In addition, the voluntary electronic verification program known as "E-Verify" is vulnerable to the growing problem of identity theft.

H.R. 5515 embraces an employment verification system that HR professionals can trust; one that addresses the issue of identity theft and is built upon an electronic system that is currently in use and which works.  I urge you to contact Representative Sam Johnson's office today and sign-on as a cosponsor to H.R. 5515.

Congressman, The RI House has passed statewide legislation, H. 7107 and the RI Senate will be hearing the companion bill S 2091 on Wednesday May 7th which would require employers to participate in the federal E-Verify Program and it provides for penalties for non compliance.  RI SHRM is opposed to immigration reform being regulated at the state level.  Immigration enforcement should be decided by the federal government and should not be legislated by the states.

Best Regards,

Regards,

Name

Organization

Contact information

Rhode Island SHRM
May 1, 2008

As an HR professional, your voice provides a unique perspective that your member of Congress or state legislator may not have considered. By joining forces with other HR professionals, you directly affect the outcome of pending legislation and regulations. Your actions will ultimately benefit employers and employees all across the nation. RI SHRM strongly recommends that Human Resource professionals participate on the ground floor and take an opportunity to help shape public policy that impacts employers and employees and affects the HR profession. We encourage you to contact your state and federal representatives using HRVoice or calling, faxing, testifying, meeting with or writing your member of Congress or state legislator directly.

SHRM members are automatically enrolled in HRVoice. SHRM’s Government Affairs Office and SHRM RI periodically sends legislative alerts to its members on bills introduced in Congress and the RI General Assembly. Talking points and/or sample letters are available on SHRM’s http://www.shrm.org/government/hrvoice and the RI State Council’s website to serve as a guide for communicating with members of Congress.

To encourage you to participate in these Advocacy efforts we are offering a little incentive---If you send a letter (or participate in an advocacy effort) to a state legislator on bills currently proposed for RI or to your Federal legislator from May 1, 2008-May 31 2008 your name will be entered into a raffle drawing for several prizes that will be awarded by RI SHRM. You can be certain we will be sending out alerts in the month of May, so just watch for them. If you utilize HRVoice your name will automatically be enrolled in the drawing. If you contact your legislator directly, please send Cindy Butler, Director of Government Affairs at cbutler579@aol.com a copy of your communication and your name will be entered into the drawing. Thank you!

Raffle Gifts-Incentives!