Signed by Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Department of Labor and Employment to notify employers of the federal prohibition against the hiring of undocumented immigrants and the availability of the electronic verification program to verify the work eligibility status of new employees (e-verify program).

Highlights:

- Requires the department to include in the notification an explanation that the e-verify program is not 100 percent accurate and that any employee whose work eligibility is challenged by the program has recourse if the employee is legally documented to work in the United States [sec. 1 (2) (a) (II) (A)]. - Requires the department to inform employers that they can only use the e-verify program after an employee has been hired and not to verify the work eligibility of existing employees [sec. 1 (2) (a) (II) (B)]. - Requires the department to include in the notification an explanation that employers cannot refuse to hire, discharge, promote, demote, or discriminate against an individual on the basis of disability, race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, or age [sec. 1 (2) (a) (III)]. - Establishes the effective date of this act as August 6, 2008, assuming the General Assembly adjourns as scheduled on May 7, 2008, unless a referendum petition is filed against this Act, at which point the effective date, if it passes, will be on the date of the official declaration of the vote (Sec. 3). - Amendment No. 1, sponsored by the House Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs, supplemented the requirements that the notification include an explanation of the limitations to the e-verify program, and that the department must notify employers of when they can legally use the e-verify program. - Amendment No. 3, sponsored by Representative Kevin Lundberg, replaced the safety clause with an effective date.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Department of Labor and Employment to notify employers of the federal prohibition against the hiring of undocumented immigrants and the availability of the electronic verification program to verify the work eligibility status of new employees (e-verify program).

Full Bill Text