Bill Text: IL SB1515 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes: Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Removes a provision prohibiting an employer from voluntarily enrolling in the E-Verify program or a similar Electronic Employment Verification System. Provides that specified requirements apply if an employer takes any adverse action against an employee. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2023-11-08 - Total Veto Stands [SB1515 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1515-Introduced.html

---

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1515 Introduced 2/7/2023, by Sen. Javier L. Cervantes SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
820 ILCS 55/12
820 ILCS 55/13 new
Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Provides that unless otherwise required by State or federal law, an employer shall not voluntarily enroll in the E-Verify program or a similar Electronic Employment Verification System. Provides that if an employer is required to participate in the E-Verify program or a similar Electronic Employment Verification System and receives notification from the Social Security Administration of a discrepancy between an employee's name or social security number and the Social Security Administration's records, an employer must provide the employee with specified information or grant the employee no less than 30 days of unpaid leave to correct any verification discrepancy. Provides for additional rights and protections granted to an employee following the notification from the Social Security Administration of a discrepancy. Makes corresponding changes.
LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
A BILL FOR
SB1515 LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is
amended by changing Section 12 and adding Section 13 as
follows:
(820 ILCS 55/12)
Sec. 12. Use of Employment Eligibility Verification
Systems.
(a) Prior to enrolling choosing to voluntarily enroll in
any Electronic Employment Verification System, including the
E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program, as authorized by
8 U.S.C. 1324a, Notes, Pilot Programs for Employment
Eligibility Confirmation (enacted by P.L. 104-208, div. C,
title IV, subtitle A), employers are urged to consult the
Illinois Department of Labor's website for current information
on the accuracy of E-Verify and to review and understand an
employer's legal responsibilities relating to the use of the
voluntary E-Verify program.
(a-1) The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) shall post
on its website information or links to information from the
United States Government Accountability Office, Westat, or a
similar reliable source independent of the Department of

SB1515 - 2 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
Homeland Security regarding: (1) the accuracy of the E-Verify
databases; (2) the approximate financial burden and
expenditure of time that use of E-Verify requires from
employers; and (3) an overview of an employer's
responsibilities under federal and state law relating to the
use of E-Verify.
(b) Upon initial enrollment in an Employment Eligibility
Verification System or within 30 days after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, an
employer enrolled in E-Verify or any other Employment
Eligibility Verification System must attest, under penalty of
perjury, on a form prescribed by the IDOL available on the IDOL
website:
(1) that the employer has received the Basic Pilot or
E-Verify training materials from the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), and that all employees who will
administer the program have completed the Basic Pilot or
E-Verify Computer Based Tutorial (CBT); and
(2) that the employer has posted the notice from DHS
indicating that the employer is enrolled in the Basic
Pilot or E-Verify program and the anti-discrimination
notice issued by the Office of Special Counsel for
Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC),
Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice in a
prominent place that is clearly visible to both
prospective and current employees. The employer must

SB1515 - 3 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
maintain the signed original of the attestation form
prescribed by the IDOL, as well as all CBT certificates of
completion and make them available for inspection or
copying by the IDOL at any reasonable time.
(c) It is a violation of this Act for an employer enrolled
in an Employment Eligibility Verification System, including
the E-Verify program and the Basic Pilot program:
(1) to fail to display the notices supplied by DHS and
OSC in a prominent place that is clearly visible to both
prospective and current employees;
(2) to allow any employee to use an Employment
Eligibility Verification System prior to having completed
CBT;
(3) to fail to take reasonable steps to prevent an
employee from circumventing the requirement to complete
the CBT by assuming another employee's E-Verify or Basic
Pilot user identification or password;
(4) to use the Employment Eligibility Verification
System to verify the employment eligibility of job
applicants prior to hiring or to otherwise use the
Employment Eligibility Verification System to screen
individuals prior to hiring and prior to the completion of
a Form I-9;
(5) to terminate an employee or take any other adverse
employment action against an individual prior to receiving
a final nonconfirmation notice from the Social Security

SB1515 - 4 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
Administration or the Department of Homeland Security;
(6) to fail to notify an individual, in writing, of
the employer's receipt of a tentative nonconfirmation
notice, of the individual's right to contest the tentative
nonconfirmation notice, and of the contact information for
the relevant government agency or agencies that the
individual must contact to resolve the tentative
nonconfirmation notice;
(7) to fail to safeguard the information contained in
the Employment Eligibility Verification System, and the
means of access to the system (such as passwords and other
privacy protections). An employer shall ensure that the
System is not used for any purpose other than employment
verification of newly hired employees and shall ensure
that the information contained in the System and the means
of access to the System are not disseminated to any person
other than employees who need such information and access
to perform the employer's employment verification
responsibilities.
(c-1) Any claim that an employer refused to hire,
segregated, or acted with respect to recruitment, hiring,
promotion, renewal or employment, selection for training or
apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms,
privileges, or conditions of employment without following the
procedures of the Employment Eligibility Verification System,
including the Basic Pilot and E-Verify programs, may be

SB1515 - 5 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
brought under paragraph (G)(2) of Section 2-102 of the
Illinois Human Rights Act.
(c-2) It is a violation of this Section for an individual
to falsely pose as an employer in order to enroll in an
Employment Eligibility Verification System or for an employer
to use an Employment Eligibility Verification System to access
information regarding an individual who is not an employee of
the employer.
(d) Preemption. Neither the State nor any of its political
subdivisions, nor any unit of local government, including a
home rule unit, may require any employer to use an Employment
Eligibility Verification System, including under the following
circumstances:
(1) as a condition of receiving a government contract;
(2) as a condition of receiving a business license; or
(3) as penalty for violating licensing or other
similar laws.
This subsection (d) is a denial and limitation of home
rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
(Source: P.A. 95-138, eff. 1-1-08; 96-623, eff. 1-1-10;
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
(820 ILCS 55/13 new)
Sec. 13. Restrictions on the use of Employment Eligibility
Verification Systems.

SB1515 - 6 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
(a) Unless otherwise required by State or federal law, an
employer shall not voluntarily enroll in the E-Verify program
or a similar Electronic Employment Verification System. If an
employer is required to participate in the E-Verify program or
a similar Electronic Employment Verification System, the
employer shall comply with subsections (b), (c), and (d) and
Section 12.
(b) If an employer receives notification from the Social
Security Administration of a discrepancy between an employee's
name or social security number and the Social Security
Administration's records, an employer must:
(1) provide the employee with:
(A) the specific document or documents that are
deemed to be deficient and the reason why the document
or documents are deemed to be deficient;
(B) instructions on how the employee can correct
the deficient documents;
(C) an explanation of the employee's right to have
representation present during the verification or
re-verification process; and
(D) an explanation of any other rights that the
employee may have in connection with the verification
or re-verification process; or
(2) grant the employee no less than 30 days of unpaid
leave to correct any verification discrepancy. If the
unpaid leave period has expired and the employee can

SB1515 - 7 - LRB103 27647 SPS 54023 b
reasonably demonstrate an ability to remedy the
discrepancy, the employer and employee may agree to extend
the leave period for an additional 30 days. Only if no
agreement is reached or the additional 30 day period has
expired, can the employer terminate the employee's
employment.
(c) When an employer receives notification from the Social
Security Administration of a discrepancy, the following rights
and protections are granted to the employee:
(1) to choose which work authorization documents to
present to the employer during the verification or
re-verification process; and
(2) to choose to be represented by counsel or
represent his of herself in any meetings, discussions, or
proceedings with the employer.
(d) If an employer receives notification from the Social
Security Administration of a discrepancy and the discrepancy
has been remedied, the employer must:
(1) return the employee to his or her former position,
without loss of seniority, compensation rate or salary, or
benefits; and
(2) not consider the discrepancy in future promotion
decisions or continued employment considerations.