At least one bill that recently passed legislative muster may prompt Governor Herbert to call a special session of the Legislature before the bill’s July 1 implementation date. Herbert recently signed SB-251 (Verification of Employment Eligibility) into law only after receiving a commitment from the bill’s sponsor (Senator Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan) that he would work to amend the bill to clarify its intent.
SB-251 seeks to encourage private Utah employers who have 15 or more employees to use E-Verify or another federal screening program that verifies eligibility to work in the United States (Utah public employers are already required to use such programs when hiring contractors). Because the legislation does not provide any penalties for noncompliance, lawmakers debating the bill during the legislative session agreed that the de facto result was a voluntary program.
The bill passed easily through the legislature. However, Governor Herbert wavered over signing the bill as the Chamber of Commerce and minority business factions applied pressure. Herbert finally signed the legislation, but wants the voluntary nature of the bill spelled out to eliminate any ambiguity.
SB-251 was drafted to help protect Utahns from identity theft, especially the now rampant crime of stealing the identities of young children and selling them to those who enter the country illegally to look for work. By using the stolen names and Social Security numbers of children, thieves can perpetrate fraud that goes undetected for years — until the child is old enough to enter the workforce himself and discovers the devastating results of years of fraud. According the the Utah Attorney General’s office, there are approximately 15 million identity theft cases per year, resulting in $50 billion in fraud.
E-Verify is a quick, accurate, free service that employers can easily use to protect themselves, their employees and Utah citizens from fraud. It is a shame to see Governor Herbert working to weaken such protections for our state.
