One of the immigration priorities of Utah’s Republican supermajority is in question. The push to make sweeping changes to the requirements for Utah companies to verify the work status of their employees faced a rocky debut in committee.
As it stands now, if a company has more than 150 employees, they must use E-Verify to check on the status of their employees. The free online service is operated by the federal government and uses information like an employee's name, date of birth and social security number to confirm legal working status. HB214 would lower the threshold to five employees and open the door to criminal prosecution for anyone who uses fraudulent identification to obtain employment.
Sponsor Rep. Neil Walter said the current law is due for a revision because recent improvements to E-Verify have made it easier to use. He said one of his top priorities is to “make sure that we keep all of our Utah residents safe from identity theft.”
“This is a way that we can help protect our residents and also make sure that we're not imposing an undue burden on employers.”
Among Western states, only Arizona has a stricter E-Verify law, requiring all employers to participate.
The House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee held the bill after farm and construction representatives, as well as chambers of commerce testified against it. As industries that rely heavily on migrant labor, they questioned the impacts it would have on small businesses and the overall economy.
“While...
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