MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Labor
By: Representative Lott, Weathersby, Rogers (61st), Jennings, Staples, Palazzo, Gunn, Hudson, Chism, Gregory, Rogers (14th), Akins, Vince, Nicholson, Moore, Reed, Turner, Aldridge
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION ACT; TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES AND THEIR EMPLOYERS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. TITLE. This act shall be known as the "Mississippi Employment Protection Act."
SECTION 2. EMPLOYEE VERIFICATION. Any newly hired employee shall present a valid social security number to the employer on the first day the employee is hired.
The employer shall verify such employee’s social security number using the federal Basic Employment Verification Pilot or another federal employee verification program that matches social security numbers with a person's name within three (3) business days of the employee’s first day of employment. The employer shall follow the guidelines set forth by the Memorandum of Understanding associated with the verification program as authorized by federal statute when using the Basic Employment Verification Pilot. If the employee's name and social security number do not match, the following procedure shall be followed:
(a) The employer shall notify the employee within five (5) working days of the nonmatch report and provide a letter of confirmation to the employee to be taken to the Social Security Administration in the event that the employee desires to contest the nonmatch report;
(b) If an employee desires to contest a nonmatch report, the employee shall notify the employer within five (5) working days of the employer's notification to the employee of the nonmatch and provide the letter of confirmation to the Social Security Administration within eight (8) days of notifying the employer;
(c) The employer shall contact the Social Security Administration on the tenth working day after the employee's notification of contest to verify whether the nonmatch report was confirmed;
(d) The employer shall not allow the employee to provide written verification and shall receive verification only from the Social Security Administration, once a nonmatch has occurred; and
(e) If the employee does not notify the employer that the nonmatch report will be contested, the employer shall dismiss the employee on the sixth day after notifying the employee of the nonmatch report.
SECTION 3. EMPLOYER LIABILITY. In accordance with federal law, no employer who uses the Basic Employment Verification Pilot program shall be civilly or criminally liable for any action taken in good faith on information provided through the confirmation system. In addition, any employer who uses the worker verification program and does not receive a nonmatch shall not be held responsible for the validity of the social security card presented by the employee upon employment, provided the employer is not directly involved in the creation of any false documents.
(a) The Mississippi Secretary of State;
(b) The Mississippi Tax Commission; or
(c) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
(2) Such employers shall be required to verify employee social security numbers as required by Section 1 of this act.
(3) Third party employers shall report any information required by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, including the name of any employer or company with whom the third party employer places workers, the number of workers, and the names and social security numbers of each worker placed.
(4) Any employer or company that uses a third party employer to secure workers shall report the name of the third party employer or company that sent such workers to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security within thirty (30) days of employing such workers.
(5) Any third party employer, contract employer, or leasing company that violates the provisions of this act shall be fined One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per employee by the state agency that such third party employer, contract employer, or leasing company registered with under the provisions of this act. The fines assessed to employers shall be retained by the agency bringing the charges of violations.
SECTION 5. STATE AGENCIES. Each state agency, department or political subdivision shall be required to use the Basic Employment Verification Pilot in the same manner as prescribed by this act. The agency shall be held liable for violations of its hiring personnel as provided in this act.
(a) For the first offense, One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per employee and double any previous fines per employee for each recurring offense, for second and subsequent offenses;
(b) Increase the employer’s tax rate to the maximum unemployment tax rate as prescribed in Sections 71-5-353 and 71-5-355, Mississippi Code of 1972;
(c) Cancellation of any state or public contract, resulting in ineligibility for any state or public contract for three (3) years;
(d) The loss of the employer’s license, permit, certificate, or other document(s) granting the right to do business in Mississippi for three (3) years; or
(e) A combination of one or more of the above penalties.
(2) Charges of violations of this act shall be brought by the Office of the Mississippi Secretary of State, the Mississippi State Tax Commission, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, or the Mississippi Office of the Attorney General.
(3) Employers may also be held responsible for any legal costs incurred by the entity bringing the charge against the employer. The fines assessed to employers shall be retained by the agency bringing the charges of violations.
SECTION 7. EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PROGRAM. (1) There is created an Office of Employer-Employee Relations Program within the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
(2) The duties of the Employer-Employee Relations Program shall be to:
(a) To assist companies and agencies in finding qualified United States citizens and qualified legal foreign workers as employees;
(b) To promulgate rules, regulations and policies to carry out the provisions of this act;
(c) To create education materials for employers and the community to assist in the enforcement of this act;
(d) To create any forms, including the employment letter of confirmation, necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and
(e) To provide other employer-employee related services.
(3) From and after the effective date of House Bill No. 237, 2007 Regular Session, the Employer-Employee Relations Program shall enforce the provisions of the Mississippi Working Person's Act.
SECTION 8. EXEMPTIONS. The provisions of this act shall not apply to:
(a) An employer who hires an employee through
a state or federal work program that requires verification of the employee’s social security number or verification of the employee’s United States legal status;
(b) An employer that performs a criminal background check for newly hired employees that required verification of the employee’s social security number; or
(c) An employer that has any other type of verification of the employee’s social security number through another legal process.
If the employer uses any of the three substitute verification methods described above, a record of this information must be sent to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security within thirty (30) days of hiring such employees.
SECTION 9. FEDERAL COMPLIANCE. Compliance with the sections of this statute shall not exempt the employer from regulations and requirements related to any federal laws or procedures related to employers.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force for from and after July 1, 2007, for all state agencies, departments, and political subdivisions, all employers who have contracts with the State of Mississippi, or with its departments, agencies, and political subdivisions, all third-party employers, job contractors, leasing companies or like employers of this state and any company or employer using a third-party employer, job contractor, or leasing company. This act shall take effect and be in force for from and after July 1, 2008, for all other employers who do business in Mississippi.