HB1379 - Conference Report

SECTION 1. Title. This act shall be known as the "Mississippi Employment Protection Act."

SECTION 2. The provisions of this act shall be enforced without regard to race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.

SECTION 3. Definitions. For the purpose of this act only, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the content clearly states otherwise:

(a) The term "employee" means an individual who provides services or labor in the State of Mississippi for an employer for wages or other remuneration, but does not mean independent contractors or those engaged in casual domestic employment.

(b) The term "employer" means a person or entity, including an agent or anyone acting directly or indirectly in the interest thereof, who engages the services or labor of any employee to be performed in the State of Mississippi for wages or other remuneration. In the case of an independent contractor or contract labor or services, the term employer shall mean the independent contractor or contractor and not the person or entity using the contract labor.

(d) The term "department" means any one (1) of the following Mississippi agencies or departments: the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the Mississippi State Tax Commission, the Mississippi Secretary of State, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and the Mississippi Attorney General.

(e) The term "unauthorized alien" means the same as defined in 8 USCS Section 1324a(h)(3).

SECTION 4. Employment Verification. (1) Departments or agencies in Mississippi may interact and share necessary information required in this act to assist in the enforcement of this act.

(2) Within fifteen (15) working days after hiring a new employee, each newly hired employee in Mississippi shall present to the employer two (2) copies of a written affirmation of the employee's legal work status which shall include the employee's name, address, social security number, and date of birth. The employee shall be under the penalty of perjury for providing false information to the employer within the written affirmation. The employer shall retain one (1) copy for the term of employment of each employee and shall send the other copy to the Mississippi Department of Human Services as required by Section 43-19-46, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(3) Upon the request of the director, an employer shall submit documentation to the director that demonstrates that the employer is in compliance with the requirements of Section 4(2) of this act. The director or the director's designee may conduct random audits of employers in Mississippi to obtain the documentation required from the employer or the employee. When the director has reason to believe that an employer or an employee has not complied with the employment verification and examination requirements, the director shall make a request of the employer, through certified mail or in person, to submit the documentation.

The employer shall have five (5) working days after the date of receipt of the request to submit the required documentation to the director for review.

SECTION 5. Employer Liability. (1) Any employer that complies with the requirements of this act shall be held harmless, provided the employer is not directly involved in the creation of any false documents, and provided that the employer did not knowingly and willfully accept false documents from the employee.

(2) If an employer, knowingly or in reckless disregard, fails to submit the documentation required by this act, the employer shall be subject to the following penalties:

(a) A monetary fine as established in Section 43-19-46, Mississippi Code of 1972; or

(b) Loss of the employer's license to do business as an employer in Mississippi for up to one (1) year. The provisions of this paragraph shall not include personal or professional licenses; or

(c) A monetary fine as established in Section 43-19-46, Mississippi Code of 1972, and loss of the employer’s license to do business as an employer in Mississippi for up to one (1) year. The provisions of this paragraph shall not include personal or professional licenses; or

(d) If the employer is a contractor with the State of Mississippi, then the state agency or agencies with which the employer has formerly contracted shall cancel the current contract and shall debar the employer from receiving future state contracts for the period of one (1) year; or

(e) Any state or local government agency or agencies may withdraw any or all grants, tax incentives, tax exemptions and/or tax waivers for the period of one (1) year.

(3) An employer who is convicted of producing or using fraudulent documents for the purpose of assisting an unauthorized alien shall be guilty of a felony.

SECTION 6. Employee Liability. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person within the State of Mississippi to accept or perform employment for compensation, knowingly or in reckless disregard that the person is an unauthorized alien with respect to employment during the period which such unauthorized employment occurred. Any person who is convicted of violating this provision, shall be charged for a first violation with a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to one (1) year in the custody of the county jail. For a second violation, the charge shall be a felony.

(b) It shall be unlawful in Mississippi for any person to fraudulently use, produce, or submit documentation establishing work authorization. Any person who is convicted of violating this provision shall be guilty of a felony.

(c) For purposes of determining bail under this act it shall be a rebuttable presumption that a defendant who has entered and remains in the United States and Mississippi unlawfully is deemed a risk of flight for purposes of such bail determination.

SECTION 7. Coercion of involuntary servitude. (1) A person commits coercion of involuntary servitude if he or she coerces another person to perform labor or services by:

(a) Withholding or threatening to destroy documents relating to a person's immigration status; or

(b) Threatening to notify law enforcement officials that a person is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.

(2) A person may commit coercion of involuntary servitude regardless of whether the person provides compensation to the person who is coerced.

(3) Coercion of involuntary servitude shall be a felony, with penalty of no less than one (1) year and up to five (5) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

SECTION 8. Right to Appeal. Any person or entity that is penalized under this act shall have the right to appeal to the state agency bringing the charge and to the circuit court of competent jurisdiction.

SECTION 9. Enforcement. The agencies listed in Section 3(4) of this act shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this act and to bring charges for noncompliance against any employer or employee.

SECTION 10. Employer Exemptions. (1) The provisions of this act shall not apply to the following:

(a) Any employer who hires an employee through a state or federal work program that requires verification of the employee's social security number or provides for verification of the employee's lawful presence in the United States in an employment-authorized immigration status; or

(b) Any employer who uses any federal electronic verification of work authorization program or any equivalent work authorization program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security; or

(c) Any employer who verifies an employee's social security number or employment-authorized immigration status through the use of a criminal background check or any other lawful program.

(2) To qualify for exemption under this section, the employer must retain written or electronic proof of the employee's lawful presence in an employment-authorized immigration status for the duration of the employee's employment.

SECTION 11. Relationship to other laws. (1) Nothing in this act shall alter, suspend, limit, supersede, supplement or repeal the provisions of the Mississippi Anti-Human Trafficking Act, as codified in Sections 97-3-54 through 97-3-54.4, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(2) Nothing in this act shall alter, suspend, limit, supersede, supplement or repeal the provisions of Section 57-1-371 or 57-1-373, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 12. Federal Compliance. (1) 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.

(2) Any section of this act shall not be construed as an attempt to preempt federal law.

SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2007.


X (SIGNED)	(NOT SIGNED)
Harvey Moss	Ralph H. Doxey

(NOT SIGNED)	X (SIGNED)
Kelvin Buck	Richard White

X (SIGNED)	X (SIGNED)
Mike Lott	Terry W. Brown