Golden Gate University School of Law GGU Law Digital Commons California Assembly California Documents 12-8-1995 The edeF ral Government's Telephone Employment Verification System and California State Assembly Bill 507 Assembly Select Committee on Statewide Immigration Impact Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/caldocs_assembly Part of the Immigration Law Commons, and the Legislation Commons Recommended Citation Assembly Select Committee on Statewide Immigration Impact, "The eF deral Government's Telephone Employment Verification System and California State Assembly Bill 507" (1995). California Assembly. Paper 201. http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/caldocs_assembly/201 This Hearing is brought to you for free and open access by the California Documents at GGU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in California Assembly by an authorized administrator of GGU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. \-; Reply to: COMMITTEES: 0 STATE CAPITOL BUDGET P.O. BOX 942849 TRANSPORTATION \ SACRAMENTO, CA 94249-0001 J\ss£mhlll LOCAL GOVERNMENT Phone: (91 6) 445-0965 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY Fax: (916) 327-1203 AND TOXIC MATERIALS Reply to: Olnl ifnrnin Ifi£gislnture CHAIR: 0 DISTRICT OFFICE BUDGET SUB. 111 12009 EAST FIRESTONE BLVD. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES P.O. BOX408 WOMEN'S LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS NORWALK, CA 90650 ASSEMBLYWOMAN, FIFTY-EIGHTH DISTRICT SELECT COMMITTEE ON STATEWIDE IMMIGRATION IMPACT Phone: (310) 406·7322 Setvong 1he cities and communibes ol Los Nietos. t.Aonlebello, SELECT COMMITTEE ON Fax: (310) 406-7327 No<walk. Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Spnngs, South El t.Aon1e. South WMber, Whittier CALIFORNIA'S CHILDREN SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE AMERICAS SELECT COMMITTEE ON STATEWIDE IMMIGRATION IMP ~:, TEN!ATIVE HEARING AGENDA ~~; Fnday, December 8, 1995 '···c·:· 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. los Angeles State Building 1 07 South Broadway Auditorium, Room 1138 los Angeles, CA 90013 "THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S TELEPHONE EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION SYSTEM AND CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY BILL 507" I. WELCOME II. INTRODUCTIONS Ill. FEDERAL AGENCIES {30 minutes) Dick Rogers, District Director, Los Angeles, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service John Nahan, Director, SAVE, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Peter Spencer, Assistant Regional Commissioner, Social Security Administration IV. STATE AGENCIES {30 MINUTES) Jose Millan, Assistant State Labor Commissioner Jan Morikawa, Assistant Deputy Director, Employment Development Department Frank Ricchiazzi, Assistant Director, Department of Motor Vehicles V. EMPLOYERS (50 minutes) Charles Bonaparte, Owner, El Gallo Giro Robert Davis, President, St. John Knits Virginia Valadez, Human Resource Manager, GT Bicycles, Inc. Craig E. Gosselin, Vice President and General Counsel, Vans Stanley Kyker, Executive Vice President, California Restaurant Association 2 ~ Printed on Recycled Paper ' VI. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS (40 minutes) Allen Davenport, Service Employees International Union, AFL/CIO Alex Rooker, Communications Workers of America, Local 9400 Rudy Montalvo, Labor Representative, COPE Christina Vasquez, UNITE Steve Nutter, International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Luis Mag~na, California Farmworkers Organization VII. COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (40 minutes) Rick Oberlink, Executive Director, Californians For Population Stabilization Tom Saenz, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Ira Mehlman, Media Outreach Director, Federation for American Immigration Reform Charles Wheeler, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center VII. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Next steps of committee and call for legislative suggestions 3 R&;..tyto: COMMITTEES: 0 STATE CAPITOL BUDGET P.O. BOX 942849 TRANSPORTATION SACRAMENTO, CA 94249-0001 J\ssemhlv LOCAL GOVERNMENT Phone: (916)445-0965 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY Fax: (916)327-1203 AND TOXIC MATERIALS Reply to: C!Ial ifnrnia 1fiegislature CHAIR: 0 DISTRICT OFFICE BUDGET SUB. 111 12009 EAST FlRESTONE BLVD. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES P.O. BOX408 WOMEN'S LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS . NORWALK. CA 90650 ASSEMBLYWOMAN, FIFTY -EIGHTH DISTRICT SELECT COMMITTEE ON STATEWIDE IMMIGRATION IMPACT Phone: (310)406-7322 Setving .... cities and COI'IW1'0IIlibe ollos Nielos. Monlebello, SELECT COMMITTEE ON Fax:(310)406-7327 Norwalk. Pic:o Rivwa. Santa Fe Springs, South 8 Monte. South Whiaier, Whittier CAUFORNIA'S CHILDREN SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE AMERICAS SELECT COMMITTEE ON STATEWIDE IMMIGRATION IM HEARING: "The Federal Government's Telephone Employment Verification System and California State Assembly Bill 507'' Friday, DecemberS, 1995 9:00a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Los Angeles State Building 1 07 South Broadway Auditorium, Room 1138 Los Angeles, CA 90013 OPENING STATEMENT By Assemblymember Grace F. Napolitano The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has recently expanded its Telephone Verification System pilot project from one employer in California to more than 236 in Southern California. While the idea of a simple method of verifying employment eligibility may be appealing, there are many problems of grave concern to California with respect to a nationwide telephone employee verification system -- problems that must be resolved prior to expansion of the TVS (telephone verification system). Last year, I introduced AB 507 because it would represent the only measure that allows the State of California to test and develop criteria reflecting the concerns of the diverse ethnic communities of our state with regard to the employment of residents and non-residents alike. In addition, AB 507 would require that ALL employees have their eligibility be verified -- not just those who look and sound different. It would also impose controls protective of the rights of employers and employees alike, including civil and privacy rights. Currently, there is a push in Congress to expand the federal TVS program to a national verification system; but there is little discussion about California's needs. 4 Realistically, the federal government must address California's concerns about an employee verification program by answering the following questions: 1. Is it possible for both the INS and Social Security Administration to clean up their existing data bases, especially given the new increases in "breeder" document fraud? The first TVS pilot demonstrated that the INS database alone had serious problems, as evidenced by the need for a secondary verification for 28% of all verifications. It is vital that the data bases be completely cleansed prior to any such expansion. We must know more about which status are not likely to be reflected in the data base or if there are specific accuracy problems (double last names, spelling errors, etc.) and how to avoid "false negative" results prior to expansion. 2. Is it possible for the TVS system to achieve an error rate of 1 % or less? Currently, the error rates range from 15-20%. Even a 1% error rate will affect approximately 650,000 people annually because approximately 65 million people enter the work force each year. 3. Is the TVS system capable of being effective, reliable, protective of privacy and reducing discrimination? There should be baselines for measuring discrimination, especially in reference to secondary verifications. Because the manual secondary verification is so time-consuming and cumbersome for employers, it could lead to mass firing of employees, the avoidance of hiring those who "look foreign" in the first place, and attempts by employers to seek other means of verifying status of employees, such as calling the Border Patrol or other government agencies. 4. Will there be stiff penalties for misuse of the system? Misuse of the system should carry stiff penalties. Prescreening is a serious potential problem, as is unauthorized access to data and differential treatment between those who "look foreign" and others. Perhaps the biggest questions of all are these: 5. Is it likely that the system will reach the sectors of the economy which employ undocumented workers? Given the nature of the underground economy, this system is not likely to be used by unscrupulous employers who choose to unfairly compete. 5 ,, 6. If it is intended to be used merely as a tool of compliance for employers, how can we protect against discrimination and misuse of the system? It is my hope that these and other questions can be addressed at this hearing today. 6 P.SMBLYWN NAPOLITANO 9153271203 p. ·- ··~ DE~-08-1995 09:31 .. AMENPED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 1995 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 1995 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-1995-96 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL .... No. 507 ( Introduced by Assembly Members Horcher and Napolitano Napolitano, GampeeU, ftf:ltl Gallegos (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Campbell and Gallegos) Fel5ruary.I7, 1995 c An act to add and repeal Section 107 of the Labor Code, relating to employment. c LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL·s DIGEST AB 507, as amended, Horcher. Employment: employee residence status: verification program. Under existing law, the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service has established a Telephone Verification System pilot· program that provides a limited number of California employ~rs with automated telephone access to the federal Alien Status Verification Index, which c. contains information about the residency status of alien employees. " This bill would establish a 3-year pilot project, to be known as the California Employment Eligibility Authorization Telephone Verification System Ptlot Project within the Division