(a) Except as otherwise required by federal law, a public or private employer, or a person acting on behalf of a public or private employer, shall not reverify the employment eligibility of a current employee at a time or in a manner not required by Section 1324a(b) of Title 8 of the United States Code.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an employer who violates subdivision (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The penalty shall be recoverable by the Labor Commissioner.
(2) The actions of an employer that violate subdivision (a) and result in a civil penalty under paragraph (1) shall not also form the basis for liability or penalty under Section 1019.1.
(c) Subdivision (a) shall be interpreted and applied consistent with federal law and regulations. This section does not prohibit an employer from doing any of the following:
(1) Reverifying an employees’ employment authorization in a time and manner consistent with Section 274a.2(b)(1)(vii) of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) Taking any lawful action to review the employment authorization of an employee upon knowing that the employee is, or has become, unauthorized to be employed in the United States, consistent with Section 1324a(a)(2) of Title 8 of the United States Code, including in response to specific and detailed information from any agency within the United States Department of Homeland Security indicating that an employee is not authorized to be employed in the United States.
(3) Reminding an employee, at least 90 days before the date reverification is required, that the employee will be required to present a document identified in List A or a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C, as required by the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form, showing continued employment authorization on the date that their current employment authorization will expire or on the date that their current documentation will expire, whichever date is sooner.
(4) Taking any lawful action to correct errors or omissions in a missing or incomplete I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form.
(d) In accordance with state and federal law, nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted, construed, or applied to restrict or limit an employer’s compliance with a memorandum of understanding governing the use of the federal E-Verify system.
(e) For purposes of this section, the term “knowing” is defined as set forth in Section 274a.1(l) of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations and as interpreted by applicable federal rules, regulations, and controlling federal case law. The term “knowing” includes not only actual knowledge, but also knowledge that may fairly be inferred through notice of certain facts and circumstances that would lead a person, through the exercise of reasonable care, to know about a certain condition. Constructive knowledge may be found under the circumstances described in Section 274a.1(l)(2) of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations and may not be inferred from an employee’s foreign appearance or accent.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 364, Sec. 10. (SB 112) Effective September 27, 2019.)