E-Verify requirement advances in first House panel, but Senate hasn't acted
Florida Capitol (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix)
A House committee advanced along party lines Tuesday a bill requiring all employers to use an online system to verify that their new hires can legally work in the country.
The proposal, HB 955, from Seminole Republican Rep. Berny Jacques, would expand the use of E-Verify, the system that public agencies, their contractors, and companies with more than 25 employees must use to confirm their new hires are authorized to work.
Unlike the other two bills expanding E-Verify requirements, Jacques' proposal doesn't bring additional fines and penalties against employers hiring immigrants without work permits. However, HB 955 is the only E-Verify bill that has moved in the Florida Legislature this year.
'It's not a gotcha mission. It's to make sure we're compliant, and we wanna make sure that those who are in this country working are authorized to do so,' Jacques said during the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee meeting.
The sponsor, a Haitian immigrant, insisted his bill is not about immigrant workers.
'One of the things I want to highlight before I end my close is to not conflate immigrant workers with what we're talking about here,' Jacques said. 'Just because you're an immigrant doesn't mean you're not authorized to work.'
Some Democrats warn stricter E-Verify requirements could drive workforce away
Gov. Ron DeSantis gave an early nod of approval to HB 955 before the legislative session started. Still, the proposal drew criticism over its lack of additional penalties from Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo, who is sponsoring a dueling bill imposing tens of thousands of dollars in fines and loss of business licenses for companies hiring immigrants unauthorized to work in the country.
Spring Hill Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia also proposed a bill, SB 1498, that would add penalties for those employers and require all companies to use E-Verify.
More than 441,000 Florida companies have fewer than 20 employees, according to a 2023 report from the Office of Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration, meaning that they don't have to use E-Verify.
The Florida Department of Commerce can already fine employers $1,000 per day if they get caught not using E-Verify three times within two years. Companies hiring people unauthorized to work get placed on probation for a year.
Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said she was concerned about the national trend of branding immigrants without legal status as dangerous and criminals.
'Of course, we want every business to go through these proceedings and to ensure these are workers with visas and so forth, but we also know that the immigration system is dramatically broken,' Eskamani said.
'There are folks who have a visa, and then it expires, and the process to renew is very limited. And these are folks who are also paying taxes, they're contributing to our economy and, beyond an unregulated status, they're not dangerous.'
The bill has one more committee stop before reaching the House floor.
'We're going to fight and see it through to the very end, and the ball will be in the Senate's court as to what they want to do,' Jacques told Florida Phoenix.
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