One of the immigration priorities of Utah’s Republican supermajority is in question. The push to make sweeping changes to the requirements for Utah companies to verify the work status of their employees faced a rocky debut in committee.
As it stands now, if a company has more than 150 employees, they must use E-Verify to check on the status of their employees. The free online service is operated by the federal government and uses information like an employee's name, date of birth and social security number to confirm legal working status. HB214 would lower the threshold to five employees and open the door to criminal prosecution for anyone who uses fraudulent identification to obtain employment.
Sponsor Rep. Neil Walter said the current law is due for a revision because recent improvements to E-Verify have made it easier to use. He said one of his top priorities is to “make sure that we keep all of our Utah residents safe from identity theft.”
“This is a way that we can help protect our residents and also make sure that we're not imposing an undue burden on employers.”
Among Western states, only Arizona has a stricter E-Verify law, requiring all employers to participate.
The House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee held the bill after farm and construction representatives, as well as chambers of commerce testified against it. As industries that rely heavily on migrant labor, they questioned the impacts it would have on small businesses and the overall economy.
“While we support efforts to ensure lawful employment, this bill perpetuates a 35-year-old problem of failed policies,” said Utah Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy Terry Camp. “Current mandates force farms to accept documentation they cannot legally verify, exposing them to significant legal and financial risks.”
Agricultural industries like the state’s fruit growers, for example, have been very successful with temporary work programs, Camp said. But he thinks Walter’s bill would hit year-round operations like dairy farmers the hardest. He suggested other avenues like passing a resolution urging federal action on immigration reform as a better way of addressing the issue.
Speaking on behalf of the construction industry, attorney Robert Babcock said by his estimation, the majority of companies in the state have between five and 150 employees. He said there would be “significant impacts on the construction industry and many other industries that employ people who do not have proper documentation.”
“What this bill would do, if it's properly enforced, would drive those folks out of the workforce,” he said. “The governor says he wants to build 35,000 new homes. We're all for that in the construction industry. Well, if you knock off the knees of people doing the work, that's going to be a problem.”
Gov. Spencer Cox’s Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy Steve Waldrip has said potential deportations of workers without legal status could have a “negative impact on the production side” of housing. According to state data, roughly 10% of the state’s construction workforce could be here without legal status. Preventing them from finding work at all could have the same effect.
On the small business front, Salt Lake Chamber Vice President of Public Policy & Government Affairs Mary Catherine Perry said their concerns lie with employers “that are working every day just to survive with limited staff.”
“They may not have the time to potentially delay hiring decisions, or they may hire someone, and if they themselves or the employees are unable to resolve those discrepancies, they must be let go.”
Walter’s bill also faced bipartisan skepticism.
Republican Rep. Jim Dunnigan called it “one more burden” on small businesses and Democratic Rep. Hoang Nguyen expressed worry that it would “unintentionally decimate our economy.”
In response to the concerns, Walter said all of the views expressed by the public and the committee members were valid, but urged his fellow lawmakers to come to an agreement to move forward with the bill.
Since the bill was not voted on, it could come up in the session.
