Prohibits employers from using the federal electronic employment verification system to check the employment authorization status of an existing employee or an applicant who has not been offered employment and prohibits municipalities from requiring employers to use the federal electronic employment verification system.
This bill, titled the "Employee Privacy Act," would regulate how New York employers and municipalities may use the federal E-Verify employment authorization system. It would generally prohibit employers from using E-Verify, or any successor federal electronic verification system, to check the status of an existing employee or an applicant who has not yet been offered employment, while preserving use of the system for newly hired workers after an offer of employment, as allowed by federal law. The bill also requires employers enrolled in E-Verify to provide certain notices, complete and document training, safeguard access credentials and verification information, and follow federal procedures when a tentative nonconfirmation is received.
The bill further bars cities, towns, villages, and other municipal corporations from adopting local laws or resolutions that require employers to use E-Verify. It also amends the state human rights law to make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer participating in E-Verify to take adverse action or make employment decisions without following the program’s procedures. Violations could be enforced through the executive law’s anti-discrimination framework and would carry civil penalties of at least $10,000 per violation, with each unlawful use treated as a separate violation.
If enacted, the bill would add new Labor Law section 219-b, create General Municipal Law section 99-aa, and amend Executive Law section 296 to incorporate E-Verify-related employment protections into New York’s anti-discrimination law. It would limit employer use of the federal verification system to post-offer hiring checks and impose compliance, notice, training, and recordkeeping obligations on participating employers. It would also preempt local governments from mandating E-Verify use and create a state-level penalty structure for misuse of the system, affecting employers, job applicants, current employees, and municipal governments.
The available record shows the bill was introduced and referred to the Senate Labor Committee, but there are no committee transcripts, recorded votes, or other discussion snippets provided. As a result, there is no documented legislative debate or vote-based sentiment in the supplied materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears framed as a worker privacy and anti-discrimination bill rather than an immigration enforcement measure.
The main policy tension is between limiting employer screening practices and preserving the use of E-Verify for lawful post-offer verification. Supporters would likely emphasize employee privacy, preventing discrimination, and stopping pre-hire screening or misuse of verification data, while opponents may object that the bill restricts employer flexibility and adds compliance burdens. Another point of contention is the prohibition on municipal E-Verify mandates, which would prevent local governments from requiring a verification system some may view as a tool for workforce compliance.