The nation’s economic troubles have inspired a number of new employment-related bills. One immigration bill seeks to promote hiring Americans by limiting the incentives for illegal aliens to move to the United States to live and work, while another bill would facilitate the hiring of foreign workers under the H-2B guest worker program. A third bill would provide employers with a tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans.

Immigration

The Loophole Elimination and Verification Enforcement (LEAVE) Act (H.R. 994) is a comprehensive immigration bill aimed at removing incentives and loopholes in current immigration law that encourage undocumented workers from seeking employment in this country. Section 601 of this legislation addresses employment authorization verification. Specifically, this section requires the use of E-Verify for all employers that hire non-citizen workers. Certain employers, such as federal contractors, agencies, and employers with more than 250 employees in the United States would be required to use E-Verify immediately. Smaller employers would undergo a phase-in process. Employers with 100 to 250 employees would need to comply within two years; those with 30 or more within three years; employers with fewer than 30 must comply within four years of the bill’s enactment. Violations for first offenders include a penalty of between $2,500 and $5,000. For a second offence, the penalty jumps to between $7,500 and $10,000. The third offense would result in a penalty of between $25,000 and $40,000.

This bill was referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and Labor, House Administration, Financial Services, Homeland Security, and Ways and Means.

Another recently-introduced bill, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2009 (S. 388) would encourage the hiring of foreign employees. This bill would extend by three years the hiring cap exemption for returning H-2B guest workers. Individuals holding these visas typically fill temporary, seasonal positions. The extension would take effect as if enacted on December 1, 2008, and apply only to those workers with an approved start date in fiscal years 2009-2011. The extension also applies to H-2R workers, who are individuals who have held H-2B visas for the past three fiscal years, and are returning to the United States.

This bill was referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary. 

Unemployed Veterans

Yet another employment bill introduced this week is the Veterans Employment Act of 2009 (H.R. 931). This bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a work opportunity tax credit for employers who hire unemployed veterans during 2009 or 2010. For purposes of this act, an unemployed veteran is an individual who has been discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces during the period beginning on September 11, 2001 and ending on December 31, 2010. The veteran must also be in the receipt of unemployment compensation under state or federal law for at least four weeks within the year ending on his or her date of hire. If enacted, the terms of this bill would apply to individuals hired after December 31, 2008.

This bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.