Bill requiring construction industry employers to use federal E-Verify system signed into law

Legislation requiring employers in the construction industry to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that their employees are authorized to work in the United States recently became law.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh/Berks) authored the Construction Industry Employee Verification Act.

“Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous employers who hire individuals not authorized to work in the United States for their construction teams,” Mackenzie said. “These employers and their unfair business practices hurt workers by driving down wages, create an unlevel playing field for other employers to compete against, and deprive government of revenue that would be used to fund programs like unemployment compensation.”

Under the law, failure to use E-Verify when hiring new employees will result in action against a company’s licenses required to do business.

“This law will not only act as a deterrent to construction companies from hiring unauthorized workers but will also hold them accountable if they do break the law,” Mackenzie said. “We cannot let companies get away with unprincipled hiring practices that take jobs away from legal citizens.”

The House voted 170-28 and the Senate voted 46-3 in favor of the bill. The law is modeled after a statute in Arizona. It will go into effect in one year.