SB 1001: Employment eligibility documents

Existing federal law requires employers to verify that all newly hired employees present facially valid documentation of their legal authorization to accept employment in the United States. Senate Bill 1001 adds Section 1019.1 to the California Labor Code to prohibit employers from requesting additional or different documents than required under federal law when verifying employment eligibility.

As of Jan. 1, 2017, Section 1091.1 makes it unlawful for an employer to: request more or different documents than required under federal law, refuse "to honor documents tendered" that appear genuine on their face, refuse "to honor either documents or work authorization based upon specific status or term of status that accompanies the authorization to work," or reinvestigate or reverify an employee's authorization to work.

An applicant or an employee who is subject to these unlawful acts may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The labor commissioner may impose a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.