U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s 2007 E-Verify Law
May 31, 2011On May 26, 2011, in a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 9th Circuit decision that federal law does not preempt the “Legal Arizona Workers Act”, nor does it impliedly preempt the mandatory use of E-Verify requirement. This decision resulted from a challenge to the Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007 (which should not be confused with the 2010 Arizona “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act”).
If found to have violated the provision regarding knowingly employing an unauthorized worker, the Arizona employer will be ordered to terminate the employment of all unauthorized workers and file quarterly reports on all new hires for a three year probation period. For an initial violation of the Act, the employer may also have its business license suspended for a period not to exceed 10 business days. A second knowing violation will result in the permanent revocation of the employer’s business license for the location where the unauthorized worker performed work. For the first intentional violation, the employer will be required to terminate all unauthorized workers, file quarterly reports on all new hires for a five year probation period, and have its business license suspended for a minimum of 10 days. A second intentional violation requires the permanent revocation of all business licenses. For knowing and intentional violations, it is considered a second violation if it occurs at the same business location as the first violation, during the probation period. Other states have adopted similar legislation.
