23-215. Voluntary employer enhanced compliance program; program termination

A. The attorney general shall establish the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program. The program is voluntary and an employer is not required to enroll in the program.

B. An employer that is on probation under section 23-212 or 23-212.01 may not enroll in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program. A court shall not consider nonenrollment in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program as a factor when determining whether to suspend or revoke a license under section 23-212 or 23-212.01.

C. To enroll in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program, an employer shall submit a signed sworn affidavit to the attorney general. The affidavit shall state that the employer agrees to perform all of the following actions in good faith:

1. After hiring an employee, the employer shall verify the employment eligibility of the employee through the e-verify program.

2. To ensure the accuracy of reporting wages to the social security administration, the employer shall verify the accuracy of social security numbers through the social security number verification service for any employee who is not verified through the e-verify program. Within thirty days after enrolling in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program, the employer shall submit the necessary information to the social security number verification service, including the full name, the social security number, the date of birth and the gender of each employee. On receipt of a failed verification result, the employer shall notify the employee of the date on which the employer received the failed result and instruct the employee to resolve the discrepancy with the social security administration within ninety days after that date. The employer and employee shall resolve any failed result within ninety days after the date on which the employer received the failed result. If the failed result is not resolved within the ninety-day period but the employer and employee are continuing to actively and consistently work toward resolving the failed result with the social security administration, the ninety-day period does not apply as long as the employer and employee have documented proof of these ongoing efforts to resolve the failed result in good faith and have provided the documented proof to the attorney general. The employer shall verify the accuracy of the social security numbers and resolve any failed verification results in a consistent manner for all employees.

3. In response to a written request by the attorney general or county attorney stating the name of an employee for whom a complaint has been received under section 23-212 or 23-212.01, the employer shall provide the attorney general or county attorney the documents indicating that the employee was verified through the e-verify program or that the accuracy of the employee's wage report was verified through the social security number verification service under this section.

D. An employer that is enrolled in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program shall not be in violation of section 23-212, subsection A or section 23-212.01, subsection A regarding an employee named in a complaint under section 23-212 or 23-212.01 if the employer has completed both of the following:

1. In good faith verified the employment eligibility of the employee named in the complaint through the e-verify program or in good faith verified the accuracy of the social security number of the employee named in the complaint through the social security number verification system as required by subsection C, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section.

2. Provided the attorney general or county attorney with the documents, as required by subsection C, paragraph 3 of this section, indicating that the employer verified the employee named in the complaint.

E. The attorney general shall maintain a list of employers enrolled in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program and make the list available on the attorney general's website.

F. The attorney general shall develop a form of recognition that an employer may display to the general public for enrolling in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program.

G. If an employer does not fully comply with this section, the attorney general shall terminate the employer's enrollment in the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program. At any time, an employer may voluntarily withdraw from the voluntary employer enhanced compliance program by notifying the attorney general. Beginning on the date of termination or withdrawal, subsection D of this section no longer applies to the employer and the employer shall immediately remove any form of recognition from public display that is authorized under this section.

H. The program established by this section ends on July 1, 2018 pursuant to section 41-3102.