Session: 2019-2020
ACLU-PA Position: Opposes
HB 1170 (PN 2129) would prevent unauthorized workers from gaining employment in the construction industry by requiring that all prospective workers seek permission from the government when starting a job.
In order to detect the small percentage of job seekers who are unauthorized workers, a mandatory E-Verify system creates a whole new level of intrusive government oversight of daily life — a bureaucratic “prove yourself to work” system that hurts ordinary people. Expanding mandatory E-Verify in Pennsylvania would impose unnecessary and unacceptable burdens on America’s workers and businesses. It would contribute to a massive government database of workers’ information that threatens privacy and could be used to facilitate additional forms of data surveillance. In addition, given the E-Verify error rate, mandatory use could result in authorized workers being denied the ability to work without a meaningful avenue to seek redress.
House Bill 1170 was enacted as Act No. 75 of 2019.
