06
LC 21 8926S
LOST
Senators
Reed of the 35th, Stoner of the 6th and Brown of the 26th offered the following
amendment to the Senate committee substitute to SB 529:
by
inserting this amendment title into the title of the substitute and insert from
line 11 through the end of the amendment on to page 2 line 2 of the substitute
and renumber accordingly:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and
industrial relations, so as to provide a short title; to provide legislative
findings; to define certain terms; to provide that no person shall be employed
in this state unless he or she provides proper identification; to provide that
it shall be unlawful for an employer to employ any person unless he or she
provides proper identification; to provide for records; to provide for
penalties; to provide for an Unlawful Employment Practices Division of the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation; to provide for operations and investigations;
to provide for public records; to provide for protection for persons making
certain disclosures; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial
relations, is amended by inserting at the end thereof a new chapter to read as
follows:
"CHAPTER
16
34-16-1.
This
chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Homeland Protection
Act.'
34-16-2.
The
General Assembly finds that acts and omissions of state and federal governments
operate as an open invitation to illegal aliens to come into our state, and it
is not only illogical but also inhumane to treat our invited guest workers as
less than human. Intentionally lax enforcement of immigration laws by the
federal government, the large unfilled job market in Georgia, and the impunity
with which Georgia employers are able to exploit the pool of undocumented
workers act as enticements for illegal aliens in search of work to come to our
state. Rather than punish the workers we as a society invite into our midst to
fill our labor needs and lower our cost of goods and services, we should first
withdraw that invitation, beginning with removing the job market which acts as
the enticement for their presence here. It is the intention of the General
Assembly in enacting this chapter to ensure that every worker in this state is a
citizen of the United States or is in this country legally.
34-16-3.
(a)
As used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Agricultural employer' means a person engaged in the operation of an
agricultural facility or an agricultural operation.
(2)
'Agricultural facility' includes, but is not limited to, any land, building,
structure, pond, impoundment, appurtenance, machinery, or equipment which is
used for the commercial production or processing of crops, livestock, animals,
poultry, honeybees, honeybee products, livestock products, poultry products,
timber, forest products, or products which are used in commercial aquaculture.
Such term shall also include any farm labor camp or facilities for migrant farm
workers.
(3)
'Agricultural operation' means:
(A)
The plowing, tilling, or preparation of soil at an agricultural
facility;
(B)
The planting, growing, fertilizing, harvesting, or otherwise maintaining of
crops as defined in Code Section 1-3-3 and also timber and trees that are grown
for purposes other than for harvest and for sale;
(C)
The application of pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals, compounds, or
substances to crops, weeds, or soil in connection with the production of crops,
timber, livestock, animals, or poultry;
(D)
The breeding, hatching, raising, producing, feeding, keeping, slaughtering, or
processing of livestock, hogs, equines, chickens, turkeys, poultry or other fowl
normally raised for food, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, rabbits, or similar
farm animals for commercial purposes;
(E)
The production and keeping of honeybees, the production of honeybee products,
and honeybee processing facilities;
(F)
The production, processing, or packaging of eggs or egg products;
(G)
The manufacturing of feed for poultry or livestock;
(H)
The rotation of crops, including without limitation timber
production;
(I)
Commercial aquaculture;
(J)
The application of existing, changed, or new technology, practices, processes,
or procedures to any agricultural operation; and
(K)
The operation of any roadside market.
(4)
'Employer' means any person, corporation, or other legal entity which fills 20
or more employment positions for at least 20 days in a calendar
month.
(5)
'Proper identification' means:
(A)
A Georgia
driveŕs
license properly issued by the appropriate state agency;
(B)
A valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of
the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to
issue personal identification;
(C)
A valid United States passport;
(D)
A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the cardholder
and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States
government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other
entity of this state;
(D)
A valid United States military identification card, provided that such
identification card contains a photograph of the cardholder;
(E)
A valid tribal identification card containing a photograph of the
cardholder;
(F)
An official document issued by the United States government verifying the
beareŕs
lawful presence in this county and his or her legal authorization to be employed
here provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the
cardholder;
(G)
A valid social security card;
(H)
A valid birth certificate with a raised seal from the state of issuance;
or
(I)
A valid voter registration card.
(b)
It shall be unlawful for an employee to provide false or fraudulent proper
identification documents. A first offense shall be punishable as a misdemeanor.
A second and each subsequent offense shall be punishable by imprisonment of not
more than five years or a fine not to exceed $250,000.00 or both.
34-16-4.
(a)
No person may seek employment in this state unless he or she has in his or her
possession and presents to the employer proper identification.
(b)
It shall be unlawful for an employer to employ any person in this state unless
such person provides proper identification showing such person to be a citizen
of this country or in this country legally. Each employer shall inspect and
photocopy the proper identification provided by each employee. The employer
shall maintain such photocopy of the
employeés
proper identification on record, indicating which the days the person worked,
along with the employment application and all documents related to the
employment verification process for at least three years.
(c)
If any person contracts with another person or company which employs persons,
such employer shall demand and maintain on record such information verified by
such contractor.
(d)
The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to an agricultural employer
until July 1, 2008.
34-16-5.
(a)
An employer who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a
fine of $12,800.00 per violation for a first prosecution and $25,600.00 per
violation for a second and each subsequent prosecution. For purposes of this
Code section, the number of violations shall be calculated as the product of
each person employed in violation of this chapter multiplied by the number of
days each such person was so employed.
(b)
An employer may rely on a facially valid proper identification and shall not be
held responsible for forged documents unless he or she knew or should have
known, in the exercise of due care, that such documents were
forged.
34-16-6.
Not
later than December 31, 2006, the board of public safety shall establish within
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation an Unlawful Employment Practices Division.
Such division shall have the duty of enforcing the provisions of this chapter
and investigating employers in this state to ensure their hiring practices
comply with state and federal law with regard to the employment of persons who
are not United States citizens. The division shall provide a toll-free
telephone number for the reporting of suspected violations of employment
practices and shall advertise such number throughout the state. Each employer
in this state shall post such number in a prominent place on the work site.
Such telephone service shall be staffed by division employees located in this
state and shall function during normal business hours. The division shall be
staffed with sufficient agents to conduct independent investigations and to
investigate reports of violations of hiring practices and shall make every
effort to prosecute offending employers. The director of the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation shall provide a detailed report to the General Assembly on
December 31 of each year stating the number of complaints received during the
previous 12 months and the
bureaús
actions taken on such complaints. The bureau shall maintain a written record of
all complaints received and the disposition of such actions for at least ten
years. Such records shall be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter
18 of Title 50, relating to the inspection of public records.
34-16-7.
(a)(1)
No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any policy or practice preventing an
employee from disclosing a violation of or noncompliance with this chapter to a
government agency.
(2)
No employer shall retaliate against an employee for disclosing a violation of or
noncompliance with this chapter to a government agency, unless the disclosure
was made with knowledge that the disclosure was false or with reckless disregard
for its truth or falsity.
(3)
No employer shall retaliate against an employee for objecting to, or refusing to
participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the employer that the
employee has reasonable cause to believe is in violation of or noncompliance
with this chapter.
(b)(1)
An employee who has been the object of retaliation in violation of this Code
section may institute a civil action in superior court for relief as set forth
in paragraph (2) of this subsection within one year after discovering the
retaliation or within three years after the retaliation, whichever is
earlier.
(2)
In any action brought pursuant to this subsection, the court may order any or
all of the following relief:
(A)
An injunction restraining continued violation of this Code section;
(B)
Reinstatement of the employee to the same position held before the retaliation
or to an equivalent position;
(C)
Reinstatement of full fringe benefits and seniority rights;
(D)
Compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration; and
(E)
Any other compensatory damages allowable at law.
(c)
A court may award reasonable
attorneýs
fees, court costs, and expenses to a prevailing
employee."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.