HB2749 - 492R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 23, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 10, to read:

CHAPTER 10

ARIZONA TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAM

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

START_STATUTE23-1601. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Commission" means the industrial commission of Arizona.

2. "Director" means the director of the commission.

3. "Employer" means an employer in a business industry in this state that is experiencing a labor shortage, including agriculture and dairy industries.

4. "E-verify program" means the employment verification pilot program as jointly administered by the United States department of homeland security and the social security administration or any of its successor programs.

5. "Foreign worker" means a worker who is eligible under this article to provide labor to an eligible business industry in this state. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-1602. Arizona temporary worker program; program termination

A. The Arizona temporary worker program is established to provide foreign workers to employers in this state that are experiencing a labor shortage.

B. To participate in the Arizona temporary worker program, an employer shall file an application with the commission and shall be registered with and participating in the E-verify program. The director may require the employer to pay an application fee. The application, on a form prescribed by the commission, shall include:

1. The name, address and federal income tax identification number of the employer.

2. The employer's business industry.

3. A description of the labor shortage experienced by the employer and an explanation of the employer's efforts to find local workers with the necessary skills to provide labor to the employer.

4. A signed sworn affidavit that indicates that the employer cannot find authorized workers in the United States. Any false statement made under this paragraph is a violation of Section 13-2703.

5. Any additional information that the commission requires.

C. Within thirty days after receiving the application, the commission shall review and make a determination with respect to the employer's participation in the Arizona temporary worker program. If approved by the commission, the approved employer may recruit foreign workers at a United States Consulate in the Republic of Mexico to provide labor for the employer under the Arizona temporary worker program.

D. An approved employer that recruits a foreign worker shall obtain an application from the foreign worker that includes the foreign worker's name, photograph and fingerprints and any other necessary background information required by the commission. The application for the foreign worker, including the photograph and fingerprints of the foreign worker, shall be completed at the United States consulate. The employer shall submit the completed application to the commission. The commission shall coordinate with the department of public safety to conduct a state and federal criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544 and determine whether the foreign worker is eligible to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program. The commission may charge the approved employer a fee for each criminal records check. The employer shall also obtain a criminal records check of the foreign worker from an appropriate law enforcement agency in the Republic of Mexico and submit the results to the commission. A foreign worker who has been convicted of a crime in the United States is not eligible to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program. A foreign worker who has been convicted of a crime in the Republic of Mexico is not eligible to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program if the crime would have been a class 1 misdemeanor or a felony in this state.

E. The department of transportation shall prepare temporary worker legal identification cards and provide the cards to the commission. Arizona temporary worker legal identification cards shall be nonforgeable and shall meet the requirements prescribed by federal law. The identification cards shall clearly indicate the date on which the temporary worker's authorized presence in this state expires. The director of the commission shall require the employer to pay a fee for the purposes of issuing a temporary worker legal identification card. Any fee that is collected under this subsection shall be used for the administrative costs incurred by the department of transportation to prepare temporary worker legal identification cards.

F. If the commission approves a foreign worker to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program, the commission shall issue an Arizona temporary worker legal identification card for the approved foreign worker and notify the department of public safety. The department of public safety shall maintain a database of approved foreign workers. The identification card shall be issued to the approved employer that recruited the foreign worker. The approved employer is responsible for delivering the identification card to the approved foreign worker at the United States consulate in the Republic of Mexico. If the commission determines that the employer knowingly failed to deliver the identification card to the appropriate approved foreign worker, the approved employer shall surrender the card to the commission. If the employer fails to surrender the card, the employer becomes ineligible to continue participating in the Arizona temporary worker program.

G. An approved foreign worker shall not:

1. Transport a family member into this state from outside of the United States unless the family member has obtained authorization from the federal government to enter or remain in the United States lawfully.

2. File for unemployment benefits.

H. As prescribed by federal law, an approved foreign worker who has received an Arizona temporary worker legal identification card may enter the united states and return to the Republic of Mexico through a port of entry on the Arizona border. An approved foreign worker who has an Arizona temporary worker legal identification card may work only in this state and may not travel outside this state.

I. The commission shall revoke the Arizona temporary worker legal identification card of any approved foreign worker who either:

1. Is reported absent from work without approval by an approved employer for fourteen consecutive days.

2. Is unable to be located by an approved employer.

3. Is determined to have traveled outside this state.

4. Is convicted of a crime in this state.

5. Is no longer employed by an approved employer.

6. Gives, sells or lends the foreign worker's temporary worker legal identification card to any other person for the purposes of obtaining employment.

J. If an approved employer terminates an approved foreign worker, the employer shall notify the commission within three business days and the commission shall revoke the foreign worker's temporary worker identification card.

K. If the commission revokes a foreign worker's Arizona temporary worker legal identification card, the foreign worker shall leave this state within three business days. On request by the foreign worker, the commission may provide additional time up to fourteen days for the foreign worker to leave this state. On request of the foreign worker, the employer shall provide reasonable transportation for the foreign worker to the port of entry nearest the United States consulate in the Republic of Mexico where the foreign worker made the original application under this section.

L. If the commission revokes an Arizona temporary worker legal identification card of a foreign worker, the commission shall notify the department of public safety and the United States immigration and customs enforcement that the foreign worker is no longer authorized to be in the United States. The notice shall include the last known address of the foreign worker. On receipt of a notice under this subsection, the department of public safety shall revoke the approved status of the foreign worker in the department's database.

M. Unless revoked, an Arizona temporary worker legal identification card issued under this section is valid for two years. The card may be renewed on application of the approved employer and on approval by the commission. The director may require the employer to pay a renewal fee.

N. Any application or renewal fees or fees for criminal records checks that the commission collects under this section shall be used proportionately for the administrative costs incurred by the commission and the department of public safety for the purposes of this section.

O. If an approved employer offers vacation time to an approved foreign worker, the employer shall obtain the address where the foreign worker can be located during the time of vacation. An employer that fails to maintain records under this subsection is ineligible to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program.

P. An approved employer shall comply with all labor laws prescribed by the federal government and this state.

Q. Any citizen of the United States may file a complaint with the commission if a local worker is terminated or not hired as a result of the employer’s participation in the program. The commission shall evaluate all complaints. If sufficient complaints are received against a specific employer, the commission shall reexamine the employer's application to participate in the Arizona temporary worker program. The commission may revoke the employer's authorization to participate in the program if the commission determines that the employer did not take sufficient measures to obtain local workers.

R. The commission shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of this section and for the purposes of this section is exempt from the rule making requirements of title 41, chapter 6.

S. Pursuant to section 41-3102, the program established by this section ends ten years after the effective date of this section. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Conditional enactment; notice

A. This act is not effective unless the federal government authorizes this state to implement a temporary worker program or other similar program.

B. The attorney general shall notify in writing the director of the legislative council of the date on which this condition occurs.