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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1288
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (15).
3381S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 285.530, 285.535, 285.543, and 285.550, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
two new sections relating to employment.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 285.530, 285.535, 285.543, and 1
285.550, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in 2
lieu thereof, to be known as sections 285.530 and 285.535, to 3
read as follows:4
285.530. 1. No business entity or employer shall 1
knowingly employ, hire for employment, or continue to employ 2
an unauthorized alien to perform work within the state of 3
Missouri. 4
2. As a condition for the award of any contract or 5
grant in excess of five thousand dollars by the state or by 6
any political subdivision of the state to a business entity, 7
or for any business entity receiving a state-administered or 8
subsidized tax credit, tax abatement, or loan from the 9
state, the business entity shall, by sworn affidavit and 10
provision of documentation, affirm its enrollment and 11
participation in a federal work authorization program with 12
respect to the employees working in connection with the 13
contracted services. Every such business entity shall also 14
sign an affidavit affirming that it does not knowingly 15
employ any person who is an unauthorized alien in connection 16
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with the contracted services. Any entity contracting with 17
the state or any political subdivision of the state shall 18
only be required to provide the affidavits required in this 19
subsection to the state and any political subdivision of the 20
state with which it contracts, on an annual basis. During 21
or immediately after an emergency, the requirements of this 22
subsection that a business entity enroll and participate in 23
a federal work authorization program shall be suspended for 24
fifteen working days. As used in this subsection, 25
"emergency" includes the following natural and manmade 26
disasters: major snow and ice storms, floods, tornadoes, 27
severe weather, earthquakes, hazardous material incidents, 28
nuclear power plant accidents, other radiological hazards, 29
and major mechanical failures of a public utility facility. 30
3. All public employers shall enroll and actively 31
participate in a federal work authorization program. 32
4. An employer may enroll and participate in a federal 33
work authorization program and shall verify the employment 34
eligibility of every employee in the employer's hire whose 35
employment commences after the employer enrolls in a federal 36
work authorization program. The employer shall retain a 37
copy of the dated verification report received from the 38
federal government. Any business entity that participates 39
in such program shall have an affirmative defense that such 40
business entity has not violated subsection 1 of this 41
section. 42
5. A general contractor or subcontractor of any tier 43
shall [not] be liable under sections 285.525 to 285.550 when 44
such general contractor or subcontractor contracts with its 45
direct subcontractor who violates subsection 1 of this 46
section, if the [contract binding the contractor and 47
subcontractor affirmatively states that the direct 48
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subcontractor is not knowingly in violation of subsection 1 49
of this section and shall not henceforth be in such 50
violation and the contractor or subcontractor receives a 51
sworn affidavit under the penalty of perjury attesting to 52
the fact that the direct subcontractor's employees are 53
lawfully present in the United States] general contractor or 54
subcontractor knows or should have known of such violation. 55
285.535. 1. The attorney general shall enforce the 1
requirements of sections 285.525 to 285.550. 2
2. [An enforcement action shall be initiated by means 3
of a written, signed complaint under penalty of perjury as 4
defined in section 575.040 to the attorney general submitted 5
by any state official, business entity, or state resident. 6
A valid complaint shall include an allegation which 7
describes the alleged violator as well as the actions 8
constituting the violation, and the date and location where 9
such actions occurred. A complaint which alleges a 10
violation solely or primarily on the basis of national 11
origin, ethnicity, or race shall be deemed invalid and shall 12
not be enforced. 13
3. Upon receipt of a valid complaint, the attorney 14
general shall, within fifteen business days, request 15
identity information from the business entity regarding any 16
persons alleged to be unauthorized aliens. Such request 17
shall be made by certified mail. The attorney general shall 18
direct the applicable municipal or county governing body to 19
suspend any applicable license, permit, or exemptions of any 20
business entity which fails, within fifteen business days 21
after receipt of the request, to provide such information. 22
4. The attorney general, after receiving the requested 23
identity information from the business entity, shall submit 24
identity data required by the federal government to verify, 25
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under 8 U.S.C. 1373, the immigration status of such persons, 26
and shall provide the business entity with written notice of 27
the results of the verification request: 28
(1) If the federal government notifies the attorney 29
general that an employee is authorized to work in the United 30
States, the attorney general shall take no further action on 31
the complaint; 32
(2) If the federal government notifies the attorney 33
general that an employee is not authorized to work in the 34
United States, the attorney general shall proceed on the 35
complaint as provided in subsection 5 of this section; 36
(3) If the federal government notifies the attorney 37
general that it is unable to verify whether an employee is 38
authorized to work in the United States, the attorney 39
general shall take no further action on the complaint until 40
a verification from the federal government concerning the 41
status of the individual is received. At no point shall any 42
state official attempt to make an independent determination 43
of any alien's legal status without verification from the 44
federal government. 45
5. (1) If the federal government notifies the 46
attorney general that an employee is not authorized to work 47
in the United States, and the employer of the unauthorized 48
alien participates in a federal work authorization program, 49
there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the employer 50
has met the requirements for an affirmative defense under 51
subsection 4 of section 285.530, and the employer shall 52
comply with subsection 6 of this section. 53
(2) If the federal government notifies the attorney 54
general that an employee is not authorized to work in the 55
United States, the attorney general shall bring a civil 56
action in Cole County if the attorney general reasonably 57
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believes the business entity knowingly violated subsection 1 58
of section 285.530: 59
(a) If the court finds that a business entity did not 60
knowingly violate subsection 1 of section 285.530, the 61
employer shall have fifteen business days to comply with 62
subdivision (1) and paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of 63
subsection 6 of this section. If the entity fails to do so, 64
the court shall direct the applicable municipal or county 65
governing body to suspend the business permit, if such 66
exists, and any applicable licenses or exemptions of the 67
entity until the entity complies with subsection 6 of this 68
section; 69
(b) If the court finds that a business entity 70
knowingly violated subsection 1 of section 285.530, the 71
court shall direct the applicable municipal or county 72
governing body to suspend the business permit, if such 73
exists, and any applicable licenses or exemptions of such 74
business entity for fourteen days. Permits, licenses, and 75
exemptions shall be reinstated for entities who comply with 76
subsection 6 of this section at the end of the fourteen-day 77
period. 78
6. The correction of a violation with respect to the 79
employment of an unauthorized alien shall include the 80
following actions: 81
(1) (a) The business entity terminates the 82
unauthorized alien's employment. If the business entity 83
attempts to terminate the unauthorized alien's employment 84
and such termination is challenged in a court of the state 85
of Missouri, the fifteen-business-day period for providing 86
information to the attorney general referenced in subsection 87
3 of this section shall be tolled while the business entity 88
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pursues the termination of the unauthorized alien's 89
employment in such forum; or 90
(b) The business entity, after acquiring additional 91
information from the employee, requests a secondary or 92
additional verification by the federal government of the 93
employee's authorization, under the procedures of a federal 94
work authorization program. While this verification is 95
pending, the fifteen-business-day period for providing 96
information to the attorney general referenced in subsection 97
3 of this section shall be tolled; and 98
(2) A legal representative of the business entity 99
submits, at an office designated by the attorney general, 100
the following: 101
(a) A sworn affidavit stating that the violation has 102
ended that shall include a description of the specific 103
measures and actions taken by the business entity to end the 104
violation, and the name, address, and other adequate 105
identifying information for any unauthorized aliens related 106
to the complaint; and 107
(b) Documentation acceptable to the attorney general 108
which confirms that the business entity has enrolled in and 109
is participating in a federal work authorization program. 110
7. The suspension of a business license or licenses 111
under subsection 5 of this section shall terminate one 112
business day after a legal representative of the business 113
entity submits the affidavit and other documentation 114
required under subsection 6 of this section following any 115
period of restriction required under subsection 5 of this 116
section. 117
8. For an entity that violates subsection 1 of section 118
285.530 for a second time, the court shall direct the 119
applicable municipal or county governing body to suspend, 120
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for one year, the business permit, if such exists, and any 121
applicable license or exemptions of the business entity. 122
For a subsequent violation, the court shall direct the 123
applicable municipal or county governing body to forever 124
suspend the business permit, if such exists, and any 125
applicable license or exemptions of the business entity. 126
9. In addition to the penalties in subsections 5 and 8 127
of this section: 128
(1) Upon the first violation of subsection 1 of 129
section 285.530 by any business entity awarded a state 130
contract or grant or receiving a state-administered tax 131
credit, tax abatement, or loan from the state, the business 132
entity shall be deemed in breach of contract and the state 133
may terminate the contract and suspend or debar the business 134
entity from doing business with the state for a period of 135
three years. Upon such termination, the state may withhold 136
up to twenty-five percent of the total amount due to the 137
business entity; 138
(2) Upon a second or subsequent violation of 139
subsection 1 of section 285.530 by any business entity 140
awarded a state contract or grant or receiving a state- 141
administered tax credit, tax abatement, or loan from the 142
state, the business entity shall be deemed in breach of 143
contract and the state may terminate the contract and 144
permanently suspend or debar the business entity from doing 145
business with the state. Upon such termination, the state 146
may withhold up to twenty-five percent of the total amount 147
due to the business entity. 148
10. Sections 285.525 to 285.550 shall not be construed 149
to deny any procedural mechanisms or legal defenses included 150
in a federal work authorization program. 151
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11. Any business entity subject to a complaint and 152
subsequent enforcement under sections 285.525 to 285.540, or 153
any employee of such a business entity, may challenge the 154
enforcement of this section with respect to such entity or 155
employee in the courts of the state of Missouri. 156
12. If the court finds that any complaint is frivolous 157
in nature or finds no probable cause to believe that there 158
has been a violation, the court shall dismiss the case. For 159
purposes of this subsection, "frivolous" shall mean a 160
complaint not shown by clear and convincing evidence to be 161
valid. Any person who submits a frivolous complaint shall 162
be liable for actual, compensatory, and punitive damages to 163
the alleged violator for holding the alleged violator before 164
the public in a false light. If the court finds that a 165
complaint is frivolous or that there is not probable cause 166
to believe there has been a violation, the attorney general 167
shall issue a public report to the complainant and the 168
alleged violator stating with particularity its reasons for 169
dismissal of the complaint. Upon such issuance, the 170
complaint and all materials relating to the complaint shall 171
be a public record as defined in chapter 610. 172
13. The determination of whether a worker is an 173
unauthorized alien shall be made by the federal government. 174
A determination of such status of an individual by the 175
federal government shall create a rebuttable presumption as 176
to that individual's status in any judicial proceedings 177
brought under this section or section 285.530. The court 178
may take judicial notice of any verification of an 179
individual's status previously provided by the federal 180
government and may request the federal government to provide 181
automated or testimonial verification. 182
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14. Compensation, whether in money or in kind or in 183
services, knowingly provided to any unauthorized alien shall 184
not be allowed as a business expense deduction from any 185
income or business taxes of this state. 186
15. Any business entity which terminates an employee 187
in accordance with this section shall not be liable for any 188
claims made against the business entity under chapter 213 189
for the termination] The attorney general may investigate 190
alleged or suspected violations of sections 285.500 to 191
285.515 and shall have all powers provided by sections 192
407.040 to 407.090 in connection with any investigation of 193
an alleged or suspected violation of sections 285.525 to 194
285.555. 195
3. In any action brought under this section, the state 196
shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the 197
evidence that the employer knowingly employed, hired for 198
employment, or continued to employ an unauthorized alien to 199
perform work within the state of Missouri. 200
4. Whenever the attorney general has reason to believe 201
that an employer is engaging in any conduct that would be a 202
violation of sections 285.525 to 285.555, the attorney 203
general may seek an injunction prohibiting the employer from 204
engaging in such conduct, and seek monetary damages in the 205
amount equal to twice the amount of wages paid by the 206
employer to any unauthorized alien workers during the time 207
in which such unlawful employment is alleged to have 208
occurred. The attorney general may bring an action for 209
injunctive and monetary relief in the circuit court of any 210
county where the alleged violation is occurring or about to 211
occur, or in the Cole county circuit court. 212
5. If a court determines that an employer has 213
knowingly hired an unauthorized alien, the court shall enter 214
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a judgment in favor of the state and award penalties in an 215
amount consistent with the prayer for relief in the 216
petition. The attorney general may enter into a consent 217
judgment with any person alleged to have violated sections 218
285.525 to 285.555. 219
[285.543. The attorney general shall 1
maintain a database that documents any business 2
entity whose permit, license, or exemption has 3
been suspended or state contract has been 4
terminated.] 5
[285.550. If any municipal or county 1
governing body fails to suspend the business 2
permit, if such exists, and applicable licenses 3
or exemptions as directed by the attorney 4
general as a result of a violation of section 5
285.530 or 285.535 within fifteen days after 6
notification by the attorney general, the 7
municipality shall be deemed to have adopted a 8
sanctuary policy as defined in section 67.307 9
and shall be subject to the penalties 10
thereunder.] 11
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