require employment verification eligibility through the e-verify program and to provide a penalty therefor.

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

require employment verification eligibility through the e-verify program and to provide a penalty therefor.

require employment verification eligibility through the e-verify program and to provide a penalty therefor.

What This Bill Does

• require employment verification eligibility through the e-verify program and to provide a penalty therefor.
• Official keyword topics: Labor and Employment Penalty Official sponsor note: Representatives <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4752/Detail">Garcia</a> (prime), <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4766/Detail">Hunt</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4770/Detail">Jensen (Phil)</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4771/Detail">Jordan</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4783/Detail">Manhart</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4795/Detail">Nolz</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4811/Detail">Rice</a>, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4816/Detail">Schaefbauer</a> and Senator <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4794/Detail">Nelson</a> (prime)

Limits and Unknowns

• This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Official Summary Text

require employment verification eligibility through the e-verify program and to provide a penalty therefor.
Official keyword topics:
Labor and Employment
Penalty
Official sponsor note: Representatives <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4752/Detail">Garcia</a> (prime), <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4766/Detail">Hunt</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4770/Detail">Jensen (Phil)</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4771/Detail">Jordan</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4783/Detail">Manhart</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4795/Detail">Nolz</a>, <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4811/Detail">Rice</a>, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4816/Detail">Schaefbauer</a> and Senator <a rel="noopener" href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4794/Detail">Nelson</a> (prime)

Current Bill Text

26.765.11 101st Legislative Session 1209

2026 South Dakota Legislature
House Bill 1209
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS ENGROSSED

Introduced by: Representative Garcia

Underscores indicate new language.
Overstrikes indicate deleted language.
An Act to require employment verification eligibility through the e -verify program 1
and to provide a penalty therefor. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 3
Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 60-2: 4
Every employer, as defined in § 61-1-4, with more than fifty employees, after 5
hiring an employee, shall, within twenty days of the employee's first day of work, verify 6
the employment eligibility of the employee through the United States Department of 7
Homeland Security's e-verify program, and shall keep a record of the verification for the 8
duration of the employee's employment. 9
An employer is not liable for failure to timely comply with this section if the e-verify 10
program is temporarily unavailable. Once the e -verify program becomes available again 11
following a temporary pause, the employer has twenty days to verify the employment 12
eligibility through the e-verify program. 13
Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 60-2: 14
The attorney general may, upon receipt of a complaint, investigate an alleged 15
violation of section 1 of this Act. If the attorney general deems the complaint meritorious 16
and receives written confirmation from the United States Department of Homeland 17
Security or the United States Department of Justice that an employer has knowingly 18
employed an unauthorized person in violation of federal immigration law, the attorney 19
general may recover a civil penalty of two -thousand dollars for each violation. The 20
attorney general shall forward to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund any 21
civil penalty recovered pursuant to this section. 22
An employer who uses the e -verify in good faith and maintains the verification 23
record is not liable for any civil penalty arising from an employee's work authorization. An 24
26.765.11 2 1209
Underscores indicate new language.
Overstrikes indicate deleted language.
employer is not liable for the actions of a third -party staffing agency, subcontractor, or 1
labor contractor, unless the employer knowingly participated in a violation. 2
Section 3. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 60-2: 3
Any individual may not knowingly submit false information or documents to an 4
employer to evade determination of employment eligibility under the e-verify program. 5
A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. 6