California Governor Passes Immigrant Worker Protection Act

As of Dec. 13, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (AB 450). Put in place to protect foreign workers from unfair immigration related practices, this law gives public and private employers in California the right to dismiss immigration inspectors from the workplace if they do not have a judicial warrant. This includes access to employee records as well.

Employers must notify their employees before and after these immigration inspections take place. Within  72 hours of receiving word of the inspection, employers must communicate:

• The name of the immigration agency performing the inspection
• The date the employer received notice of the inspection
• The nature of the inspection
• A copy of the inspection notice

The law also prohibits employers from reverifying employment eligibility of a current employee at a time not required by the federal government. This may create issues for employers who conduct internal employee audits, as this puts them at risk for violating the new law.

This new law is effective Jan. 1, 2018.