On May 10, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718, which significantly impacts employers with operations in Florida. All U.S. employers, public and private, with over 25 employees in Florida must properly complete Form I-9 for each person they hire, regardless of whether the individual is a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or non-citizen, as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). As of July 1, 2023, Senate Bill 1718 also imposes a mandatory requirement that these employers participate in the E-Verify System. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify System allows employers to electronically confirm employees’ eligibility to work in the U.S. Its use is not mandatory for most employers. However, voluntary and good faith use of E-Verify may protect employers from civil and criminal penalties for hiring undocumented workers. This can also be achieved through proper completion of I-9 Forms and related federally-mandated record keeping.

The relevant Bill 1718 (the Bill) provisions include:

• Starting on July 1, 2023, employers with twenty-five (25) or more employees will be required to use U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify System for new employees.
• The laws in Florida continue to require public employers, contractors, and subcontracts to use the E-Verify System.
• On July 1, 2024, employers who fail to register and use the E-Verify System will face a daily fine of $1,000 and could face suspension of employer licenses after multiple findings of noncompliance.
• Employers who knowingly employ unauthorized immigrants will face severe penalties, including quarterly reporting and suspension or revocation of employer licenses (effective July 1, 2024).

There are also additional penalties for undocumented immigrants living or visiting Florida, including:

• Unauthorized immigrants who knowingly use a false identification or a document of another person to obtain employment will face third-degree felony charges (effective July 1, 2023).
• The Bill makes it a third-degree felony to knowingly and willfully transport an individual into Florida whom the person knows (reasonably should have known) has entered the U.S. without inspection or in violation of current immigration laws (effective July 1, 2023).
• The Bill invalidates the drivers’ licenses obtained by undocumented immigrants in other states.
• The Bill requires hospitals accepting Medicaid to ask for patients’ immigration status and to provide quarterly reports to the Agency for Health Care Administration on the number of emergency visits or hospital admissions by patients who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and undocumented immigrants.
• Repeals law allowing undocumented immigrants to be admitted to practice law in the state.

Based on the large population of undocumented immigrants living in Florida, the new law is projected to have a significantly negative impact on the economy of the state.  According to a report released by the Migration Policy Institute in 2019, approximately 700,000 undocumented individuals work in the State of Florida.
 
Florida employers impacted by the new Florida laws may contact our Business & Corporate Immigration Practice for additional guidance related to immigration-related consequences.