State Legislative Alert!

PENNSYLVANIA – H.B. 2033 and H.B. 2049: YOUR PROMPT ACTION IS NEEDED! These two bills have been recently introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature and, if enacted, will have a direct impact on the day-to-day operations of many HR professionals and the employees who work in our state. Please contact your elected officials today and encourage them to “VOTE NO” on both of these measures when and if they should come before them for a vote later this year!

Summary of H.B. 2033:

This bill provides that it is unlawful for any employer to employ, or an employer or business entity to permit the employment of, an unauthorized alien. The bill requires that as a condition for the award of any Commonwealth contract or grant to an employer for which the value of employment, labor or personal service shall exceed $10,000, the employer shall provide documentation affirming its enrollment and participation in the E-Verify Program.

In addition, the bill requires an employer participating in the E-Verify Program to verify the employment eligibility of every employee in the employer's hire whose employment commences after the employer enrolls in the E-Verify program.

Talking Points in Opposition to H.B. 2033:
Pennsylvania SHRM agrees that the desire to deter proactively immigration by ending unauthorized employment is both understandable and laudable, and we endorse the concept of a secure and reliable federal electronic employment verification system. However, E-Verify is far from foolproof and is not ready to meet the challenge of significantly increasing its utilization level as more and more states begin requiring participation.

Employers should not be forced to participate in this verification program until the Federal government provides assurances that the system works. Other key concerns to HR professionals:

• Federal Preemption – The federal government, not the state, should be responsible for establishing the requirements for verifying employment eligibility under our nation’s immigration laws. Although well-intentioned, a state mandate as proposed by H.B. 2033 would be confusing and costly for Pennsylvania employers and undermines the goals of an effective national employee verification system. Different laws in different states on E-verify increases costs ot employer, leaving less money to spend on employees
• Susceptibility to Identity Fraud - E-Verify does not address identify fraud issues where individuals presents borrowed or stolen genuine documents. This is a growing problem that puts employers, including small businesses, in the business of immigration enforcement.

Summary of H.B. 2049:

In brief, this bill would restrict most public and private entities in Pennsylvania from prohibiting customers and employees from carrying and possessing licensed weapons in a locked motor vehicle while parked on private property.

While the legislation does include some limited exceptions to a blanket prohibition against employers from having and enforcing a no-weapons policy on company property (such as for employers involved in national defense, aerospace, nuclear power or domestic security), this proposal also includes language designed to provide immunity from liability in any civil action resulting from the theft or use of such a firearm. In short, this legislation:

• Restricts an employer’s rights to establish and enforce workplace safety policies prohibiting employees from bringing weapons onto the employer’s place of business;

• Limits employers' ability to exercise their individual rights as a property owner; and
• Would subject employers to a civil or administrative action for damages, injunctive relief and civil penalties brought by the Attorney General in response to claims that an individual’s rights have been violated.

Talking Points in Opposition to H.B 2049

As HR professionals, we believe that every employee is entitled to a safe work environment. The “Occupational Safety and Health Act,” under its “general duty clause” requires all employers to do just that. But accidents and deaths still occur in the workplace. According to workplace safety data released in August by the U.S. Department of Labor, 794 “assaults and other violent acts” took place in private businesses in 2008, resulting in 517 homicides (413 by shootings and 32 by stabbings). These deaths represented over 10% of the workplace fatalities reported last year.

In a 2006 survey of nearly 500 SHRM members, 83 percent responded that their companies either have a policy in place to restrict employees from bringing weapons into the workplace (77 percent) or planned to create one within the next 12 months (six percent). Additionally, a 2005 research study released by the American Journal of Public Health found that a workplace where workers were allowed to possess firearms was five times more likely to experience a homicide than those where all weapons were prohibited.

Opposition to the bill is by no means intended to disparage the millions of lawful gun owners. There are many things that are lawful that we don’t allow in our workplaces. Alcohol is lawful, but most employers don’t want employees to have it in their cars. Smoking is lawful, but most employers don’t want it in their workplaces (even where the law allows it)

SHRM has consistently maintained throughout this debate that it is best left up to the individual employer to decide whether or not to restrict weapons from the workplace based upon his or her views on how best to run their individual organizations. Forcing employers to allow guns on their property is a threat to workplace safety.

This issues is particularly important now is more employers are delivering bad rather than good news. Not having guns in cars at at a minimum allows for a cooling off period if an employee loses his or her job.

Action Needed

To Write Your State Representative using HRVoice, follow simple these steps:

1. Log onto HR Voice by clicking HERE and entering your member number and last name.
2. Click on “Oppose H.B. 2033, Mandating Participation in the Federal E-Verify Program” and/or “Oppose H.B. 2049, PA’s Workplace Weapons Bill” under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues.”
3. We encourage you to personalize your letters by including specific information about the organization you work for, your experiences in the workplace, and why this legislation would negatively impact your organization. Just place your cursor on the text of the letter where you would like to edit.