Amends TCA Title 4; Title 12; Title 39; Title 50 and Title 67.

This bill revises various provisions in regard to employers and verifying the work authorization status of employees, as follows: (1) Present law states that a person must not knowingly employ, recruit, or refer for a fee for employment an illegal alien. This bill adds that a person must not knowingly "rehire" an illegal alien; (2) Present law provides that a person has not violated the above provision if the person verified the work authorization status of the employee by using the federal electronic work authorization service. This bill removes this provision; (3) Under the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act, this bill lowers the threshold for employers having to verify work authorization status of new hires through E-Verify from those with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more employees; (4) Under the Act, present law requires the office of employment verification assistance, if an employer does not have internet access, to enroll, at no charge, the employer in the E-Verify program or conduct work authorization status checks of the employer's employees by using the E-Verify program. This bill extends this requirement for the office to include situations where the employer has 50 or less employees; (5) Present law provides that an employer is not in violation of the Act during any time period in which the E-Verify program is suspended or not operational. This bill adds that an employer is not in violation of the Act if the employer acts upon false results generated by the E-Verify program concerning an employee's work authorization status; (6) This bill provides that an employee does not have a civil cause of action alleging wrongful or retaliatory discharge against the employee's employer if: (A) The employee is not authorized to work in the United States; and (B) The employer was not aware the employee was not authorized to work in the United States; and (7) This bill provides that an employee does not have a cause of action for discrimination based on national origin if an employer discovers an employee is not authorized to work in the United States through results produced by the E-Verify program and discharges the employee based on those positive results. ON FEBRUARY 28, 2022, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1853, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 revises the present law provision that requires an employer to maintain, for employees, a record of any results generated by the E-Verify program for that particular employee to instead require an employer to maintain an E-Verify case result for each employee that visibly shows that the employee is authorized to work, whether on the E-Verify Quick Audit Report, the E-Verify User Audit Report, or the individual employee E-Verify case verification result. This amendment provides that the E-Verify case result must be visible showing the work authorization status. ON MARCH 28, 2022, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1853 FOR SENATE BILL 1780, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1853, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 revises the threshold for private employers having to verify work authorization status of new hires through E-Verify to be those with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees. Also, in regard to the present law requirement for the office of employment verification assistance, if an employer does not have internet access, to enroll, at no charge, the employer in the E-Verify program or conduct work authorization status checks of the employer's employees by using the E-Verify program, the amendment extends this requirement for the office to include situations where the employer has 35 or less full-time equivalent employees (instead of less than 50 employees as proposed in the bill as introduced).