Please send a support letter – On your letter head

Sample Support Letter – Senate Bill 1001 (Mitchell)

Send by email to or fax to 916-558-3160

Email a copy to

Date

The Honorable Edmund G. Brown Jr.

Governor of the State of California

State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: SB 1001 (Mitchell) as amended on 8/18/16—Request for a Signature

Dear Governor Brown,

On behalf of (Insert organization here) I am writing to express our strong support of SB 1001 (Mitchell). The bill would protect immigrant workers by prohibiting employers from requesting specific documentation not required by the I-9 form or refusing to accept legally acceptable documents at the time of hiring- a discriminatory practice known as “document abuse.” (Insert paragraph about your organization)

Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, all workers are required to show proof of identity and work authorization at the time of hire through the I-9 form. However, it has been found that a large number of employers are asking employees for extraneous documents to show proof of identity and/or work authorization or are not accepting legally acceptable documents, especially for immigrant workers. This practice, known as document abuse is against federal law, however still commonly occurs. Some examples of document abuse include employers asking their employees for a copy of their U.S. passport, a copy of their green card, or not accepting an Employment Authorization Document because it has a future expiration date.

While employees are protected from document abuse under federal law, the enforcement of such protections involves a cumbersome administrative process through the Office of the Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, followed by the review by an administrative judge, and potential review by the Court of Appeals. This is a complex and often inaccessible option, particularly for low wage workers.

In 2013 AB 263 (Hernandez) was signed into law, which provides various protections against retaliation including the unlawful practice of document abuse, only when employed as a retaliation tool against workers who exercise their workplace rights. SB 1001 would fortify those protections and strengthen enforcement against the continued and prevalent practice of document abuse by providing a state remedy for workers who are victims of this unlawful discriminatory practice outside of the retaliation context, and more specifically at the point of hire.

In California, immigrant workers make up more than one-third of our labor force.[1] Our state must ensure that California’s immigrant workforce has in-state protections and a clear mechanism to seek justice against this discriminatory practice. With the pieces outlined in the bill, California will further protect immigrant workers and uphold responsible business practices.

(Insert paragraph about why SB 1001 is important to your organization or community)

For these reasons, we strongly support this bill and urge you to sign this important legislation for immigrant workers in our state.

Sincerely,

Name

Title

Organization

CC: Camille Wagner, Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Brown, Dan Torres, Director of Immigrant Integration, Office of Governor Brown, and Senator Holly Mitchell

[1] http://www.scribd.com/doc/238492032/Looking-Forward-Immigrant-Contributions-to-the-Golden-State-2014