SACRAMENTO—The California State Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would ensure that businesses in the state have the right to decide whether or not to use the “E-Verify” employment verification system. AB 1236, the Employment Acceleration Act of 2011, will now head to Gov. Brown’s desk for signature.
Critics of the E-Verify program cite the database’s high rate of errors, and argue that making the program mandatory could cost hundreds of thousands of Americans their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis.