South Carolina H 5279: Penalties for Violating Employment Citizenship Requirements

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5279 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5279

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 41-8-50, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR PRIVATE EMPLOYERS THAT VIOLATE 
REQUIREMENTS REGARDING ALIEN WORK AUTHORIZATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, SO AS TO 
INCREASE CERTAIN PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 41-8-50(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (D) Upon a finding of an occurrence 
involving a violation after an investigation pursuant to subsection (A), or 
after a random audit pursuant to Section 41-8-120(B), where the director 
considered all information or evidence gathered by the director and any 
information or evidence submitted by the private employer demonstrating 
compliance with the provisions of this chapter:

 (1)(a) prior to July 1, 2012, for a first 
occurrence involving a violation of Section 41-8-20, the private employer 
shall, upon notification by the director of a violation of Section 41-8-20, 
swear or affirm in writing that the private employer has complied with the 
provisions of 8 U.S.C. Section 1324a from the effective date of this section to 
the time the private employer received notification from the director, and 
shall comply with the provisions of Section 41-8-20 within three business days. 
Failure to swear or affirm compliance in writing or failure to comply with 
Section 41-8-20 within three business days requires that the private employer 
be placed on probation for a period of one year, during which time the private 
employer shall submit quarterly reports to the director demonstrating 
compliance with the provisions of Section 41-8-20. The director shall provide 
appropriate assistance to the private employer to aid the private employer in 
complying with Section 41-8-20 within the three business day period. The 
director may extend the three business day period, as necessary, if the 
director determines that more time is required for compliance. Any subsequent 
occurrence involving a violation of Section 41-8-20 by the private employer 
must result in the suspension of the private employer's licenses for at least 
ten days, but not more than thirty days, by the director, except, if a private 
employer has not committed a violation of Section 41-8-20 within the previous 
three years, a subsequent occurrence must be treated as a first occurrence. If 
a private employer has ever committed a violation of Section 41-8-30, the 
private employer's licenses must be suspended for at least ten days but not 
more than thirty days for any violation or subsequent occurrence involving a 
violation of Section 41-8-20. The director shall verify the work authorization 
status of the employees with the federal government pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 
Section 1373(c) and notify the private employer of the results. The private 
employer shall immediately terminate an employee whose work authorization was 
not verified upon being notified by the director. The director shall notify 
federal, state, and local law enforcement officials of any suspected 
unauthorized aliens employed by the private employer;

 (b) 
on or after July 1, 2012, for a first occurrence involving a violation of 
Section 41-8-20, the private employer shall, upon notification by the director 
of a violation of Section 41-8-20, immediately comply with the provisions of 
Section 41-8-20, and the private employer must be placed on probation for a 
period of one year, during which time the private employer shall submit 
quarterly reports to the director demonstrating compliance with the provisions 
of Section 41-8-20. Any subsequent occurrence involving a violation of Section 
41-8-20 by the private employer must result in the suspension of the private 
employer's licenses for at least ten days but not more than thirty days by the 
director, except, if a private employer has not committed a violation of 
Section 41-8-20 within the previous three years, a subsequent occurrence must 
be treated as a first occurrence. If a private employer has ever committed a 
violation of Section 41-8-30, the private employer's licenses must be suspended 
for at least tentwenty 
days but not more than thirtysixty 
days for any violation or subsequent occurrence involving a violation of 
Section 41-8-20. The director shall verify the work authorization status of the 
employees with the federal government pursuant to 8 U.S.C. Section 1373(c) and 
notify the private employer of the results. The private employer shall 
immediately terminate an employee whose work authorization was not verified 
upon being notified by the director. The director shall notify federal, state, 
and local law enfor