Bill > HB1283

This bill establishes protections against the unlawful confiscation and retention of identification documents, recognizing that access to legal identity is fundamental to individual rights and participation in society. It prohibits employers or their agents from demanding, confiscating, or retaining an employee's or applicant's government-issued identification card, except for the limited purpose of verifying employment eligibility using the federal Form I-9, and even then, only temporarily for a maximum of ten hours, with a copy allowed to be kept. Employers must notify individuals in writing about these prohibitions when verifying employment eligibility and retain a record of this notification. The bill also makes it a criminal offense for an employer to knowingly violate these provisions, classifying it as criminal possession of an identification document, and allows individuals harmed by such actions to request the return of their documents and bring civil action for damages. Furthermore, it amends the definition of a bias-motivated crime to include the act of providing or threatening to provide an individual's government-issued identification document to federal immigration authorities, unless otherwise legally required or permitted, thereby aiming to prevent exploitation and intimidation related to identification documents.