On July 5, 2018, a federal judge in the Eastern District of California granted the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) request to temporarily prevent the state of California from enforcing key provisions of AB 450, one of three “sanctuary” laws that Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on October 5, 2017, and which took effect on January 1, 2018. AB 450, known as the Immigration Worker Protection Act, provides that California employers:
- May not allow federal immigration officials to access the employer’s nonpublic work areas unless the officials have a judicial warrant;
- May not allow federal immigration officials to access employee records without a subpoena or judicial warrant;
- Must provide notice to its employees before and after the federal government inspects the employer’s I-9 forms; and
- May not re-verify an employee’s lawful work authorization status unless required to do so by federal law.