http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/119018

Published: 03.07.2006

State lawmakers approve bill penalizing businesses that hire illegal workers
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX - For the first time ever, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday to penalize companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers.

The voice vote came after Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, diluted some provisions to make it more acceptable to the business community. That includes an escape clause which says companies cannot be penalized if they comply with state and federal hiring laws.

Also gone are provisions to automatically revoke the license of companies with three illegal hiring offenses within one year, and another which would have allowed employees who are laid off to sue companies if undocumented workers remain employed.

But Pearce said what remains is significant, including requirements for state and local agencies that issue business licenses to audit companies to see if they are getting around the law.

But Pearce said what remains is significant, including requirements for state and local agencies that issue business licenses to audit companies to see if they are getting around the law.

The vote came over the objection of Democrats, including legislators who in prior years complained that GOP-sponsored measures were aimed at illegal immigrants and not at companies that lured them across the border with jobs.

By Tuesday, though, Democrats found things they said made HB 2577 unacceptable. One said provisions are too lax, another found them too tough, and a third said the state should do nothing and instead wait for federal immigration reform.

That position could put party members at odds with the Democratic governor: Janet Napolitano specifically called for employer sanctions in her State of the State speech.

The legislation subjects first-time offenders to fines of at least $2,000 per undocumented worker; companies with three offenses within a year would pay a minimum of $6,000 per offense, with a mandatory year in jail for violators.

Enforcement comes in two forms.

First are audits of up to 5 percent of companies licensed by state and local agencies.

But the original measure would have required auditors to compare each firm's employment records with a federal database.

This version has auditors do a more general check of whether companies are completing and retaining forms they already are required to keep under federal law, and whether the firms are complying with hiring laws. Auditors would have the option -- but not be required -- to check the federal database.

The second enforcement method essentially involves someone squealing: The legislation provides $100,000 to hire an aide in the Ombudsman's Office to help companies comply with the law -- and take complaints about companies that do not.

There even is a finder's fee of sorts, with the state splitting fines collected with state or local governments if they initiated the inquiry.

Objections came from Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, who last year lashed out at Republicans who refused to impose employer sanctions.

"Ultimately, a message will have to be sent to the business community that they can't have it both ways: They cannot continue employing individuals and, at the same time, leave them to the whims and actions of this legislative body or others to affect their being here in this country and providing that labor,'' he said at that time.

On Tuesday, though, Miranda said he's not convinced the legislation would hit major employers who hire undocumented workers.

"There's absolutely no guarantee that this bill is going to start with the Marriott's of the world, the Denny's of the world,'' he said.

"It's Jose's Taco Stand that's going to be impacted, it's the bakery shop that's going to be impacted, it's the small ... owner of a gasoline station that's going to be impacted, it's car washes that are going to be impacted,'' Miranda continued. "It's just simply not fair.''

But Rep. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, said Democrats "want to make sure that employers aren't punished unfairly.'' She said the GOP bills are unnecessarily harsh and "don't really support employers in their efforts to ensure that they're not hiring undocumeteds.''

And Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, said she doesn't support employer sanctions - or bills to penalize undocumented workers - because it's not the state's role to deal with anything related to illegal immigration. Sinema said she wants a "comprehensive'' federal solution.

"Employers employ undocumented workers because they need the labor and undocumented workers come to this country because they need the work,'' she said. "The way to solve the problem is ... to reform the system so that both workers and employers can get matched up appropriately and legally."