Audit targets businesses that hire illegal immigrants
By GINNY SKALSKI

843-706-8144
Published Sunday, September 9, 2007

Companies that do business in unincorporated Beaufort County could have their employment records audited next year as part of a mass audit aimed at deterring businesses from employing illegal immigrants.

Beaufort County administrator Gary Kubic plans to hire a company in the coming months to head up an audit of company employment records. It's Kubic's way of implementing the "lawful employment ordinance" approved in December 2006 by the County Council.

The ordinance says business owners caught employing undocumented workers could have their business licenses revoked. Kubic expects to advertise the auditing job this week.

The company picked to do the work will randomly audit businesses operating in unincorporated areas of the county to ensure all their employment verification documents are legitimate, he said.

If those documents show employees don't meet federal employment standards, the county can then suspend a company's business license. The council would then decide whether the license should be revoked.

Kubic hopes to have a auditing company in place by the end of the year, allowing the firm to prepare an auditing strategy before the ordinance takes effect Jan. 1.

The council approved the ordinance last year after three months of contentious community debate. Supporters said it would help level the playing field for businesses that go out of their way to hire legal employees.

Kubic anticipates paying for the auditing firm with increased county business license fees and with money recovered through improved enforcement of the licensing program.

He also wants to couple the employment verification audits with reviews of a company's annual revenue. The county's business license fee is based on the type of business and how much money it earns.

Kubic wants his business license staff to audit businesses' gross receipts to make sure they're paying the correct fee. Those reviews could lead to the county collecting additional fees from businesses.

"There's going to be some real advantages, I think, to the county kicking off this process," Kubic said.

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/ ... 4397c.html