http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun ... l_workers/

SUMMERVILLE — Dorchester County officials will start enforcing an ordinance that cracks down on illegal workers next month, Council Chairman Larry Hargett said Wednesday.

The ordinance allows the county to revoke the business license of anybody who hires illegal immigrants. It takes effect July 1.

Council killed a plan earlier this week to pay for it, but that doesn't mean the ordinance is dead, Hargett said.

"We'll find a way to fund it," he said. "We will enforce this ordinance."

One possibility is to fine employers found to be in violation, Hargett said. The fines would pay for an auditor to investigate complaints. "We believe we will get enough complaints to keep one person busy," Hargett said.

Council voted against raising business license fees to pay for the auditor earlier this week.

The county will investigate complaints that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the business is using illegal workers, according to the ordinance. Complaints that allege workers are illegal simply because they look like they're from another country will not be investigated. Federal law forbids actions against workers because of their national origin.

The ordinance means that business owners need to pay attention to their I-9 forms, or Employment and Eligibility Verification papers, immigration attorneys Laura Paris and Amanda Newell of Charleston said Wednesday at a forum sponsored by the Greater Summerville/Dorchester Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Council.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requires employers to keep an I-9 form on every worker hired. The form lists the papers the workers presented showing their eligibility to work.

Beaufort County passed a similar ordinance last year, but it will use several inspectors to audit all the county's businesses rather rely on complaints.