Thread: Sheriff Joe's county to enforce employer sanctions

County to enforce employer sanctions

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) last week announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) to jointly investigate possible violations of Arizona’s new employer sanctions law.

The new employer sanctions law (Arizona Revised Statute Section 23-212), which goes into effect January 1, 2008, authorizes the county attorney to seek suspension and ultimately revocation of the business license of an employer who knowingly or intentionally hires an illegal immigrant.

At a recent press conference, County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio signed an intergovernmental agreement between their two offices that establishes this partnership. Both the sheriff’s office and the county attorney’s office will field complaints from citizens regarding suspected violations of the employer sanctions law.

Complaints may come from phone calls, e-mails or regular mail. Sheriff’s deputies will investigate. Prosecutors in the county attorney’s office will analyze the cases investigated and determine if there is sufficient evidence to go to court and seek to suspend or revoke the business license of the employer.

Maricopa County has been granted a budget of $1.4 million to help enforce this law, which designates county attorneys as the enforcement agencies.

Under the agreement between the two offices, up to $1 million from that fund may be spent to help fund the sheriff’s enforcement efforts.

“In seeking a partner for enforcing Arizona’s new employer sanctions law, I found the choice was clear,â€

Related Story:

September 28, 2007
Employer sanctions opponents tangle with county attorney
By Jim Small, jim.small@azcapitoltimes.com

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas will violate the employer sanctions law if he investigates and prosecutes complaints in the manner he announced earlier this month, attorneys challenging the sanctions measure claim in a recent court filing.

Thomas’ Sept. 21 announcement that prosecutors in his office “will analyze the [complaints] investigated and determine if there is sufficient evidence to go to court to seek to suspend or revoke the business license of the employerâ€