"Home Depot" amendment would bar cities from requiring labor sites


Associated Press - June 26, 2007 5:04 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - Home Depot is tired of being forced by local governments to provide accommodations for the informal labor markets that often pop up in its store parking lots. So the company turned to its home-state lawmakers for help.

The Senate could respond this week by attaching language to the immigration bill prohibiting city councils from requiring home improvement stores to pay for shelters or other services to help maintain orderly day labor sites.

The amendment is sponsored by Republican Senator Johnny Isakson. It would shut down a growing practice in California, where city councils recently have forced Home Depot to build facilities, hire security staff and offer bathrooms.

Isakson says the local mandates -- often a condition of permitting -- are a costly intrusion into private business rights. Others say the companies that attract the labor markets have a responsibility to maintain safety and prevent nuisances. Besides, they say, it isn't Washington's business.

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