Thread: HEMET CA: Employers must ensure workers are legal

HEMET: Employers must ensure workers are legal

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
By KEVIN PEARSON
The Press-Enterprise

The Hemet City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an ordinance that will require all employers to ensure that their employees are legally allowed to work in the United States.

Stressing the importance of protecting businesses and residents from losing jobs to illegal workers, the council voted to require the use of E-Verify for all new hires beginning June 9.

The item passed with no debate from the council and only three comments from the public, all of them in support of the measure.

After the meeting, Councilman Larry Smith said, "I think it's only right that legal citizens get the first crack at local, state and federal jobs."

"As a legal citizen, you earned that right to have the first shot at employment. When you are here illegally and you don't play by the rules, there is a price to pay," he said. "The city has chosen to follow the laws of the land."

The program is run by the Department of Homeland Security and is used by a number of cities throughout the region and nationally.

Several southwest Riverside County cities require businesses to use E-Verify. Hemet modeled its ordinance after one adopted in Temecula.

If a business hired an employee who is an illegal immigrant and is found to be in violation, the City Manager can ask that the employee be terminated.

A second offense can result in the business having its business license revoked.

City Attorney Eric Vail thanked the Hemet Tea Party for information it provided on the E-Verify system, saying it helped his office act more quickly on creating the ordinance.

E-Verify is a free service. Visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify to view the website.

"Whoever is responsible for this, I want to thank them," said Ted Wagner, who drove to the meeting from Menifee to offer his support. "We have 14 percent unemployment in the Inland Empire. The jobs should be going to our citizens."

Reach Kevin Pearson at 951-763-3466 or kpearson@PE.com

http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/stori ... c5dbf.html