Thread: CA: Golden State Fence Issues Statement on Legal Proceedings

Golden State Fence Issues Statement on Legal Proceedings

Wednesday March 28, 8:33 pm ET


SAN DIEGO, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden State Fence Company, one of the nation's leading fence design and installation companies, announced today that a San Diego Court sentenced Mel Kay, the Company's President, and Mike McLaughlin, another senior executive, to serve only three years probation and no time in prison. In addition to probation, both men were sentenced to a period of home detention, 1,040 hours of community service and to pay fines of $200,000 and $100,000 respectively for the hiring of undocumented workers.

"We are grateful that the judge chose probationary sentences rather than incarceration. Mel and Mike are hard working men who have worked all their lives to make a better life for themselves and the people around them," said Executive Vice President Gary Hansen. "Their acts were not egregious, nor were they exploitive to the undocumented workers. We believe the court recognized the strength of their character when making its decision.

"We would also like to thank our customers and members of the community who supported the Company during this challenging time."

In explaining his decision not to impose the maximum sentence of five years, the Honorable Judge Moskowitz said, "A company that pays top dollar and did not get a competitive advantage, should receive different treatment. The Court cannot ignore the background of hard working people who treated others fairly. Contrary to the vast majority of people who hire illegal immigrants, there was no abuse [here]."

Judge Moskowitz also stated that Golden State Fence had devised an A-plus system for dealing with the situation by creating a model that other companies should follow to avoid hiring illegal immigrants.

The Company noted that the A-plus system cited by Judge Moskowitz referred to the corporate immigration compliance program that Golden State has voluntarily participated in since December 2005. The Basic Employment Verification Pilot program is run by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), through which newly hired employees are screened by the government to help verify their legal immigration status. Its participation in this program has allowed the Company to lead its industry in combating the hiring of illegal immigrants. Golden State Fence encourages other companies in the fencing business to also participate in this government program.

About Golden State Fence

Based in Riverside, California, Golden State Fence Company is one of the nation's leading fence design and installation companies, with over 25 years of experience. Following a "take care of the customer" philosophy, Golden State Fence offers architectural presentations, fence details, value engineering and installation, to provide any style, size or design of fence available. Golden State Fence has eight locations -- Riverside, Oceanside, Anaheim, Palmdale, Santa Paula, Brawley, Menifee and Bakersfield.




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Source: Golden State Fence Company

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070328/law087.html?.v=101

What a load of PR poop -- Jaded

What a joke

It certainly is a joke.

The judge should have thrown the book at them & seized the company to boot.

Mel and Mike are hard working men who have worked all their lives to make a better life for themselves

And nothing makes life better than hiring illegal aliens to work on the cheap so Mel and Mike can take home more green.

Of course, these guys didn't get off completely free. They will have to spend a grueling 1000 hours or so shelving books at their local library.

I'm on kflr interviewing about this.