House passes bill to require verification of workers' immigration status

Published: Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 10:35 PM

Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune


Contractors who do business with public bodies at the local and state levels will have to swear an affidavit they have checked the legal status of their employees if they want to retain the work, the Louisiana House decided Tuesday.

By a 94-0 vote, House members went along with Senate-made changes to House Bill 342 by Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, that would require the contractor to submit an affidavit with the bid package promising to use the federal "E-Verify Program" to check the legal status of workers at the start of the project and as it progresses.

Edwards said the bill is designed to crack down on contractors who may use illegal immigrants and pay them with taxpayer dollars.

If the company fails to submit the affidavit or does not run the verification, the contractor can have the work terminated and be barred from future bidding or contract work for up to three years.

Edwards said the bill was amended by the Senate to require all subcontractors hired by the prime contractor to also use the system and submit an affidavit to the contractor pledging to make the same checks.

The contractor would not be responsible for policing the subcontractor's employees, Edwards said. He said each company would be responsible for checking its own work crews.

If a contractor's work is terminated, the bill says the company will be responsible for "any additional costs incurred" by the public body such as rebidding or delays.

Edwards' bill heads to Gov. Bobby Jindal for his signature or veto.

On a related bill, both chambers voted to allow House Bill 646 by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, to be heard by the full Senate in the last three days of the session.

Under law, legislators cannot take up bills in the last three days of a session unless they get the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate. The last three days of a session are set aside to debating concurrences in changes made to a bill or compromise committee reports.

The session must end by 6 p.m. Thursday and Talbot's bill was on the Senate agenda when the three-day deadline kicked in.

The bill requires private employers to keep on file a copy of an identification card for all workers as well as one of the following: a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, alien registration card or other forms showing the worker is in the country legally.

Or, Talbot said, the firm can use the "E-Verify Program."

It also gives the Louisiana Workforce Commission authority to police the bill.

For a first violation, the bill calls for a fine of $250 per illegal immigrant found working; for a second offense, the fine increases to $500 per illegal immigrant and the loss of an employer's license or permit for not more than 10 days. His original bill called for a permit suspension of not less than 10 days.

For subsequent violations, the fines escalate to a maximum of $1,000 per illegal worker and loss of a business license for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of six months.

Talbot's original bill called for an immediate, indefinite suspension of a permit or license.

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