Thread: AZ: Mesa is tightening oversight on contractors' employees

Mesa is tightening oversight on contractors' employees
by Gary Nelson - Dec. 2, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

When a Mesa police lieutenant was tipped off this year that a contract janitorial firm might be employing undocumented immigrants, city officials had a sit-down meeting with the company's owner.

Purpose: reinforce Mesa's requirement that every contractor obey Arizona's employer-sanctions law, which forbids hiring people who are not in the country legally.

That meeting was held in May. But over the summer, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office pursued allegations that several of the company's workers were continuing to commit fraud to hide their illegal status.
On Oct. 16, sheriff's deputies, without notifying the city in advance, raided Mesa's City Plaza, main library and security-badging office to find them. The raid outraged Mesa officials and kicked off yet another Valley-wide uproar over illegal immigration.

Mesa wants nothing of the sort to happen again.

Mayor Scott Smith said last week that the city has imposed new rules on outside contractors to ensure people working on city premises are in the country legally.

First, Smith said, companies will be required to list every employee working under city contracts.

That way, the city can audit individual workers' status.

Second, contract workers who need security badges will be required to show up in person at the badging office.

They will be asked to show valid government-issued identification and proof of legal status.

Previously, a contractor could obtain badges for his or her employees.

"We recognize that we had a bit of a gap" in previous procedures, Smith said, "and we believe we have filled that gap.

"And if we need to do more, we'll do more."

Smith said he's not bothered by the idea that some contractors might not like the new rules and stop working for the city.

"We're very serious about following the terms of our contract," Smith said.

"If they can't follow those, then they shouldn't be doing business with the city of Mesa."

www.azcentral.com

Second, contract workers who need security badges will be required to show up in person at the badging office



Sounds good in theory.........but what benefit will that have when you're talking about a city government and police dept which has no problem with overlooking identity theft and false documents?