Thread: Immigration Issue Goes to Court

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Immigration issue goes to court
Businesses sue over hiring illegal employees

By PETER PRENGAMAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES -- Frustrated by lax enforcement of immigration law, businesses are taking their fight against illegal immigration to court, accusing competitors of hiring illegal workers to achieve an unfair advantage.

Businesses and anti-illegal immigration groups said the legal action was an attempt to create an economic deterrent against hiring illegal employees.

In the first of a series of lawsuits, a temporary employment agency that supplies farm workers sued a grower and two competing companies on Monday.

Similar cases claiming violations of federal anti-racketeering laws have yielded mixed results. The California lawsuit is believed to be the first based on a state's unfair-competition laws, legal experts said.

Global Horizons claimed in the lawsuit that Munger Brothers, a grower, hired illegal immigrant workers from Ayala Agricultural Services and J&A Contractors.

The suit alleges Munger Brothers had a contract with Global Horizons to provide more than 600 blueberry pickers this spring, but nixed the agreement so it could hire illegal immigrants.

"Competitors hiring illegal immigrants is hurting our business badly," Global Horizons President Mordechai Orian said. "It's to the point that doing business legally isn't worth it."

Ayala Agricultural Services manager Javier Rodriguez had not seen the suit but said the company does not hire undocumented immigrants.

"If somebody doesn't have a green card or work documents, we don't hire them," he said.



Munger Brothers lawyer Theodore Hoppe said the contract with Global Horizons fell apart because the laborers they provided couldn't pick blueberries at the promised rate. J&A Contractors did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Legal experts said the cases could be difficult to win. Under the California statutes, plaintiffs must prove a competitor directly harmed their business.

The Global Horizons lawsuit came after a settlement was reached in a Washington state class action suit involving employees of Zirkle Fruit Co. who sued their employer for driving down wages by hiring undocumented workers.

Based on federal anti-racketeering laws, the case was settled for $1.3 million in January after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision to dismiss it.

Howard Foster, the lead plaintiffs' lawyer in the Washington case, said he expects more such suits as business owners learn their competitors hired illegal immigrants.

"So many people talk openly about using false documents to assemble an illegal work force," Foster said. "And when you have IDs with upside down numbers and backward pictures, you know they are fake."

This is long overdue. Why should those companies who hire illegals make all that extra money whereas law abiding businesses get penalized by following the law. Those who hire illegals often pay those employees less money, do not pay for overtime, cut back on safety rules and regulations, and save a lot of money by not giving them any benefits such as health plans and pension plans. This makes competition almost impossible. I hope the law abiding companies win their lawsuit!

Legal experts said the cases could be difficult to win. Under the California statutes, plaintiffs must prove a competitor directly harmed their business.

Doesn't sound hard to prove at all. The company had a contract to supply 600 workers and the contract was broken so another company could supply the workers. Sounds like Global Horizons was definitely harmed.

BTW, I saw a TV story on this case, and Global Horizons is owned by a legal immigrant, non-hispanic.

Duplicate article. Posted earlier. Please watch the duplicates.

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