December 13, 2007
Warehouse Workers Quit in Immigration Inquiry
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Fresh Direct, the online grocery delivery operation that caters to affluent and overworked New Yorkers, lost dozens of employees this week after federal immigration officials notified the company that its employee records were under investigation.

The company sent its workers a memo on Sunday and Monday saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to inspect the records of every employee and asked them to update their information and provide documents, like Social Security cards, to prove employment eligibility. At least 40 warehouse workers who could not produce proof that they were authorized to work in the United States quit or were suspended.

At the company’s warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, the work force, largely immigrants, reacted with panic and distress as news of the inquiry spread.

“Some people just walked out the door,â€