Thread: New Ga. Immigration Law Worries Construction Employers

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1150794317411

New Ga. Immigration Law Worries Construction Employers
Aisha I. Jefferson
Fulton County Daily Report
06-21-2006

Centex Construction Vice President Jeff George estimates that a typical $20 million project employs 500 to 700 manual laborers -- 30 percent to 40 percent of whom speak English as a second language.

George says he doesn't know if any of those workers are in the country illegally. His subcontractors have reported the workers as legitimate.

But in fewer than 13 months, a new Georgia law will require employers to verify their workers' immigration status or risk severe penalties -- a burden that has George and others worried about the state's construction industry.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, says George, "doesn't fix the fact that we need foreign workers who need to be legitimized as a whole, and it doesn't fix the fact that we are one of many industries dependent on them."

Economist Donald Ratajczak adds that "if the laws are aggressively enforced, the industry would be almost impacted overnight."

"You just can't easily find the alternative workers," Ratajczak says.

The law, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, requires all public employers, contractors and subcontractors to verify social security numbers and immigration status of workers. Public employers, contractors and subcontractors with at least 500 employees have to adhere to the law starting July 1, 2007. Employers with at least 100 employees must comply beginning July 1, 2008, and all employers will have to adhere to the law by July 1, 2009.

Among other punishments, the law bars employers who pay more than $600 a year in wages to an unverified worker from claiming those wages as a tax-deductible business expense.

Most recent statistics from the Georgia Department of Labor show that there are about 217,400 construction workers in Georgia, who make an average $773 per week, about $24 per week above the average workers' salaries across all industries.

The costs of replacing whatever segment of those workers who are in the United States illegally would be considerable, Ratajczak estimates, because employers would have to pay for replacement searches, training and -- perhaps most important -- higher wages.

George would like the government to establish a federal guest-worker program that would legalize undocumented immigrants, arguing that such a system would be better for the job market than abruptly sending thousands or millions of people home.

President Bush has proposed such a program.

As Congress and other states consider other immigration measures, Scott Moore, a project manager at Humphries and Company, fears that inconsistent laws around the country will force illegal residents from state to state until they find one with the most liberal laws.

One law for all states, he says, "would be easier for the business community and contractors."

Should the new immigration laws produce an exodus of construction workers, Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says his department is committed to assisting employers in finding legal and skilled replacements.

Thurmond, whose department will also be tasked with enforcing the new state law, suggests underutilized populations such as young black men and disabled people could help fill a gap in construction workers.

Originally Posted by Brian503a

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1150794317411

New Ga. Immigration Law Worries Construction Employers
Aisha I. Jefferson
Fulton County Daily Report
06-21-2006


As Congress and other states consider other immigration measures, Scott Moore, a project manager at Humphries and Company, fears that inconsistent laws around the country will force illegal residents from state to state until they find one with the most liberal laws.

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That's great news. Maybe they will all go to California and Arizona.

OK....have to make a couple of comments here:

1. Again, notice the real issue this George fellow is upset about...WAGES. He wants CHEAP LABOR.

2. He complains that this law's enforcement could create problems if he lost a bunch of employees ALL AT ONCE...now, this new law does not go into effect for his company for A YEAR! He's got a whole year to get his ducks in a row, but wants to claim he needs and out, thinks the law is unfair.

Under the heading of "What was he thinking when he said that."

At the end of the article someone from the state Employment Department has some comments to make, letting George know that the state is there to help him find replacement workers...now, construction is HARD physical and demanding work, and the sites can be dangerous. So, am I the only one who finds it humorous that the state is thinking disabled Americans could fill these construction jobs? Not trying to be politically incorrect here, I support mainstreaming of all people...but, we need to use some commonsense, and this just strikes me as a state employee not thinking before he speaks.

Originally Posted by PintoBean

So, am I the only one who finds it humorous that the state is thinking disabled Americans could fill these construction jobs? .

I got a good laugh from that one too. I'm a construction worker and I know for sure that disabled Americans cannot do construction work. Can't believe that someone would even suggest something like that.
But there are more than enough healthy American males, and in some cases females, to fill the gap. The only problem is the 'slave wages' being paid to most construction workers.
Companies such as Centex are making 20%-40% net profit on these $20million projects here in Florida. 80% of the workers here on such projects are Mexican with 80% of those being illegal.