Thread: TN labor law penalizing employers,nets few violators

TN labor law penalizing employers of undocumented workers nets few violators
Updated: 2/8/2010 10:53:57 AM Posted: 2/8/2010 10:50:40 AM Listen To Article (5)



By Janell Ross

Proponents heralded passage of a state law to penalize employers of undocumented workers as the moment Tennessee's allure to illegal immigrants began to fade.

But two years after the Illegal Alien Employment Act went into effect, state officials have closed 12 complaints involving 19 companies, and only one business was formally charged. That tally is well under what the law's supporters say they expected.

State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, the act's sponsor, said he wants labor officials to explain to the legislative Fiscal Review Committee he chairs why they're not doing more to enforce the act.

"I'm very disappointed in that," he said. "The Department of Labor is not doing as the General Assembly instructed."

Immigrant advocates say they're concerned those who file the complaints don't have the authority or the training to enforce immigration law, and they create an undue burden on small business owners.

"When someone goes into a Mexican restaurant and they hear the kitchen staff speaking Spanish, that's not enough to establish and substantiate an investigation," said Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Under Tennessee's law, a reported business that hasn't taken steps to determine a worker's eligibility could lose the licenses it needs to operate until it can prove the illegal workers are gone. And a company caught twice in a three-year period could lose its licenses for up to a year.

State officials, law enforcement officers and state and local employees can file complaints based on their own observations. Members of the public must approach officials with information to file.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, charged with enforcing the employment act, says it's doing its best with limited resources. The department has 12 inspectors to investigate alleged child labor, workplace smoking, wage-and-hour and other labor complaints. The state's Illegal Alien Employment Act didn't come with funding for any new inspectors.

Few tools available

The law also didn't give the department the legal authority or information to determine whether workers are legally documented.

"We are rigorously enforcing it as well as we can," said Dan Bailey, general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "We don't have many tools at our disposal because we cannot determine if someone is illegal. We can suspect it all we want to. But what we are empowered to do is just about limited to requesting I-9s."

Every person hired at a new job must complete a federal I-9 form attesting to their legal eligibility to work in the United States, plus show their employer some combination of identifying documents or work permits.

A Tennessee business that can show it completed this process or used a federal database known as E-Verify cannot be held accountable under the Tennessee law, even if workers are found to be unauthorized to work in the United States.

When the law was passed, Bailey said the department checked to see if the Davidson County Sheriff's Office could help the department enforce the law because of its special access to certain federal immigration databases. But the federal government, which granted the sheriff's office limited power to enforce immigration law, said the two agencies could not work together.

That leaves the department dependent on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate state employment act complaints, and that agency may have other priorities.

"I don't want to make it seem like I'm putting all the onus on them or that they are dragging their feet," Bailey said. "They have been very helpful. But they also have their own priorities and caseload issues."

Labor Department documents show some complaints were filed because all of the workers at a car wash spoke Spanish. Another was filed because an entire roadside crew looked "Mexican" to a passerby. One case was filed after a construction worker reported to Ketron that there were "more of them than us, Americans, at the jobsite."

Law can be misused

Jim Wakefield, who owns a Knoxville construction company that was the subject of a complaint, said he supports the law, but it has been the source of stress for business owners because competitors and others can misuse it.

"I have been investigated by the state and the federal government," said Wakefield. "Everything here has been looked over twice. That should show that I have no problem with the law."

A special agent with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission filed the only complaint made public that resulted in action.

On Jan. 30, 2008, Brad Allison suspected worker documentation problems at Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant on Briley Parkway during a customary inspection. Three days later, he filed the complaint.

While the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development moved toward closing the case, Allison and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent showed up at the restaurant and arrested two Mazatlan employees.

Restaurant representatives agreed with Labor Department findings that it had violated the Illegal Alien Employment Act. The company submitted a sworn statement saying there were no more illegal workers on staff, and the matter was closed.

Neither Allison nor Mazatlan's owner responded to requests for comment.


http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.as ... yid=112717

If TN believe this law isn't working as intended, perhaps the wrote a "weak" law. Typically, people simply don't have information that would be necessary to take action against an employer.

Employer may hire an illegal alien that uses counterfeit or false documents. Consequently, employers must be FORCED to verify social security numbers.

Perhaps State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro should explain why the legislation doesn't require E-verify ?

It is because again they are not enforcing the laws!

The Federal Government refuses to secure our National Borders and enforce our Immigration Laws leaving the States to PROTECT their Citizens! Oklahoma and Arizona and a few other states have implemented bills that enforce immigration laws resulting in ILLEGALS leaving their states and returning to their home country or moving to another state in the United States to drain their resources. The Chamber of Commerce, ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS, Elitist Politicians, and their Elitist Politcial Contributors always claim to follow Immigration Laws but continuously become confused about the interpretation of the law.

Janell Ross should work for La Raza. Stephen Fotopulos and his group, TIRRC, Tennessee's La Raza, vigorously lobby against efforts to stop illegal immigration, against the 287g, against verification measures. He and Janell are involved in the commentary against enforcement. Typical liberal, open borders garbage that the American people reject.

People report businesses, but ICE in TN and the Dept. of Labor appear to do nothing. You have to be an official to file a report, so if that official doesn't want to do anything, you have little recourse. One man who reported a landscaping business was ridiculed in the paper, and when people see this, it is a real damper on their desire to expose those who hire illegal aliens. They make it complicated and by not allowing people to provide anonymous tips, such as Crime Stoppers, and other programs, they want to make sure that people know that they will be the target, not the unscrupulous employers.

ICE agents in Chattanooga let business use illegal labor, even with credible tips, and the Democrat Governor and his government turn a blind eye. Tennessee needs to enforce its legislation, not just pass it.

This comment further illustrates that they know that they are hiring illegal aliens:

(quote)

legalmom wrote:

Are you kidding me????? They are using these piddly examples of why they can't enforce the laws.....How about going to Morristown and hitting the big time corps there that have mostly illegals working there. How about the temp agencies that put these illegals to work. GIve me a break...If they are not focused on these companies and stopping the illegals from working there then they need to get some glasses...While I agree you can't raid every place that the kitchen staff speaks spanish however; you can look at the highly hispanic populated areas such as Morristown and know all these people don't work at car washes and mexican restaurants.....Most of them work in these big factories so where oh where is the Labor Dept. in these areas....This law was put into place for a reason but if they are not even going to make an effort to enforce it then we may want to get used to what the illegals are doing. Another fine example of how well government works for us huh? It was a nice try Sen. Ketron...perhaps some of the stimulas money could have been used for this project as opposed to making more jobs for the illegals.

(quote)

There are up to 10,000 illegal aliens (law enforcement figure) living, working, stealing identities, and jobs in Cleveland,TN and Bradley County (near Chattanooga,TN) - population around 90,000. There are big corporations and businesses using illegal labor. Thousands of illegal aliens serviced and protected by special interest groups and City officials. Groups including Ocoee Regional Multicultural Services, Chamber of Commerce, City Police, City Council, foreign corporations in Bradley County,TN praise the 62 nations represented and the diversity, forgetting that taxpayers have to pay for their open borders, global outreach. The millions of dollars going to education, incarceration, and health care testify to their impact on taxpayers and residents.

A reported MS 13 gang murder, and an alleged unsolved "Columbian neck tie" murder of a Hispanic store owner are courtesy of illegal immigration.

Where is the enforcement?

Psalm 91

In response to a Pro-ILLEGAL comment on the source article:

[i]Of course the more the Elitist Special Interest Groups financially benefit from the ILLEGALS the more money that is poured into the coffers of the Elitist Politicians to support the ILLEGALS but this is really not new, the Chamber of Commerce has always been working in support of the ILLEGALS. The ILLEGALS are comfortable with pushing ahead of everyone else including U.S. Citizens who do not receive the same preferential treatment in all areas. U.S. Citizens have already lost “entry levelâ€

Iccat wrote:
[quote]

Of course the more the Elitist Special Interest Groups financially benefit from the ILLEGALS the more money that is poured into the coffers of the Elitist Politicians to support the ILLEGALS but this is really not new, the Chamber of Commerce has always been working in support of the ILLEGALS. The ILLEGALS are comfortable with pushing ahead of everyone else including U.S. Citizens who do not receive the same preferential treatment in all areas. U.S. Citizens have already lost “entry levelâ€