ICE audit leads to 200 layoffs at Ranch Market
By Jose Gaspar

An audit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at four Ranch Market stores in Kern County finds improper documentation of employee's work records. More than 200 are laid off.


Story Created: May 11, 2010 at 6:17 PM PDT
Story Updated: May 12, 2010 at 11:46 AM PDT
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- For 11 years, Rocio Nieves worked at Ranch Market on Niles and Mt. Vernon streets in east Bakersfield. Tuesday afternoon Nieves and several co-workers were called in to an office and told by the company they were being let go because of discrepancies in their employment records.

"It seems unjust to me," said Nieves who has a family of four to support.

Ranch Market attorney Julie Pace said the company was forced to lay off more than 200 workers at its four Kern County locations, 2 stores in Bakersfield, one in Arvin and one in Delano.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an audit of the company's employment records in November, 2009. Employers are required to complete and retain a form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States.

The form requires employers employers to review and record the individuals identity documents and determine whether the documents reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual, according to an ICE press release.

"We recently got a list and it identifies individuals names that require the company to let those employees go if they're on a list of having used suspect documents," said Julie Pace, attorney for Ranch Market which is based in Arizona.

People searching for work sometimes use fake or a social security belonging to someone else in order to gain employment.

ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice said no civil or criminal action is taken against an employer if it did not knowingly hire an employee without proper documentation and takes steps to rectify any situation where a discrepancy exists.