Thread: State lawmakers approve bill penalizing businesses that hire

State lawmakers approve bill penalizing businesses that hire illegal workers
By Howard Fischer

Capitol media services

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.07.2006

PHOENIX - For the first time ever, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday to penalize companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers.

The voice vote came after Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, diluted some provisions to make it more acceptable to the business community. That includes an escape clause which says companies cannot be penalized if they comply with state and federal hiring laws.

Also gone are provisions to automatically revoke the license of companies with three illegal hiring offenses within one year, and another which would have allowed employees who are laid off to sue companies if undocumented workers remain employed.

But Pearce said what remains is significant, including requirements for state and local agencies that issue business licenses to audit companies to see if they are getting around the law.

But Pearce said what remains is significant, including requirements for state and local agencies that issue business licenses to audit companies to see if they are getting around the law.

The vote came over the objection of Democrats, including legislators who in prior years complained that GOP-sponsored measures were aimed at illegal immigrants and not at companies that lured them across the border with jobs.

By Tuesday, though, Democrats found things they said made HB 2577 unacceptable. One said provisions are too lax, another found them too tough, and a third said the state should do nothing and instead wait for federal immigration reform.

That position could put party members at odds with the Democratic governor: Janet Napolitano specifically called for employer sanctions in her State of the State speech.

The legislation subjects first-time offenders to fines of at least $2,000 per undocumented worker; companies with three offenses within a year would pay a minimum of $6,000 per offense, with a mandatory year in jail for violators.

Enforcement comes in two forms.
First are audits of up to 5 percent of companies licensed by state and local agencies.

But the original measure would have required auditors to compare each firm's employment records with a federal database.

This version has auditors do a more general check of whether companies are completing and retaining forms they already are required to keep under federal law, and whether the firms are complying with hiring laws. Auditors would have the option -- but not be required -- to check the federal database.

The second enforcement method essentially involves someone squealing: The legislation provides $100,000 to hire an aide in the Ombudsman's Office to help companies comply with the law -- and take complaints about companies that do not.

There even is a finder's fee of sorts, with the state splitting fines collected with state or local governments if they initiated the inquiry.
Objections came from Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, who last year lashed out at Republicans who refused to impose employer sanctions.

"Ultimately, a message will have to be sent to the business community that they can't have it both ways: They cannot continue employing individuals and, at the same time, leave them to the whims and actions of this legislative body or others to affect their being here in this country and providing that labor,'' he said at that time.

On Tuesday, though, Miranda said he's not convinced the legislation would hit major employers who hire undocumented workers.

"There's absolutely no guarantee that this bill is going to start with the Marriott's of the world, the Denny's of the world,'' he said.
"It's Jose's Taco Stand that's going to be impacted, it's the bakery shop that's going to be impacted, it's the small ... owner of a gasoline station that's going to be impacted, it's car washes that are going to be impacted,'' Miranda continued. "It's just simply not fair.''

But Rep. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, said Democrats "want to make sure that employers aren't punished unfairly.'' She said the GOP bills are unnecessarily harsh and "don't really support employers in their efforts to ensure that they're not hiring undocumeteds.''

And Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, said she doesn't support employer sanctions - or bills to penalize undocumented workers - because it's not the state's role to deal with anything related to illegal immigration. Sinema said she wants a "comprehensive'' federal solution.

"Employers employ undocumented workers because they need the labor and undocumented workers come to this country because they need the work,'' she said. "The way to solve the problem is ... to reform the system so that both workers and employers can get matched up appropriately and legally."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 07-ON.html

Lawmakers water down proposed punishments for illegal hirings

Associated Press
Mar. 7, 2006 05:33 PM


A proposal to punish businesses for hiring illegal immigrants was watered down Tuesday at the Arizona Legislature when lawmakers approved a change that would protect employers from prosecution if they have verified their workers' employment eligibility.

Some advocates for lessening Arizona's role as the nation's busiest illegal entry point said employers are fueling the problem by giving construction, agricultural and service industry jobs to immigrants, who account for an estimated 10 percent of all workers in the state.

Federal law already outlaws business from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, but many lawmakers and immigration analysts said the federal government has done a poor job of enforcing those rules. Employer sanction proposals were defeated the last two years amid opposition from business groups.

The latest proposal won preliminary approval Tuesday by the House and now moves to a final vote by that chamber.

Another key change to the proposal removed a requirement that violators lose their state-issued business licenses and now would give judges the option of imposing similar punishments.

Under the bill, the minimum penalty for a first-time violator would be $2,000. Businesses with three violations within a year would face an additional $6,000 penalty.

On second and third offense, violators also could face a top-tier misdemeanor and have their business licenses suspended. Three-time violators could have their licenses revoked and would face a mandatory one-year jail sentence.

Lawmakers also stripped out a provision that would have given legal workers the right to sue companies that fire them while keeping illegal immigrants on the payroll.

Republican Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, sponsor of the proposal and a staunch advocate for limiting immigration, said the changes didn't weaken his bill, but were part of a compromise meant to treat honest employers fairly.

"We are not trying to sneak up on anybody. We want to go after those that intentionally violate the law," Pearce said.

The bill (HB2577) would protect employers from prosecution if the businesses run their employees' names through a federal database to determine work eligibility and have followed state and federal employment law.

Democratic lawmakers also have sought employer sanctions on numerous occasions this year, arguing that Arizona's immigration debate has been dominated by anti-immigrant legislation but has done nothing to confront employers who turn to illegal labor.

Still, several Democratic lawmakers criticized Pearce's proposed punishments, saying the bill wouldn't give state agencies any new money to enforce the rules.

Democratic Rep. Steve Gallardo of Phoenix said Republicans are talking tough about illegal immigration yet doing little to ensure real changes.

"The fact is that they are not serious about immigration," Gallardo said. "They want to use it as a political wedge."

Republican Rep. Bill Konopnicki of Safford, a restaurant and radio station owner, had previously opposed employer sanctions but said he could vote for the current version of Pearce's bill if it's not altered.

"What we want to go after are those people who are using the underground economy, not paying taxes and not paying their fair share," Konopnicki said.

Lawmakers also are considering two other employer sanction bills.

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