Thread: Dirt-Cheap Day Labor

I saw this article on MSN today. It's really annoying to read articles on how to hire and care for and pay illegal workers for the day!!!



Dirt-cheap day labor


Need help with a home project? In many cities, you'll find ready workers hanging out in store parking lots or at intersections. But you might be a lawbreaker if you hire them.

By Judi Hasson

The paint is peeling off your front door. There are leaves to rake in the yard. And you desperately need a strong back to help move some furniture.

These jobs are typically too small to attract the attention of a contractor -- but not so small that an entire industry hasn't sprung up to accommodate them. In most cities of any size, there's a ready pool of cheap labor available on short notice, congregating in parking lots near the local Home Depot or a similar store, or at high-traffic intersections.

The catch: There's a chance you could be prosecuted if you pay an illegal worker more than $50 or don't pay your share of Social Security taxes. Beyond that, any work the laborer does comes without a guarantee. And you've invited a stranger into your home.

This underground economy is thriving. A snapshot of one business day last year found 117,600 day laborers working or looking for jobs at 500 sites, according to a January 2006 study funded by the Ford Foundation and other think tanks. Three-quarters of them were undocumented workers.

Video: A drive-up day-labor center in Herndon, Va.
http://video.msn.com/v/us/Money.htm?g=f ... bor&p=&fg=


Almost half of those workers were hired for household chores. The top jobs were construction, gardening, painting and drywall installation, according to the study, "On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States."

About 12 million undocumented workers live in the U.S., 7 million of them working for companies or picking up odd jobs, according to immigration experts.




Some communities, fed up with the inability of Congress to deal with illegal-immigrant problems, have passed their own laws to crack down on hiring day workers. Other towns, such as Herndon, Va., not far from the nation's capital, have set up specific places where day workers can wait for employers to drive by looking for workers.

The legal tangle
"The share of private homes hiring illegals goes up every year," says Steven Camarota, the director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C.

"It's hard to find labor on a periodic basis," a Cave Creek, Ariz., homeowner who uses day labor told The Arizona Republic. "There's no other source up here to find someone."

Even though it's just a day's work, you're still considered an employer. As such:

If you pay a worker more than $50 a month, you must pay the employer's share of Social Security taxes and withhold federal income taxes. These rules apply even if the worker is not a citizen.

You must fill out an I-9 form, an employer verification notice required by immigration authorities. It is available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Web site. You don't have to file it with any government agency, but just in case government officials ever knock on your door to see the form, keep it handy.

You are required to see two valid identifications from each worker, including one with a photo.

Continued: What are the risks?

1 | 2 | next >What are the chances of a homeowner being caught?

"Virtually none at all," says San Diego attorney Jeff Isaac, who calls himself "a lawyer in bluejeans" for his practical approach to the law.

However, if you are planning to run for public office or have your eye set on a confirmable position, hiring an undocumented worker may be enough to wreck your career plans.

Video: A drive-up day-labor center in Herndon, Va.

Cecilia Munoz, the senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza, a national Hispanic civil-rights organization, also pointed out that employers are not expected to be able to spot whether these documents are valid, and for day labor, employers "tend not to check."

Though it is illegal to hire an undocumented worker, the law is seldom enforced. And in the cases where it is, authorities focus on companies that hire many illegal immigrants. These companies can be fined and the undocumented workers possibly deported to their home country.

Safety: Yours and theirs
If a day laborer is injured on your property, he could sue you or seek to make a claim on your homeowners insurance policy.

Because some insurance companies have riders that prohibit payments to illegal workers, it might be a good idea to see what you are liable for before you head down this hiring route.

Whether a homeowners policy would cover an injured day worker depends on state workers-compensation law and whether any employer is required to have coverage. Citizenship is not a factor. If state laws do not apply, then a homeowner's liability and medical coverage may cover an accident.

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You've invited a stranger to your home. Women especially should take typical precautions, such as inviting a neighbor or friend over (or calling them when workers are in the house), or carrying a personal alarm or safety device such as pepper spray.

If you decide to hire a day laborer

Learn some basic Spanish phrases. The majority of day laborers are Spanish-speaking; many may not know English. At the very least you should be able to name the task you would like done. It will probably cost you more if you need an English-speaking helper for the day, said Pablo Alvarado, the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a coalition of day-laborer groups.

Know what you expect to pay. This varies from place to place, but a good guideline is New York and Los Angeles, where the hourly rate is about $10. It's more expensive if workers bring their own tools or if it is heavy-duty work, Alvarado says. Even if a job lasts several days, expect to pay at the end of each workday.

Typically, homeowners provide lunch if a job is for all day.

Treat these workers like any other employee. They may need your bathroom, regular breaks, or rides to and from their originating point or to a public bus stop. "Employers are employers, no matter whether you are hiring a person for a day or a year," Alvarado says.

The work won't be guaranteed. You cannot stop payment on the check because you have most likely paid in cash. And you might not be able to locate the worker to complain or get a shoddy job fixed.


http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Sa ... Labor.aspx

Many cities have a free advertising paper where American handymen advertise looking for odd jobs. There are also teenagers around. Check on some community bulletin boards--at the supermarket, libraries, community colleges. I know it is not quite the same as "drive-by employment centers."

Have Americans become so incompetent that the only solution is to hire somebody who is thousands of miles away from their home?

i wonder if it ever occurred to this dolt to hire some college kids or a veteran. In my opinion allowing an illegal alien into your home is asking for trouble. The nuns who were out walking one evening were raped and murdered by a day laborer.

The sad part is that many legal Hispanics push these illegals on co workers. In fact some of them go out of their way to hire them or buy from them. I have a relative who gets hassled by co workers for not doing the same.

Originally Posted by CCUSA

Treat these workers like any other employee. They may need your bathroom, regular breaks, or rides to and from their originating point or to a public bus stop.

Since when do Americans get shuttled to and from their work places?

This article is deplorable that MSN which is owned by a major corporation Microsoft is encouraging lawlessness. I would expect this from la raza, not a major American company...

"There's no other source up here to find someone." a Cave Creek, Ariz., homeowner who uses day labor.

Unnamed criminal.

Bull CRAP!!!!!! Ask at chruch, pin up a note at the grocery store, laundry mat, run an ad in the paper, contact the high school Vocational Instructor, College employemnt office, Temp Agency, State unemployment office, ask a teenager...

Dixie

I found Labor Ready a solution to the problem, they cost more, they work hard, you are hiring an American.

Insist they be American and speak english.The receptionist stated, all of our employees have documents. I gave her a lesson on forged docs, to which she had no reply.

She asked, " they have to speak english?" I suppose had I said no, they would have sent illegals and charged the lesser rate.

The two guys sent, were both a little older, still strong, one an ex Nam Vet, the other an older hippie, fantastic!

Condo often like to hire illegals. We had broken windows replaced after hurricane Wilma. They did not fix the partly broken one and it completely broke last night. It is very hard to deal with people who barely speak English. I got so angry that I reported the condo using non licensed people to the County. The condo was fined and the problem of illegal labor by the condo is solved.