Undocumented Immigrant Workers

The Senate passed a bill that seeks imposes stricter mandates on all employers and stricter penalties on those employers who hire illegal immigrants. 

SB 407 passed the Senate on a party line vote of 16-8.  It requires all employers to file a statement with the Labor Department declaring whether or not aliens are employed and to retain documentation to demonstrate compliance with existing employee protection laws.  The bill also makes employers responsible for compliance with the new law by contractors and subcontractors with respect to persons employed directly or indirectly on premises that they own, manage or control.  With respect to enforcement, SB 407 allows surprise inspections of businesses by state officials and authorizes penalties of up to $2,500 per day for employers who have hired illegal immigrants.  SB 407 may face a tougher challenge in the House, which has passed a bill to create a study committee on immigration issues but killed several bills with specific proposals to address the problem.  For example, the House killed a bill that would have required employers to review and verify the validity of employee documentation, to pay medical costs and the cost of transportation to the country of origin for an illegal immigrant employed and then injured on the job, and to pay civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 for violations of the law related to employment of immigrants.  The House also killed two bills that would have prohibited employers and social service agencies from providing services to illegal immigrants, one of which would have imposed criminal penalties for such support.

Comments

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[NHLRA]

The House voted to send SB 407 back to committee for further study. The bill would have required all employers to file a statement with the Labor Department declaring whether or not aliens are employed and to retain documentation to demonstrate compliance with existing employee protection laws. The bill also would have made employers responsible for compliance with the new law by contractors and subcontractors with respect to persons employed directly or indirectly on premises that they own, manage or control. This House vote prevents the bill from passing this year.

[NHLRA]

The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee has voted 13-6 to recommend that the House should send SB 407 back to committee for further study. The bill would require all employers to file a statement with the Labor Department declaring whether or not aliens are employed and to retain documentation to demonstrate compliance with existing employee protection laws. The bill would also make employers responsible for compliance with the new law by contractors and subcontractors with respect to persons employed directly or indirectly on premises that they own, manage or control. Tom Boucher testified in opposition to the bill this past week on behalf of NHLRA. The full House will vote on this bill next Wednesday, April 12.

[NHLRA]

Tuesday, April 4 the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hear SB 407, which would require all employers to file a statement with the Labor Department declaring whether or not aliens are employed and to retain documentation to demonstrate compliance with existing employee protection laws. The bill also makes employers responsible for compliance with the new law by contractors and subcontractors with respect to persons employed directly or indirectly on premises that they own, manage or control. With respect to enforcement, SB 407 allows surprise inspections of businesses by state officials and authorizes penalties of up to $2,500 per day for employers who have hired illegal immigrants. Tom Boucher will appear on behalf of NHLRA to raise concerns about more unnecessary paperwork (when the federal government already regulates immigrant workers), and the concern that the inspectors that will be hired to enforce the law will be paid solely from the fines they collect for the state.