Another bill is designed to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants by contractors that work for local, parish or state government entities
Businesses that use illegal immigrant labor could have their licenses or permits suspended for at least six months and fined for every illegal hired, according to a bill given unanimous approval Thursday in the Louisiana House.
View full sizeRazor wire on a border fence in San Diego was photographed Jan. 31. The building in the background is in the Mexican border city of Tijuana. Lawmakers voted 87-0 for House Bill 646 by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, sending it to the Senate for more debate.
Under Talbot's bill private employers would use a federal verification system -- known as "E-Verify" -- to check the legal status of workers.
Employers that don't use the federal program must keep on file photo identification of all workers as well as one of the following documents: birth certificate, naturalization certificate, citizenship certificate, alien registration receipt or a permit to work in the United States.
The state Workforce Commission would be charged with enforcing the proposed new law.
Talbot said that when the commission finds a violation, it must inform the governing authority or licensing agency that granted the business the permits it needs to operate.
A first violation, he said, would result in a maximum fine of $250 per illegal immigrant employed. A second violation would result in a maximum fine of $500 per non-legal immigrant and a minimum 10-day suspension of an operating license or permit.
Subsequent violations could result in a maximum fine of $1,000 per illegal employee and the "immediate suspension" of the permit or license for not less than six months.
Earlier Thursday, the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works approved House Bill 342 by Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, which is designed to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants by contractors that work for local, parish or state government entities.
Edwards' bill now goes to the full Senate for debate. If it survives there, it must go back to the House for approval of Senate changes.
To win or hold a public works contract, Edwards said, a private company must file an affidavit with the state or local agency saying that it will use the "E-Verify" to check the legal status of its workers and those hired during the life of the contract.
Edwards said any false affidavits or failure to use the verification system could result in the cancellation of the contract and bar the firm from bidding on or receiving a public contract for three years.
Edwards said the bill would not affect bids offered or contracts signed before Jan. 1.
He said the federal verification program "is 97 percent accurate" in telling an employer almost instantaneously the status of workers.
The bill was amended to require subcontractors on a public works job to give the prime contractor a statement that the employees it hires are legal and that it will continue to track the employment status of new workers. Edwards said the main contractor would not be responsible for verifying the subcontractors' workers.
Any contractor booted from a job for noncompliance would be paid for the work done but "liable for any additional costs incurred" by the public body, such as rebidding the work.
Ed Anderson can be reached at eanderson@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5810.