Published: September 17, 2007 09:22 am            

Employers face strict immigration law

Employers are facing strict requirements in immigration law when House Bill 1804 goes into effect.

The Mayes County Bar Association held a seminar where speakers Mark Leblang and Sebastian Lantos highlighted some of the changes and issues which employers may encounter.

Employers are responsible for providing I9 forms on each employee. The complete I9 must be provided on each employee and identification documents must be checked by the employer. The I9 must be kept for up to one year after the employee is no longer employed by the company.

Under federal law at this time, Leblang said employers are not required to verify identification forms like social security cards. “In fact, unless you verify everyone’s documents, Americans and foreign people alike, it’s discrimination to do so,” said Leblang, adding there are some differences in state law.

He said if an employer gets a “No-Match” letter, stating the social security number does not match the person, the employer is on notice and an I9 form will not protect the employer from an audit. If the employer continues to employ the immigrant and doesn’t straighten out the paperwork, the employer can face penalties.

Leblang said Tulsa and Oologah have passed ordinances recently making it illegal to deal with anyone who is undocumented. Leblang said this isn’t out of the ordinary since local and state governments across the country are passing similar laws to deal with immigration since the federal government hasn’t adequately addressed the issues.

“Immigration laws, traditionally, are federally controlled ... it’s not a state, local or municipal issue,” said Leblang. “But, when the federal government doesn’t take action - when they let the system spin so far out of control - more and more states, more and more municipalities are deciding for our own benefit, for our own public safety, we need to make our own laws.”

“Had congress really taken immigration reform into hand,” said Leblang. “The state of Oklahoma never would have had a house bill like this come out in the first place.”

Leblang referred to House Bill 1804, which will take effect Nov. 1, 2007.

Sebastian Lantos explained understanding the dynamics of these laws and their effects on the community is important.

Lantos said the responsibility of modernizing the laws goes to congress.

“We are caught in the middle of bad laws,” said Lantos.

The state law is mirrored after a federal law, but Lantos said the problem may arise depending on how the law is interpreted.

Both Lantos and Leblang said the state law contains language which leaves the law open to interpretation.

“The question is how will it be enforced,” said Lantos.

The law deals with harboring and transporting illegal immigrants, issuing identification cards, verifying immigration status of persons who have been arrested and verification of immigration status with public employers, contractors and subcontractors.

The employment portion of the law goes into effect July 1, 2008. The verification of immigration status of workers only applies to public employers and contractors, not private employers.

Leblang clarified the responsibility of a private employer verifying the status of the contracted worker only applies to the contractor immediately hired by the employer. Verifying the status of the subcontractors falls under the responsibility of the contractor.

But again, Leblang said the effect on employers is yet to be seen depending on how literally the law is interpreted.

He said a verification system is important to protect the employer from any recourse the government may have if an undocumented worker is discovered.

“I’m sure none of you check the status of your independent contractors,” said Leblang. “You check on their reputation and the quality of work they’ve done, but you don’t check their immigration status because you’re not required to. But under this law, you are.”

Leblang said HB 1804 has many good benefits, but the outcome depends on how the law is interpreted.

An audience member asked whether a private employer’s responsibility in verifying an employee’s immigration status is met when the social security card and identification card are verified to satisfy the I9 requirement.

Leblang said if a private employer verifies the I9, they have satisfied their requirements under the law, but he clarified that he wouldn’t want to take a chance and would use a verification system since the cost is relatively inexpensive in comparison to what could happen if an undocumented worker is discovered.

MidAmerica Industrial Park Administrator Sanders Mitchell explained the industrial park employs independent contractors on a regular basis. He asked what is his responsibility in verifying the status of the contractor.

Leblang said the industrial park only has to verify the status of the contractor directly employed. The contractor must verify the status of all subcontractors and are responsible if something is discovered, not the industrial park.

“You just have to deal with your tier,” said Leblang. “You don’t have to be responsible for everyone down the line. That would be an impossible task.”

“We’ve got probably four or five hundred jobs going vacant right now in the industrial park,” said Mitchell. “We need the Mexican labor.”

Leblang agreed.

“Even in congress on both sides of the fence, everybody agrees that we need workers. Everybody agrees that the economy could not survive without them,” said Leblang. “The issue is what do we do with the illegal workers here.”

“Somewhere along the line the federal congress is going to have to do something,” said Leblang. “They’re going to have to reach a compromise ... because the system doesn’t work the way it is now ... the law needs to be reformed.”

        

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