SC small businesses must verify workers' legality (immigration audits to increase)

Yahoo ^ | 7/01/10 | Seanna Adcox

[Libloather]

SC small businesses must verify workers' legality
Small businesses must now comply with SC's anti-illegal immigration law; audits to increase
Seanna Adcox, Associated Press Writer
Thursday July 1, 2010, 5:11 pm EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A last major piece of South Carolina's anti-illegal immigration law took effect Thursday as all small businesses became subject to fines and potential shutdowns for employing illegal workers.

All businesses in the state must now check their new hires' legal status and fire any existing workers known to be in the country illegally. The law is one of the toughest in the nation and had been applied for a year to companies with more than 100 workers.

"Every employee on the payroll, regardless of their date hired, has to be legal," said Jim Knight, office administrator and spokesman for the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

He said investigators will randomly check all companies, though auditors will focus on businesses that traditionally employee illegal workers such as landscaping and construction firms, hotels, restaurants and chicken processors.

The state Office of Immigrant Worker Compliance has more than doubled its number of investigators, to 23, as 110,000 additional businesses fall under the law.

The move by lawmakers to expand the budget for Knight's office from $750,000 to $2 million this coming year comes even amid fiscal crisis and the layoffs of hundreds of state workers and the gutting of whole agencies. But supporters said it was crucial to crack down on illegal workers.

[Libloather]

"Every employee on the payroll, regardless of their date hired, has to be legal,"

Hope. Change.

[hometoroost]

So small business has to verify the origin of their employees but the country won’t verify the origin of its president?

[BushCountry]

BOYCOTT!!! /s

[upchuck]

The law is one of the toughest in the nation...

South Carolina
Ping
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[proud American in Canada]

May laws like this sweep the nation!

[WHBates]

Good for South Carolina. Great move.

[Oldexpat]

Sounds like they are profiling business..those that have lots of hispanics.

[Mamzelle]

ping--

Wonder how the Chamber of Commerce figures in on this? You know, I heard murmurings about how the SC CoC might endorse the dem for governor.

The SC CoC was on board with Graham, though not in a very public way, for amnesty a few years back. Gresham Barrett, the CoC's perferred candidate, did not wage any kind of fight with Graham as he and McCain, et al, were trying to force amnesty on us. He made promises in his goob campaign of putting into place stricter illegal immigration prevention, but somehow it didn't ring very true.

Of course, the Chamber likes cheap slave labor and no enforcement of immigration laws. Other than that, they are otherwise mostly conservative.

[org.whodat]

The chicken, cattle and hog killing plants will never do it!!!

[WHBates]

Only if they are illegal Hispanics, why would that be a problem. Either they have proof you checked their status or they don't. As a vendor, to Nuclear Utilities, I had to do it all of the time when I was in business. It really isn't that hard.

[SharpRightTurn]

Great news.

Take another poke in the eye, Barry.

We’re tired of an ever power hungry central government ruling by decree.

[SharpRightTurn]

“the Chamber likes cheap slave labor”

You are right. The Chamber of Commerce is no friend of the American citizen on the subject of border security, American jobs for American workers, and national sovereignty. They instead have adopted the point of view of the multinational corporations—to hell with love of country and patriotism, the bottomline is all that counts.

[visualops]

100+ employees means A LOT of companies will be under the radar on this one.

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[WilliamofCarmichael]

State-By-State Immigration Policy Changes Ahead

"when public benefits are dispensed [agencies] actually use the SAVE system, a federal system that checks the verification of eligibility."

I don't believe it. Impossible. The SAVE system is a DHS product (I believe) and the Obama government is using it to inflict pain and suffering (and bigotry) upon undocumented Democrats? (Undocumented Democrats, a term introduced by a caller to Rush, now Rush uses it.)

[RipSawyer]

Read it again, the law that just took effect covers ALL small businesses, the law for the past year covered only those with more than 100 employees.

[snippy_about_it]

True. I am one of those who is employed by a large employer in SC and we went through our check about 4 months ago.

[TornadoAlley3]

*

[visualops]

boy I must have been really out of it when I read it, as it states that plainly in the excerpt. Thank you for the correction. Now that really is a good law!