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Arizona Sues First Employer for Hiring Undocumented Workers

They can’t say they didn’t have warning.  Twenty-two months ago Arizona became the first state to put the accountability on employers to assure they run background checks on all their hires to make sure they are legally eligible to work in the United States.   It is a tough law but a sensible one.  Instead of chasing around illegal immigrants who are working without legal documents, the State of Arizona will sue and close down the offending business.

In this case, Arizona has asked that the courts suspend the Scottsdale Art Factory’s business license for ten days and for the company to fire its undocumented workers.

This is not to debate the pros and cons of hiring or not hiring undocumented workers.  This is to serve notice that the federal government and the state governments are cracking down on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.   Employers who fail to perform due diligence as part of their background checks may be subject to fines and business closure.

For many employers, they can run either the social security trace or the E-Verify I-9 search to verify an employment candidate’s eligibility to work in the U.S.    This should be included as part of their background checks or preemployment screening program.   For those employers with federal contracts, conducting the I-9 is mandatory.  This can be conducted  either through E-Verify or can be integrated as as part of an employers overall preemployment screening process.

I realize it is a tight economy and money may be scarce.  But the fines and the business closure as penalty for hiring illegal workers will far surpass the expenditure to run either the social security trace or the I-9.   Tough economy or not, certain cost cutting procedures are just penny wise and dollar foolish.  This is certainly one of them.

Check them out before you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.

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