House Bill 1253 Employment of illegal aliens. Reps. Tincher, Austin , Battles , Koch , Ruppel. Passed with amendments by the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Public Safety by a vote of 8-3. (Republicans Mike Murphy and David Wolkins and Democrat Dennis Avery voted against the bill).
Provides that: (1) a person who hires or employs an individual shall verify the individual’s Social Security number using the Social Security Number Verification System; and (2) a person who hires an individual shall not continue to employ the individual after learning that the individual is an illegal alien. Allows certain persons to bring civil actions against a person who hires illegal aliens. Provides that a public services contract is void if the contractor providing the services hires or employs illegal aliens unless the state or political subdivision determines that voiding the contract would be detrimental to the public interest or public property. Provides that a person who has hired an illegal alien in the previous five years is not eligible for any state or local economic development incentives.
An individual who lost the individual’s job because of the hiring of an illegal alien or a person who loses a contract to a person who hires an illegal alien can bring a civil suit against the employer of the illegal alien. In other words, an employee who thinks he or she lost his or her job because of an illegal or perhaps more nebulously, a company that thinks it got underbid by a company using illegals, can file a civil suit. Sounds good for the lawyering business, anyway. You can also lose or become ineligible for contracts with governmental entities if you hire an illegal.
I think legislator’s hearts are mainly in the right place here. They want to do something about problems caused by illegal aliens undercutting the labor market. But, with this law in place and if I had a company, I might think twice or three times about hiring anybody with a surname that sounded Mexican, regardless of how many times I used the federal government’s Social Security Number Verification System. The potential landmines an employer might have to litigate over, even for an honest mistake, are pretty significant. I’m not sure I have a better solution, but this one looks pretty brutal.
Update The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, by Niki Kelly, has a story on the bill here. Advance Indiana offers its thoughts here.
From the Journal Gazette article:
Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Indianapolis, blasted the legislation as a feel-good bill that does nothing, noting that most of the elements of the bill are already federal law, including Social Security number verification.
He said it creates a picnic for lawyers, has no fiscal impact statement assessing its costs and has no enforcement mechanism because that would be illegal under federal law.
“As frustrated as we may be, … this bill does absolutely nothing to solve the problem,†Murphy said.
Several lawmakers said the bill was a way to send a message to federal representatives and senators.
But Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, said he would send a message to his congressman by writing him a letter, and he voted no.
[tags]HB1253-2007, immigration, labor[/tags]
Doug,
I agree; as-is this is going to scare small-time business and individuals from hiring anyone Hispanic regardless of their credentials.
If the exposure to civil suits and other liabilities under the law didn’t kick in until a firm was a certain size, it would be better.
As it is, I think this is going to end up screwing legal immigrants, native-born citizens of Hispanic descent, and individuals and small firms who employ them. In short, people who cannot afford to defend a lawsuit.
Republicans will then crow that they’re being tough on illegal immigration while the big companies that employ the most illegals go on as before, and the economic factors that entice illegal immigrants to the U.S. in the first place are not materially affected.
I don’t think it’s possible for a bill possibly be any more short sighted.
I’ll take the opposing side here and say I agree with this bill.I don’t know if it is a rural thing or what but the people I talk to around SW Indiana are sick and tired of the illegals period!!
These people are entering this country illegally stealing peoples identities (social security numbers) and undercutting the labor market for legal citizens.Take for instance the social security totalization legislation that has so far not been signed by the President which states illegals can be vested in social security after only I believe 18 months while the rest of us must work 10 years.
The whole illegal alien situation is about the same thing most things are about money and power.Pro business Republicans and the chamber of commerce want cheap labor.The Catholic church which I am a member of but no longer contribute to, has it’s nose stuck in this because they know most of these people are in fact Catholic and know by increasing the numbers will get more for the collection plate.Democrats ,and I am a registered Democrat want a amnesty legalization whatever you want to call it because they know most minorities tend to vote Democrat thereby helping them obtain and stay in power.
I could write on and on about this subject.
Well, what do you think about the potential consequences to aliens here legally; or more importantly, Latino-American citizens? Do you think it’s a valid concern that employers may just steer very clear of potential violations by simply not hiring anyone who looks Mexican or has a Hispanic surname?
I’m far less concerned about immigrants than their illegal status which makes them more easily exploitable in numbers of ways: employment(working conditions, pay and general ‘cheating’),living conditions( 4 families in one apartment).Sure, there are housing laws but when the exploited are afraid to speak up it makes it easier for bad things to continue.As far as the RCC is concerned,they have been consistent and always have offered refuge all through history. It’s just different venue, different circumstances.
And in a general sense it’s dangerous for a country to have a whole grouping of people living between legal cracks with no defined status,or unclear status.When these ‘pariahs’ get themselves a charismatic leader,maybe in the next generation, watch out!
IS the only reason employers hire Hispanic-looking people is that they feel they can pay them less?
Lou,
That’s worthy of empirical study, but I wouldn’t bet a lot of money that employers would be honest about it if it were true, even in an anonymous survey.