Immigration Audit Takes Toll on SEIU members

[peejay 327]

MARCH 15, 2011

Immigration Audit Takes Toll

Janitorial Firm Harvard Maintenance to Lose Over Half of Minnesota Work Force

By MIRIAM JORDAN

Harvard Maintenance Inc., a national janitorial company, will lose over half its Minnesota work force after an immigration audit, making it the second major business in that state to be hit by an Obama administration crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.

The audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will result in about 240 workers losing their jobs, the Service Employees International Union said on Monday.

J. Daniel Duffy, an executive vice president of the closely held New York-based janitorial company, declined to comment.

Harvard Maintenance began issuing dismissal letters to employees in early March and is in the process of terminating workers, according to the SEIU, which represents the workers. Harvard Maintenance gave workers 90 days to rectify irregularities in their employment-eligibility documents before informing them they could no longer work there, the union said.

"You are not legally authorized to hold employment in the United States," said a company dismissal letter to an employee that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration has made employers the cornerstone of its immigration crackdown that began in 2009.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., which owns and operates nearly 1,100 outlets across the U.S., was recently forced to dismiss 450 workers in Minnesota amid an immigration investigation that began last year and has spread to other states.

"Our community is traumatized," said Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26 in the Twin Cities. He estimated Harvard Maintenance has 350 workers in the state. Mr. Morillo said following the audit the union worked with Harvard Maintenance to keep the workers employed as long as possible.

A Mexican immigrant who gave her name only as Lucero said she believed all 25 of her co-workers at the office building where she was employed by Harvard Maintenance were undocumented. She and several of her co-workers were dismissed March 4, while others received termination letters March 11, she said.

The single mother of two said she had worked the overnight shift for four years, earning $13.22 an hour. "The salary was very good for me to support my family," she said.

It was unclear why Harvard Maintenance operations in Minnesota were targeted for an audit. The company boasts more than 3,500 employees nationwide. Stan Doobin, president of Harvard Maintenance, said in 2006 that the company entered the Minnesota market in 2003 and saw "remarkable growth in a very competitive market."

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said the agency "can not confirm or deny the existence of ongoing investigations."

DeAnne Hilgers, an attorney who advises Minnesota companies, said the business community there was shocked by "what appears to be a surge in audits." She said 10 of her clients in the construction and restaurant industries were being investigated by ICE, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security. "These audits are of great consequence to their businesses" because they result in lost workers and thousands of dollars in fines, she said.

Last month, ICE said it was demanding that 1,000 companies across the country turn over their employment records for inspection.

Undocumented workers typically present fake Social Security numbers or use someone else's documents to secure jobs.

Companies that are audited typically receive a visit from local ICE agents who collect their employment records for review. They are then notified of irregularities, such as mismatches between names and Social Security numbers.

In January, ICE director John Morton announced his agency had opened an employment-compliance inspection center to bolster audits.

Harvard Maintenance was notified in November by ICE that its Minnesota operations would undergo an audit, Mr. Morillo said. Its janitors clean dozens of office buildings in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The buildings boast multiple commercial, high-end tenants, according to the SEIU.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, ICE conducted audits of more than 2,740 companies, nearly twice as many as the previous year. The agency levied a record $7 million in civil fines on businesses that employed illegal workers. It is unclear how many workers have been let go as a result of the investigations.

About 11 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S., according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group. Without illegal immigrants, business executives in industries like construction, agriculture and restaurants say they would be forced to radically change how they operate.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363904576201192988972556.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Ban Hammer 13,408]

"Our community is traumatized," said Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26 in the Twin Cities.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

If Harvard Maintenance knew that those workers were illegals then the people that hired them should be in jail and the company should pay a large fine for each violation. If they did this each time an illegal is caught working soon there would be no jobs for them. They would then self deport and the problem would be solved.

[lostinblue 1,989]

The goverment needs to round them up at work and ship them home on the next bus.

[peejay 327]

If Harvard Maintenance knew that those workers were illegals then the people that hired them should be in jail and the company should pay a large fine for each violation. If they did this each time an illegal is caught working soon there would be no jobs for them. They would then self deport and the problem would be solved.

It cannot be proved. The company took the bogus and stolen documents the illegal aliens presented at face value as all companies must do. This absolves them of any culpability.

Until there is a mandatory system such as E-Verify that these companies must use, they get a free pass. Ever wonder why chambers of commerce and business organizations fight tooth and nail to prevent implementation of E-Verify? I'll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count.

[peejay 327]

The goverment needs to round them up at work and ship them home on the next bus.

As per the Obama administration policy directive...these illegal aliens discovered in the employment audit are not to be arrested and deported. The company just fires them to go find illegal work elsewhere.

Edited March 16, 2011 by peejay

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If Harvard Maintenance knew that those workers were illegals then the people that hired them should be in jail and the company should pay a large fine for each violation. If they did this each time an illegal is caught working soon there would be no jobs for them. They would then self deport and the problem would be solved.

You are on the right trail but at the wrong tree.

The problem prison time and fines is that they require "due process" That means a trial for each one, and an appeal, and pleas bargaining. The process ends up costing more than the resulting benefit.

This is an economical problem and NOTHING else. ONLY an economical solution will fix it.

There needs to be a TAX on the employment of people without certain work authorization. No trial is needed and property CAN be seized to pay tax due. No one need go to jail. It only needs to be a better choice, economically, to hire legal workers than to hire workers without proper dcuments. They WILL self deport, as you suggest. But we have to install a punishment, or reward, that can be implemented without a lot of problems to insure it will actually be implemented. The credit would easily repay itself in saved costs for unemployment, welfare, plus the tax the jobs would generate themselves.

Alternatively, we could offer a huge tax CREDIT to businesses, or even individuals, that document that ALL their employees are legal. Look how many people bought houses and cars because there was a "tax credit" One COULD say that if you did not buy a new car or new house that you have been PUNISHED by being denied a tax credit. (I am sure someone will )

So if we give a tax CREDIT for hiring a legal worker to clean your house, cut your grass, babysit, shingle your roof...hmmmm?I think it would generate MORE jobs for legal workers and many less for illegal workers.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

It cannot be proved. The company took the bogus and stolen documents the illegal aliens presented at face value as all companies must do. This absolves them of any culpability.

Until there is a mandatory system such as E-Verify that these companies must use, they get a free pass. Ever wonder why chambers of commerce and business organizations fight tooth and nail to prevent implementation of E-Verify? I'll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count.

Not an entirely free pass, apparently. According to the article, a record $7MM in fines were levied on businesses employing illegal aliens. We can argue over whether or not these fines are enough of a deterrent - it would appear to me that they are not - but there is some level of consequence for at least some of these businesses. The approach taken, however, seems to be the right one - hold the employers accountable to dry up the job market for illegal aliens. That the Chambers of Commerce don't like it and lobby all they can to prevent effective controls from being implemented on a mandatory basis is not surprising. All they care about is cheap labor for their clientele.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Not an entirely free pass, apparently. According to the article, a record $7MM in fines were levied on businesses employing illegal aliens. We can argue over whether or not these fines are enough of a deterrent - it would appear to me that they are not - but there is some level of consequence for at least some of these businesses. The approach taken, however, seems to be the right one - hold the employers accountable to dry up the job market for illegal aliens. That the Chambers of Commerce don't like it and lobby all they can to prevent effective controls from being implemented on a mandatory basis is not surprising. All they care about is cheap labor for their clientele.

The problem is that "levying" a fine is not the same as collecting the money. Obviously the amount of money it COST business to employ illegal aliens did not exceed the benefit of doing so. we simply need to make the cost higher or benefit lower.

If politicians and chambers of commerce are squeamish about it, then give tax REWARDS to people and businesses that employ LEGAL workers. I'd like to see them fight against THAT. The savings in enforcement alone would cover the cost of the tax credits.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The problem is that "levying" a fine is not the same as collecting the money. Obviously the amount of money it COST business to employ illegal aliens did not exceed the benefit of doing so. we simply need to make the cost higher or benefit lower.

No argument here. It's obviously profitable to businesses to employ illegal aliens and the risk/reward calculation still favors them to do so - otherwise, they wouldn't do it. I think I've said it many times - the fines need to be such that businesses employing those that are not eligibile to be employed are going out of business and/or the folks who decide to employ them ought to be sent up the river.

[Zero Sum 305]

Not an entirely free pass, apparently. According to the article, a record $7MM in fines were levied on businesses employing illegal aliens. We can argue over whether or not these fines are enough of a deterrent - it would appear to me that they are not - but there is some level of consequence for at least some of these businesses. The approach taken, however, seems to be the right one - hold the employers accountable to dry up the job market for illegal aliens. That the Chambers of Commerce don't like it and lobby all they can to prevent effective controls from being implemented on a mandatory basis is not surprising. All they care about is cheap labor for their clientele.

Which is the clientele that gets that 'free pass' according to the logic. E-Verify must be mandated across the board.

[mawilson 2,133]

As per the Obama administration policy directive...these illegal aliens discovered in the employment audit are not to be arrested and deported. The company just fires them to go find illegal work elsewhere.

Better than no crackdown at all. Keep "traumatizing" them and they'll find their way home eventually.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Which is the clientele that gets that 'free pass' according to the logic. E-Verify must be mandated across the board.

I do not have a problem with this per se. But to say it must be madated is a do-nothing solution. So what? They must have evidence of eligibilty to work now. The I-9 is mandated so illegals evaporated right? Wrong!

NOW, if you say that E-verify is mandated AND that at the end of the year you give us the E-verify code for each employee and we will give you a non-refundable tax credit of $10,000 for EACH employee. THEn you will immediately end any and all illegal aliens working.

In other words...hire legal workers and you pay NO TAX. Deal. Done. No fence needed, no fines needed, no trials needed, unemployment reduced. No deportation needed.

Edited March 16, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[peejay 327]

I do not have a problem with this per se. But to say it must be madated is a do-nothing solution. So what? They must have evidence of eligibilty to work now. The I-9 is mandated so illegals evaporated right? Wrong!

NOW, if you say that E-verify is mandated AND that at the end of the year you give us the E-verify code for each employee and we will give you a non-refundable tax credit of $10,000 for EACH employee. THEn you will immediately end any and all illegal aliens working.

In other words...hire legal workers and you pay NO TAX. Deal. Done. No fence needed, no fines needed, no trials needed, unemployment reduced. No deportation needed.

How about if you don't hire illegal labor, you don't get fines and jail? First you have to give employers a mandatory system that they must use to verify employment eligibility. As it stands now any illegal alien can go to a Houston flea market and buy fake sh*t that takes employers off the hook. Why? Because there is no mandatory system such as E-Verify and Social Security no match has no teeth to enforce sanctions. They send out letters. BFD! Toss them in the trash. Social Security no matches are not shared with ICE. They have to audit to find no matches themselves. What are the odds of getting caught? Apparently low enough to take a chance.

Somebody has to knowingly hire illegal labor and that fact proved in court to get sanctions under the current system. Considering that a paltry $7 million (according to Big Dog) has been levied when there are 8 million + (estimated) illegal aliens in the workforce sez it all.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

More jobs for citizens...... and immigrants that have taken the time (and money) to enter this country legally.