Published Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Law tough on firms who hire illegals

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

Georgia's 2006 law designed to prevent government contracts from going to companies that hire illegal immigrants now applies to all companies -- and an even tougher law will go into effect in January 2010.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2006 requires contractors and subcontractors doing work for any public agency to sign an affidavit affirming that they use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that all new hires are legally eligible to work in the U.S.

The law actually went into effect July 1, 2007, but only applied that year to companies with more than 500 employees. Last summer, it went into effect for companies with 100 or more employees. This July 1, it began to apply to all companies.

The law only requires companies to verify newly-hired workers. It does not affect employees who were hired before the regulations went into effect, though it has, of course, always been technically illegal to hire unauthorized workers.

The new House Bill 2 passed in the 2009 Georgia General Assembly session includes all the regulations included in the 2006 law, but goes much further.

House Bill 2 requires public agencies to verify the eligibility of any applicant for just about any "public benefit."

Public benefits include not only things such as Medicaid and food stamps, but also business licenses, professional and occupational licenses, adult education, energy assistance, gaming licenses, and state identification cards.

Every applicant for these public benefits must execute a signed and sworn affidavit verifying their lawful presence in the country.

The law does not apply to emergency health care, public health immunizations and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases, in-kind emergency disaster relief, prenatal care, and post-secondary education.

The law also requires that all jails determine the nationality of all inmates in the jail, regardless of the crimes they are charged with. If a foreign national is charged with a felony, DUI, driving without a license, or a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, the jail must make a "reasonable attempt" to verify if the inmate has been lawfully admitted to the United States.

If the prisoner is determined to not be legally in the U.S., the keeper of the jail must notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Coweta County has required verification of legal status for business license applicants since January, said Patricia Palmer, Coweta County public information officer, based on a local ordinance.

At least one local city official contacted, Richard Ferry, Senoia City Administrator, said that the city hasn't yet amended its occupational tax ordinances, but "we will do what is necessary when advised by the city attorney to do so."