New employer sanctions law is improvement

Revisions to Arizona's employer sanctions law against hiring illegal immigration are far from perfect but they do bring needed changes and are deserving of Gov. Janet Napolitano's signature.
 
Final approval of the revised law came in the Legislature Monday.
 
The sanctions law went into effect on Jan. 1. It requires Arizona businesses to verify that employees are citizens or that they have necessary documentation to work legally. This is done through use of a federal employee verification program.
 
If  it is determined that a business has been deliberately hiring illegal workers, the first offense brings a 10-day suspension of the license to do business. A second offense brings a total revocation of the company's business license.
 
That is a huge penalty and the Arizona business community, which is challenging the requirements in court, has had a number of concerns about the law, some of which were addressed by the Legislature in the revised law.
 
One of the biggest concerns has been whether the law applies to those who were employed prior to Jan. 1 as well as those hired after the first day of this year. Some sponsors of the sanctions said it was their intent that the law apply to all workers, no matter when they were hired. Other lawmakers who voted for the law said it was their understanding it would apply only to new workers.
 
That disagreement is resolved in the new measure. The law and its verification requirements apply only to those hired after Jan. 1. For those who think this lets businesses off the hook, it is important to remember that there are separate federal laws on employing illegal workers which continue to apply prior to Jan. 1.
 
In fact, that is one of the main reasons Arizona companies are challenging the law. They already face federal restrictions and penalties, and that is where the true authority to regulate immigration lies.
 
Businesses were also concerned they could still be liable under the Arizona law - even if they followed its provisions for worker verification - because the federal identification program is not fully reliable.
 
The new law ensures that will not happen. It says any business that makes a good faith effort to follow the verification steps for a new hire - and has the necessary records to demonstrate that has taken place - will not be in violation of the law.
  
That is a important change that will help keep innocent employers from being victimized by this law.

Unfortunately, another needed change was not approved by the Legislature. That change would have prevented people from making anonymous complaints against a business. By allowing this to continue, it keeps open the door for businesses to be harassed by competitors, unhappy customers and disgruntled former or current workers.
 
Overall, however, needed changes were made in the law and even partial improvement is better than none.