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| From the Desk of Al Zucaro - December |
The ICEman Shows Up
Winter arrives in south Florida…and although the forecast doesn’t call for any snow, don’t be surprised if you do see a lot of ICE.
For those that remember the July issue of Citizens of the World, take heart...the feature article, THE ICEMAN COMETH, provided insight into the world of employer sanctions and the trend toward prosecution of employers by a host of federal agencies acting on a panoply of criminal theories. Over the last 5 months, I have presented these ideas in talks to business and community groups throughout the south Florida region, ending every talk with the omnibus warning that no local business need be the "next poster child" in the heated politics of immigration enforcement.
(Editors note: Thanks to the Business Development Board of Palm Beach, Vision Broward, the Governor's Club Business Club, the Palm Beach Business Group, Workforce Development, and Enterprise Florida for the foresight to present this trend to their member audience. Upcoming presentations are in the planning stages with area Chambers of Commerce to raise awareness in this challenging area of employment concerns.)
Nonetheless, the next poster child has now been identified. On Thanksgiving Day, The Palm Beach Post presented the following headline: "Builder found guilty of paying laborers cash to dodge taxes." After reading the article, I went to the webpage for the U.S. Attorney Southern District of Florida to glean further insight into this prosecution. Sure enough, like a hunter posing for a victory picture over his fallen prey, this prosecution is highlighted in the lead press release as a cooperative effort between the IRS and the U.S. Attorney sending a clear message that employers are at criminal risk in what use to be the civil arena of immigration and employment law. Truly a chilling moment...
In this case, Lucky Mata, was not very lucky at all. Mr. Mata, a West Palm Beach contractor and owner of Kodiak Construction and Management, Inc. was found guilty of multiple charges of paying millions in unreported wages to undocumented workers. After a nine-day trial and very little deliberation, a jury found Mata guilty of one count of conspiracy; six counts of causing the filing of false currency reports; two counts of filing false federal income tax returns; and, one count of obstructing a federal grand jury investigation.
Mr. Mata was immediately taken into custody with a sentencing date not yet set. Mr. Mata, 47, now faces a maximum sentence in excess of 90 years under current federal sentencing guidelines. A long fall from the high business perch he enjoyed while providing services to such community construction giants as Catalfumo Construction and Minto Communities among others that are essentially household names in the local contracting communities of the south Florida region...
(Editors note: Follow this link to the US Attorney webpage for more information about this story) (Also, reference can be made here to the Ellen M. Liebovitch's article on the new I-9 forms and their applications directly relevent to the proper hiring practices needed to be employed for compliance with the law)
Furthermore, in the November/December newsletter, AILA Dispatch published a comprehensive article titled "AILA's Raid Response Action Plan-----Taking the First Steps", outlining highlights and important summaries of the steps local immigration attorneys should take within the first six hours after the ICEman cometh to help minimize the impact and provide valuable information to industry leaders and displaced workers affected directly and indirectly by the actions of enforcement branch of Homeland Security. A point to always remember, in these workplace raids, both the undocumented worker and the employer of these workers are at risk for law enforcement's scrutiny and prosecution. As illustrated by Lucky Mata, the respected businessperson is at perhaps a higher risk than the undocumented worker if the Federal Government chooses to make you the target of their efforts and their public relations machine.
One other point worth making...U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, in a recent speech to the Palm Beach County Bar Association, all but outlined the roadmap his prosecutors and their investigating agencies are interested in taking. He clearly identified the construction industry as the prime target for federal law enforcement efforts in the south Florida region.
Relevant Tidbits
Economics Prevail...
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently reported that "Towns Rethink Laws Against Immigration." The small town of Riverside, N.J., the first New Jersey municipality to enact an ordinance penalizing anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant, has joined the growing list of small towns rescinding these immigration based ordinances. Reasons are many but the foremost is that the unintended impacts are devastating to the economy of small town America. Between the loss of business revenue, the lower foot traffic in downtown business districts and the rising costs of legal challenges, small town America cannot afford pursuing the intended consequences raised by such ill-founded legislation...
Also reported was a story headlined "Deliverymen Serves Up a Lawsuit." Beginning at the downtown New York restaurant, Saigon Grill, 30 documented and undocumented immigrants, frustrated with poor working conditions and low wages, banded together in an attempt to unionize. Saigon's response...fire them all. Yet, for every action there is a reaction...in this case, the men opted to fight back, joined forces with other local groups, and filed a lawsuit against the owner. They began daily picket lines and are now being joined by other delivery people, waiters, busboys and cooks from throughout the city. Others followed suit and at least five other similar lawsuits have now been filed.
This is what makes America such a great country, one that immigrants often risk everything be a part of. To quote a famous piece of holiday fiction: ”God bless us, everyone.”
-Al Zucaro
IMPORTANT
New I-9 Makes Changes in Permissible Documentation
Employers now must use a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) when hiring new employees, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced. The new form bears a revision date of June 5, 2007, found in the lower right corner of the form and reading "(Rev. 06/05/07) N." The form is available online at www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf.
As of November 7, 2007, the new I-9 is the only version that's valid to use, although a 30-day phase-in period will start upon notice in the Federal Register from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During the phase-in period, employers won't be penalized for using the old form I-9.
In the new I-9, the government changed the items on List A, "Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Eligibility." The following five documents may be used to meet the List A requirements:
(1) a U.S. passport (unexpired or expired);
(2) a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551);
(3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp;
(4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, or I-688B); and
(5) an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) for nonimmigrant aliens authorized to work for a specific employer.
The following items, however, no longer are valid for List A:
-- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-570);
-- Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570);
-- Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151);
-- the unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327); and
-- the unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).
Ellen M. Leibovitch
Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by The Florida Bar
Shapiro, Blasi, Wasserman & Gora, P.A.
7777 Glades Road, Suite 400
Boca Raton, Florida 33434
Main: (561) 477-7800
E-Mail: emleibovitch@sbwlawfirm.com
Web Site: www.sbwlawfirm.com
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Created on 01/31/2007 08:55 AM by admin
Updated on 12/04/2007 06:08 AM by admin
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