Friday, October 19, 2007

Definition of "Knowing" & the "Stop Illegal Hiring" Initiative

Regardless of your position on the struggle over illegal immigration in Arizona and nationally, I think you will find the below linked documents interesting. The white paper by the attorneys is not as compelling as what the meaning of “is” is, but a good read just the same.

One of the highest credibility hurdles the business community has had to clear throughout the debate over state-level employer sanctions laws is the alleged danger of trapping "legal" employers when enforcing new laws on "illegal" employers. Much of this hinges on the definition of "knowing" under federal enforcement and how that translates to any state-level enforcement scheme. Does the "knowing" standard inevitably lead to a "constructive knowledge" standard in prosecutions, thereby inflicting tough sanctions including permanent loss of all licenses for the entire company over the misdeeds of a lower-level supervisor?

"Prove it," say the proponents of state-level sanctions laws. Fair enough.

Below is the first detailed legal analysis of this question that I have seen. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to read the text of the newly filed employer sanctions initiative, there’s a link to it too.