Pa. considers tougher stance on construction hiring of unauthorized immi... https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2019/06/20/pa-considers...

Pa. considers tougher stance on

construction hiring of unauthorized
immigrants

By Aaron Moselle – WHYY

Jun 20, 2019, 6:45am EDT

A measure moving through Pennsylvania’s

General Assembly is garnering pushback
from immigrant advocacy groups. Passed
by a wide margin in the House this week,
the bill requires construction companies to
run new hires through a federal
background check system that verifies
whether applicants can legally work in the
U.S. The E-Verify system effectively closes
a loophole that’s enabled unauthorized
immigrants to secure jobs with the help of
fake Social Security cards or other
paperwork. “That is a real problem
because it creates an unlevel playing field
for wages, for businesses, and also has a
detrimental effect on government,” said
Lehigh state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, a
Republican who introduced the bill. The (+)

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Pa. considers tougher stance on construction hiring of unauthorized immi... https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2019/06/20/pa-considers...

bill is co-sponsored by state Rep. John

Galloway, a Democrat from Bucks County.
Employers who skip the E-Verify step and
hire unauthorized workers would be forced
to terminate them and send reports on
new hires to the state’s labor department.
It does not specifically require employers
to retroactively check existing employees,
but there is a mechanism for someone to
file a complaint that would investigate an
employee’s immigration status. Critics of
the legislation are concerned that will
make employers less likely to hire
immigrants, even if they’re here legally as
well as lead to racial profiling.

More on this story from our news partner

WHYY

By Aaron Moselle – WHYY

Jun 20, 2019, 6:45am EDT

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