Citizenship confirmation for employees discussed

Private businesses would be required to confirm the citizenship of new employees under a bill heard by the Business and Labor Committee Feb. 2.

LB611, introduced by Papillion Sen. Bill Kintner, would require private employers to verify the work eligibility status of new employees via the federal government’s electronic verification, or E-Verify, program.

Businesses that violate the measure could be fined up to $2,000. The bill would not apply to contractors who unknowingly use subcontractors that fail to comply with the E-Verify requirement.

Currently in Nebraska, only public employers are required to verify the work eligibility status of new employees.

Kintner said bill is designed to keep unscrupulous employers from hiring illegal immigrants and subjecting them to unfair business practices such as substandard wages and dangerous work conditions.

Gregg Rhoades of the Plasterers and Cement Masons Union 538 testified in support of the bill. He said contractors who prey upon illegal immigrants exploit them by not paying for benefits such as health insurance, workers’ compensation and overtime. Subsequently, he said, they are able to offer lower bids for projects, which takes jobs away from reputable companies.

Because they are in the country illegally, noncitizens are reluctant to contact authorities about unfair business practices, Rhoades said. Without LB611, he said, there is no way to improve their abusive work conditions.

“This bill is a large step in the direction to achieve accountability,” Rhoades said.

Steve Simpson, president of the Lincoln Building and Construction Trades Union, agreed. Speaking in favor of the bill, he said building trades suffer from suppressed wages when contractors pay some workers by the number of rooms they drywall or paint, rather than by an hourly wage.

Paul Von Behren of Nebraska Voice also spoke in favor of the bill, saying the E-Verify process is a simple way to check a worker’s citizenship status.

“It’s the best program we’ve got,” he said.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.