Arizona Passes Employer Sanctions Bill

With federal immigration reform dead, we can expect state and local governments to fill the void.  Arizona appears to be the latest to act.  Yesterday, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (here) signed legislation that would sanction employers of undocumented workers, while at the same time asking for cooperation from legislative leaders to call a special session to address what she called critical flaws in the bill. Napolitano acknowledged there are problems with the bill, including insufficient funding for enforcement, overbroad language that could cause a chain of businesses to be penalized if a single location was cited, the lack of an exemption to ensure that critical facilities such as hospitals and power plants don’t have to temporarily close their operations if undocumented workers are found among their staffs.

Employers, including the Chamber of Commerce, are livid about the bill.  Expect legal challenges to follow.

KJ