California may fine employers $10,000 for complying with ICE agents

In the aftermath of the passage of legislation aimed at limiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in California, the state has released rules employers must follow or risk fines of up to $10,000 per offense.

The Immigrant Worker Protection Act prohibits employers from voluntarily granting ICE agents access to private areas of worksites or to employee records. If ICE agents have a judicial warrant or subpoena for the records, however, the state law allows employers to grant them access, according to guidelines released by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

Under the new state law, employers must also notify employees of record inspections that federal immigration agents are conducting within 72 hours of receiving a notice of inspection. Likewise, employers are prohibited from reverifying workers’ employment eligibility at a time or in a manner that is not required by federal immigration law.

Employers can be fined up to $10,000 for not complying with eligibility reverification provision. Violations of other provisions of the law can result in fines of $2,000 to $5,000 for the first offense and $5,000 to $10,000 for subsequent offenses.

“The advisory and guidance released today are important tools to help workers and employers feel more secure, by educating them about their rights and responsibilities under the law,” Becerra said in a statement. “Everyone has an obligation to follow the law, whether it’s the Constitution, federal or state law. AB 450 works in concert, not in conflict, with our Constitution and federal laws.”

Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), the author of the legislation, also released a statement on the new rules.

“No one should have to go to work every day scared of the threat of deportation,” Chiu said. “AB 450 was meant to not only give protections to California workers but also to ensure employers know what to do if immigration officials visit their workplaces.”

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6 Comments about “California may fine employers $10,000 for complying with ICE agents”

  1. finekettleoffish says:

    Good old corrupt Sacramento, if they don’t like a federal law they just create their own to try and by pass it. Or they pick and choose which federal laws are ok and which aren’t. I remember how back in 2010 they chose to violate State law in favor of federal law by busting pot delivery services; and let’s not forget about Charlie Lynch. They clearly stated it was because federal law trumped state law. What a bunch of crooks. I’d be embarrassed to be them.

  2. ArroyoGrande2000 says:

    It’s the California way fine or penalize the law abiding citizen and reward the illegal or law breaking person.

  3. William J Sidis says:

    They are just going down the checklist on all the ways to drive business out of CA. They completed the stupidity checklist long ago.

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