Businesses worried about being sued for hiring illegal aliens

Posted Wed, Feb 15, 2006 at 9:07 am
From this:
Employers who hire illegal immigrants to depress wages have something new to fear: Employees who use racketeering laws to take them to court.

A law originally conceived to hammer the Mafia – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute – is now being swung against employers at chicken-plucking plants, apple orchards and janitorial firms.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear a Georgia racketeering case involving carpet giant Mohawk Industries Inc., its employment practices and allegations that it used labor recruiters in Brownsville.

The case is being closely watched by many employment law specialists – particularly in areas such as North Texas with large illegal immigrant populations – because it could trigger a rash of costly suits against businesses that depend on illegal labor.

A handful of similar suits have already been filed under RICO, and last month a judge approved a $1.3 million settlement in one of them...

Because so many of the RICO suits are brought in areas that hire large numbers of Hispanics, [Mohawk attorney Juan Morillo] said the issue should be of concern to the Hispanic community as a whole...

...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a brief in support of Mohawk. So did Associated Builders & Contractors, a powerful trade group.

"This case is about RICO, which was initially used to go after the mob, and now it is being expanded by smart plaintiff lawyers to go after employers who have nothing to do with the mob," said Amar Sarwal, general counsel of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber...
Tags: 
us chamber of commerce
rico
mohawk industries

Comments

Edie (not verified)

Thu, 02/16/2006 - 08:46

How about suing the Federal Government for "taxation without Representation". Over 80 percent of Americans are against illegal immigration and over fifty percent do not agree with any type of amnesty. Yet American taxpayers are paying for the education, medical care and social services to illegal immigration. Because you know the taxes that illegal immigrants pay do not cover the costs of the services provided for them. The only people who gain from illegal immigrants are the businessses that hire them, the government officials who are backed by the businesses and of course the illegal immigrants.

LomaAlta (not verified)

Wed, 02/15/2006 - 18:04

boofugg:
Thank you for the kind words. Long live RICO!
Have your spouse or a loved one get a message to me when you are in prison and I will be sure to smuggle in some cigs, a file, and a picture of Hillary to make your days a little easier.

You can file your teeth sharp all the beter to bite with. You can trade the cigs for a shiv for "home" protection, and you can look at Hillary when you get bored.

In the meantime, hang in there and keep fighting the good fight until they come for you.

Sundance (not verified)

Wed, 02/15/2006 - 15:53

Even if the court does throw a RICO conviction out, it will have made Mohawk spend money, it will have gotten the attention of the corperations that hire illegals and make them ask themselfs is this worth it?
The RICO ACT will be found "inapplicable" to illegal alien matters you say... what planet you come from?
RICO was made to shut down criminal enterprises that engage in illegal activites.
Lets see... you got people sneaking into the country without permission... thats illegal. They forge documents that allows them to work... that illegal. They give false or wrong tax infomation... illegal. For some reason once here in an area for some reason the crime rate goes up...I'll let you make the connection there.
The companies that hire them do so without making sure they have a legal right to work in the U.S.,... guess what illegal!
The Mexican goverment loves having their people come here to work... that way the leaders can take the money they get for aid from other countries and send it to their Swiss bank accounts.

Inapplicable? yeah right!

boofugg (not verified)

Wed, 02/15/2006 - 14:08

Halleluja, LomaAlta! You are, of course, absolutely correct in everything you say.

But sadly, RICO will not be used as it rightfuly should be. And, in the event RICO is used and produces results....watch and see how long it takes for an appellate court to overturn those results!

The RICO ACT will be found "inapplicable" to illegal alien matters.

One day you will log on to the LONEWACKO site and you will not find a post by boofugg. Boofugg will have been whisked away to some secret torture chamber and done away with for having the audacity to have questioned the authority or the judgement of some appellate court regarding an illegal alien matter.

That'll fuckin' teach me a lesson.....and there will be no appeal.

LomaAlta (not verified)

Wed, 02/15/2006 - 12:02

Lets see, the argument is RICO should be used against the mob because they conspire to break the law, they organize for criminal purposes, they then commit crimes. Outstanding argument, right on!

Illegal immigrants conspire with the Mexican Government and coyotes (smugglers)to enter the USA illegally. Conspiracy to break the law, organize for criminal purposes, and then they commit a crime of crossing the border illegally. Sounds just like the mob to me. Let RICO stand.

Then, illegal aliens conspire with criminal employers to work and stay in the country illegally, they organize to commit these crimes, and then the break the law by working, forging documents, avoiding taxes, restraining competition, and conspiring to cover up their crimes. Sounds just like the mob to me. Let RICO stand.

And who said illegal immigration is a complex problem (our Attorney General Gonzales and Senator McCain, and our President among others) and difficult to solve? How about swiftly, efficiently, and universally enforcing the laws of our nation. Seems simple to me. Three cheers for RICO!