December 28, 2012-January 3, 2013 - Asian Journal Digital Editions

An AP review of audits that resultedin fines in fiscal year 2011fined in fiscal year 2011 and oneof thousands audited that year. shows that the federal governmentis fining industries acrossEmployers are required tohave their workers fill out an I-9 the country reliant on manualform that declares them authorizedto work in the country. Cur-hired immigrants. The data pro-labor and that historically haverently, an employer needs only to vides a glimpse into the resultsverify that identifying documents of a process affecting thousandslook real.of companies and thousands ofThe audits, part of a $138 millionworksite enforcement effort, Over the years, ICE hasworkers nationwide.rely on ICE officers scouring over switched back-and-forth betweenmaking names of the com-payroll records to find namesthat don’t match Social Security panies fined public or not. Lately,numbers and other identification ICE has emphasized its criminaldatabases.investigations of managers, suchThe audits “don’t make any as a Dunkin’ Donuts managersense before a legalization program,”said Daniel Costa, an rest for knowingly hiring illegalin Maine sentenced to home ar-immigration policy analyst at immigrants or a manager of anthe Economic Policy Institute, Illinois hiring firm who got 18a Washington, D.C., think tank. months in prison.“You’re leaving the whole thing Many employers also wonderup to an employer’s eyesight how ICE picks the companies itand subjective judgment, that’s probes.the failure of the law. There’s no “Geography is not a factor.verification at all. Then you have The size of the company is notis the government making a subjectivejudgment about subjec-is not a factor. We can audit anya factor. And the industry it’s intive judgment.”company anywhere of any size,”FROM THE FRONT PAGEBench said. He added ICE auditorsfollow leads from the pub-spokesman declined comment. legality of a company’s work-“Usually the company will spenders to follow the law. A Heinz to see the burden of proving the fine is the least of it,” she said.lic, other employers, employees Bench didn’t have specifics on force go from the employer to more on legal fees. But it is aand do perform some random what percentage of fines come the government. She’d like to huge headache for the companyaudits.from companies having illegal see a type of program, such as E- to lose workers.”But ICE auditors hit ethnic immigrants on their payroll, as Verify, be implemented with the Wood said she’d like to see thestores, restaurants, bakeries, opposed to technical paperwork I-9 employment form. E-Verify is agency go after more criminalmanufacturing companies, construction,food packaging, jani-Julie Wood, a former deputy private employers that checks a that treat workers inhumanely.fines in recent years.a voluntary and free program for charges and focus on companiestorial services, catering, dairies director at ICE who now runs a workers eligibility.(Manuel Valdes/Associatedand farms. The aviation branch consulting firm, said she’d like “At the end of the day, the Press)of corporate giant GE, franchisesof sandwich shop Subway and asubsidiary of food product companyHeinz were among somePH is 17th most generous...of the companies with nationalNetherlands (53 percent), Indonesia (52 percent),name recognition. GE was fined CAF noted that while the Filipinos scored a poor United Kingdom (51 percent), Paraguay (50 percent),Denmark (49 percent), Liberia (49 percent),$2,000.32 percent in terms of monetary donations, theirIn fiscal year 2011, the most high sense of volunteerism gave them a score of Iran (48 percent), Turkmenistan (48 percent), Qatarrecent year reviewed by AP, the 44 percent.(47 percent), Sri Lanka (47 percent), Hong Kongmedian fine was $11,000. The The Filipinos’ sense of volunteerism, the report (44 percent) and Oman (44 percent).state with the most workplaces said, was fifth highest in the world and was the top CAF, however, observed a decline in charitablefined was Texas with 63, followedby New Jersey with 37. The country also earned a high mark of 58 per-“According to our report, hundreds of millionsin Southeast Asia.acts all over the world in recent years.The lowest fine was $90 to a cent in helping strangers.fewer people have helped others than was the caseMassachusetts fishing company. Australia topped this year’s world giving index last year,” said John Low, CAF chief executive.The highest fine was $394,944 to with a score of 60 percent. Ireland (60 percent), “This has inevitably resulted in a dramatic reductionin charitable support for millions of vulnerablean employment agency in Minneapolis,according to the data and the United States (57 percent) filled the sec-people the world over,” Low added.Canada (58 percent), New Zealand (57 percent)released to AP through a public ond to fifth spot, scoring high in terms of monetary The World Giving Index 2012 was compiled usingdata collected throughout 2011 and surveyedrecords request.donations.A Subway spokesman said the Other countries included in the top 20 were The over 155,000 people. (ManilaTimes.net)company advises franchise own-White House criticizes passage of Spending...children; services for nearly 1 million disabled individual;and child protective services which serve1.8 million at-risk children.”“They also dismantle programs that help homeownersand prevent foreclosures, one of the mostcritical sources of federal assistance for homeownerswho are struggling with foreclosure and needloan modifications,” she added.“Not only would this limit the home preservationoptions available to struggling homeowners butwould also undermine efforts to support the housingmarket’s fragile recovery.”“This bill is a step backwards and it’s nothingmore than a dangerous diversion,” she said. tor Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff,” saidAlthough the White House immediately slammed Boehner. “The House has already passed legislationto stop all of the January 1 tax rate increasesthe passage of the bill, there was really no needto make such a statement. Many political pundits and replace the sequester with responsible spendingcuts that will begin to address our nation’s crip-don’t expect the Spending Reduction Act to go anyfurther than the House.pling debt. The Senate must now act.”The Democrats are in control of the Senate and With the fiscal cliff looming, the President andPresident Barack Obama most certainly would veto Congress will resume talks again after the Christmasbreak knowing they only have less than a weekthe measure, if it reaches his desk.Plan B fallsto come up with a proposal to avert a potential economiccrisis.The passage of the Spending Reduction Billcame right before Speaker John Boehner’s (R- “The President’s main priority is to ensure thatOhio) “Plan B” legislation, a proposal that would taxes don’t go up on 98 percent of Americans andraise taxes for Americans who earn more than $1 97 percent of small businesses in just a few shortmillion.days,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney,in a statement.Both measures seek to avert the “fiscal cliff”which will take into effect come January 1, 2013. “The President will work with Congress to getBoehner, though, failed to garner any support this done and we are hopeful that we will be able tofrom his own GOP caucus and opted not to put the find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects themeasure through a vote.middle-class and our economy.” (Joseph Pimentel/“Now it is up to the president to work with Sena- AJPress)