The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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May 13, 2008

Missouri: Senator says immigration amendment is ‘game-killing’

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Senate voted Tuesday evening to add to an immigration bill penalties for employers who wrongly label their workers as “contractors” instead of employers.

But the measure’s sponsor said the amendment could kill the bill.

Sen. Scott Rupp dropped his head onto his desk after his fellow senators yelled a resounding “yes” to approve the worker misclassification provisions by voice vote.

Rupp, R-Wentzville, pledged to plow ahead with the immigration legislation anyway, even though he called the misclassification provisions a “game-killing amendment” that is “radioactive” for House members.

“We will pick it up and put the ball back into their court,” he told reporters after the Senate broke for dinner. The Senate was expected to return to Rupp’s bill later Tuesday night.

Lawmakers have only until Friday evening to pass legislation.

This most recent immigration bill is the second time senators have considered a wide-sweeping bill that adds restrictions and requirements on illegal immigrants, employers and police.

It would require people prove they are U.S. citizens or are legally in the country when applying for food stamps, housing and other public benefits, penalize businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, bar Missouri cities from adopting sanctuary city policies and require the Missouri State Highway Patrol to seek special federal immigration training.

It closely mirrors a Senate-approved immigration bill that was rejected by a House committee earlier this week because of a similar amendment creating penalties for businesses that misclassify their workers and gives the attorney general authority to investigate.

House Immigration Chairman Jerry Nolte said most of the provisions in the latest Senate bill have already cleared his chamber, and that it is unlikely there would have been serious opposition to the bill.

“Without that amendment, we would have had a better chance,” said Nolte, R-Gladstone.

But with the addition of the misclassification provisions, Nolte said he’s concerned about whether lawmakers will be able to pass any immigration legislation this session.

Both Nolte and Rupp said that if that happens, Gov. Matt Blunt should call them back into a special session to deal specifically with immigration legislation.

The troublesome amendment would allow the attorney general to investigate whether businesses are classifying their workers as contractors instead of employees. By doing that, a company can avoid having to pay for withholding taxes and other workers’ benefits. It would apply to construction, public works and maintenance industry employers with at least five workers, and would allow fines of $50 per day for each misclassified worker up to a total of $50,000.

Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis, said the state loses payments for workers’ compensation and unemployment when businesses label their workers as contractors and not employees. He said the Legislature should reward “the contractor who wakes up everyday and abides by the rules.”

But Nolte said he’s concerned about the amount of power the provision would give to the attorney general and whether the entire issue should be connected to the illegal immigration issue.

Before the session began, cracking down on illegal immigrants was a priority for lawmakers.

Supporters of the immigration bill have said it is particularly important to add penalties for employers because they are a magnet that attracts illegal immigrants into the state.

But the prospect of new restrictions on businesses has created problems. Besides worker misclassification, the immigration legislation also tries to get businesses to start using a federal E-Verify program to check whether a newly hired employee is allowed to work.

Rupp’s bill requires all public employers — such as those working for state departments and school districts — use the federal database. State contractors would need to use it, too.

Private employers wouldn’t need to use E-Verify, but if they were caught knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant, their company would risk losing its business license. Employers who use the database would have a defense against claims that they had knowingly hired an illegal immigrant.

Private employers who don’t use the database would have to start if they are found hiring an illegal immigrant.

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