Published: July 15, 2007 02:36 am      

Labor to state: Get tougher on illegal workers

Even as the state increases the number of inspectors working to crack down on undocumented workers, labor groups are calling for West Virginia to stiffen its laws to deal with illegal immigrants in the work force.

The state Division of Labor announced last week it added five inspectors who will identify and cite employers who hire undocumented workers, who are typically illegal immigrants or those who are paid under the table by contractors to avoid taxes.

Now the state has assigned five of its current 17 wage-and-hour inspectors to five regions of the state for this purpose. The inspectors are each responsible for worksites in two to three counties and monitor the gamut of workplace issues.

Steve White, director of the Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation in Charleston, says the increase of inspectors will help, but it may not be enough.

“We will be advocating for more,” White said. “We’re talking about coverage of the entire state, and that’s just a big area to cover.”

The foundation, an umbrella group of local construction unions in West Virginia, has served as an undocumented worker watchdog in recent years.

White said he believes one of the key missing puzzle pieces to the dilemma is the lack of statistics regarding these workers in West Virginia.

No one has any accurate data on the number of undocumented workers or the employers who hire them, labor group spokesmen said.

If facts and figures were readily available, that might shed some light on the magnitude of the problem and prompt speedier action from government officials, they said.

“It’s difficult to get accurate info because employers do a good job of hiding their activity,” said Larry Matheney, secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia AFL-CIO.

The Division of Labor estimates the state loses $14 million in taxes annually because of undocumented workers. Officials believe an active enforcement program could recover up to $44 million for the state in the first five years of operation.

Labor Deputy Commissioner Fran Cook said the five inspectors are expected to visit a good percentage of 58,000 West Virginia businesses including those in the mining, timber, hospitality and manufacturing industries.

Cook called it a pilot program that will last one year and help determine which areas of the state are heavily burdened with undocumented worker cases.

Cook said inspectors will ask workers for documentation at a jobsite upon a visit. If an employee or employer cannot provide immediate documentation, they are asked to within 72 hours, she said.

The Division of Labor is partnering with the state Insurance Commission, Tax Department and Workforce West Virginia’s unemployment section for the pilot project.

Matheney, at the AFL-CIO, said employers who use undocumented workers exploit them by paying them less and not offering benefits.

“We want to stem this underground economy that’s taking dollars away from the state because of taxes not being paid,” he said. “We also want all workers to have access to fair wages, workers compensation and unemployment.”

The construction industry is likely the area of trade most affected in West Virginia, and White said the problem is more widespread than many think.

“I can take you to any part of West Virginia and find unauthorized workers,” White said. “This has increased at a rapid rate in the last five years. Part of that is because, really, there seems to be no penalty to be paid for it. The benefits to the employers are tremendous.”

Last summer, the trades foundation produced an investigative video, “West Virginia’s Underground Economy,” that followed a camera crew visiting job sites around the state and exposing them for having undocumented workers.

One of the companies involved included SpanForce Labor LLC, which has offices in Lewisburg and Terra Alta. The company claims it’s a job placement agency for workers from Mexico and Central America. SpanForce places them usually in restaurants, lumber mills and construction-related industries.

ACT filmed people they suspected were undocumented workers traveling in vans to a jobsite in Kingwood. The crew interviewed some of the workers and was even welcomed into their home, where they slept on mattresses on the floor.

One of the workers interviewed said they were being paid $6 an hour for labor-intensive work and that he believed between 20 and 25 Mexicans were working in Terra Alta.

Another company scrutinized by the group was Progressive Employment Partners, also based in Lewisburg. That company had placed several Hispanic workers in a sawmill near the Mingo-Logan county line.

White said these brokers have people in Mexico who supply them with workers. He said his organization has filed requests for the Division of Labor to investigate these matters but have not been informed of any progress or actions by the government agency.

A message left at SpanForce’s Terra Alta office was not returned, while no one answered the phone at its Lewisburg office Monday.

The listed telephone number for Progressive Employment Partners is disconnected.

White applauded Gov. Joe Manchin for making strides on the executive level to tackle the problem so far.

Earlier this year, Manchin signed legislation introduced by Sen. Andy McKenzie, R-Ohio, that allows the labor commissioner to inspect businesses’ books and force employers to verify the identities and legality of workers.

The bill, which is now in effect, makes it a misdemeanor to hire illegal workers. Employers with a third offense can face up to a $10,000 fine and a year in jail. Employers also can lose their business license.

Federal officials had handled most illegal immigration cases in the state in the past, but officials in some states say they are growing weary of waiting on the federal government and are becoming more proactive.

“Clearly, immigration and customs enforcement is a huge problem,” White said. “They (federal officials) aren’t doing the job in West Virginia. We’ve called them numerous times and have pretty much given up.”

White said even harsher penalties might be necessary to eradicate the problem of companies employing illegal workers.

“Our top thing is that if you don’t penalize the employers taking advantage of cheap and illegal labor, you’ll never solve the problem,” he said. “When people from other countries earn more in one hour than a day at home, they’re going to come. You can put up all the walls and borders you want. If we allow the construction and timber industry to turn into a $5 and $6-an-hour job, it will drag down the standards in West Virginia.”