August 2008 E-Alert
Missouri Enacts Law to Crack Down on
Illegal Immigrants
Impacting Public and Private
Employers
Effective January 1,
2009 public and private employers in
Missouri must begin complying with
the Illegal Alien and Immigration
Status Verification. The law
contains a number of provisions
designed to encourage greater
compliance with the federal
immigration laws.
Public Employers in Missouri: The
law contains a number of provisions
affecting state and local
governments, including a prohibition
on sanctuary cities, a prohibition
on the receipt of public benefits
and drivers licenses by unlawful
immigrants, increased cooperation
between state and local law
enforcement and federal immigration
authorities, and verification of
immigration status upon arrest.
Public employers must also
participate in the federal E-Verify
program and are subject to financial
and other penalties for employing
illegal aliens.
Private Employers: The law requires
private employers in Missouri to
comply with the following:
-
All employers with five or more
employees must file federal 1099
forms with the Missouri
Department of Revenue, and face
penalties of up to $200 per
violation for failure to do so.
-
Employers who misclassify
employees as independent
contractors, are subject to the
imposition of penalties up to
$50 per day per misclassified
worker up to a total of $50,000.
-
Employers holding state contracts
in excess of $5,000 are required
to participate in the federal
E-Verify work authorization
program, and are subject to
financial and other penalties
for employing unlawful aliens.
-
Voluntary participation in the
E-verify program, for those
employers not required to
participate, is an affirmative
defense to an allegation that
the employer knowingly employed
an illegal alien.
-
In the event of an investigation
by the Missouri Attorney
General, an employer must
provide requested records or be
subject to suspension of local
licenses, permits and
exemptions. In addition, if an
employer is found to have
knowingly employed an illegal
alien, the employer’s local
licenses, permits and exemptions
may be suspended and in the
event of a third violation,
permanent suspension.
If you need assistance developing
effective policies and procedures to
ensure compliance with the federal
and state immigration laws, the
lawyers of the Lowenbaum Partnership
would be happy to assist you.
This E-Alert is intended as in
informal summary of certain recent
legislation, cases, rulings and
other developments. This E-Alert
does not constitute legal advice or
a legal opinion and is not an
adequate substitute for advice of
counsel. This E-Alert is not
intended to nor does it create an
attorney-client relationship. The
choice of a lawyer is an important
decision and should not be based
solely upon advertisements. If this
E-Alert is deemed to be an
advertisement please disregard this
solicitation if you have already
engaged a lawyer in connection with
the legal matter referred to in this
solicitation. You may wish to
consult your lawyer or another
lawyer instead of us. The exact
nature of your legal situation will
depend on many facts not known to us
at this time. You should understand
that the advice and information in
this solicitation is general and
that your own situation may vary.
This statement is required by rule
of the Supreme Court of Missouri.
Disclaimer
Site Map © 2012 The Lowenbaum Partnership LLC
|