Albuquerque immigration bill contains several new mandates on business

Albuquerque City Council recently passed a new ordinance making the City even more friendly to illegal immigrants. The Mayor has yet to sign the bill into law, but he has generally taken a very pro-immigrant approach. This particular bill may be too much…even for Mayor Keller.

Here are just a few of the mandates the bill would place on City businesses if the Mayor signs it into law:

Within 90 days of the effective date of this Ordinance, the City shall:

(1) Develop a policy requiring all businesses applying for or renewing a City Business License to display signage delineating public and private spaces.

(2) Develop a policy of requiring businesses with five or more employees seeking to apply for or renew a City Business License to adopt a safety plan that meets minimum standards for compliance, along with template policies and informational resources, to be made available by the City and on the City’s website.

Notifying Employees of I-9 Inspection.

(1) An employer shall provide written notice to all current employees of an inspection by an immigration agency of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records, except as otherwise required by federal law.

(2) An employer must provide this notice no later than 24 hours after receiving a notice of inspection by an immigration agency by posting a notice in a conspicuous and accessible location and by making reasonable attempts to individually distribute notification to employees in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee.

(3) The notice to employees shall include:

(a) The name of the immigration agency conducting the inspection;

(b) The date the employer received the notice of inspection;

(c) the scope of the federal agency’s notice of inspection, to the extent the employer knows;

(d) A website address, prescribed by the City, for a website that provides information provided by community organizations related to immigrant and refugee rights or workers’ rights;

(e) A copy of the notice of inspection; and

(f) Written notice shall also be given within 24 hours to the employee’s authorized representative, if any.

Notifying Workers of Immigration Enforcement.

(1) If a law enforcement agent engaging in or supporting immigration enforcement is present at a place of work other than as part of an I-9 inspection, the business shall provide notice to all current employees, contractors, and others performing work for the employer for remuneration. The business must provide this notice within 24 hours of a law enforcement agent engaging in or supporting immigration enforcement being present at a place of work. The notice to employees, contractors, and others performing work for the employer for remuneration shall include:

(a) The name of the agency;

(b) The date the law enforcement agent actor was present at the place of work; and

(c) The nature of the law enforcement agent’s actions.

(2) These notices shall be provided by the business in the language normally used by the employer to communicate work-related information to employees, contractors, or others acting on behalf of the business, and may be provided by electronic means such as email.

What will the costs of complying with this new raft of regulations? What are the penalties for non-compliance? These are not addressed in the ordinance, but both should be. Albuquerque is already a business-unfriendly place.